This pioneering color-blind approach, considered scandalous at the time, was a breath of fresh air in the then-segregated society.

While studying with the renowned pianist Artur Schnabel, she broke more racial taboos by dating a classmate who was a young black man from Jamaica.

Greenfield later left Miami for Paris, France, in 1949, in order to study composition with Nadia Boulanger, the teacher of successful composers including Aaron Copland, Elliott Carter, Quincy Jones, Philip Glass, Virgil Thomson, and Astor Piazzolla.

Prominent community leaders, including Congresswoman Carrie Meek, continued to steer talented students to the school.

[6] She founded Miami-Dade Community College's Lunchtime Lively Arts Series in the late 1970s and made it all-encompassing (including music, theater, and literature).

[5] The wide-ranging list of artists who performed include Isaac Bashevis Singer, Dick Gregory, Odetta, The Ink Spots, Virgil Thomson and Gwendolyn Brooks.

In 2013, director Steve Waxman released a feature documentary, Instruments of Change, about Greenfield and her history with the Fine Arts Conservatory.

The film featured Miami personalities including Eduardo Padron, Marvis Martin, Garth Reeves, and Carrie Meek.