James Green Recognized

James Green, owner of Green’s Minimart Photo: Urban News

By Johnnie Grant

James Green was recently honored by Riverlink for his contribution to the revitalization of the riverfront Depot district. 

He readily admits it was his grandmother’s vision that helped him recognize his own. As Green recounts this story with the Urban News, his feelings and emotions were clearly mixed.

“It was the summer of 1970 [when] my wife Frances and our two sons Kevin and Keith traveled from Shaker Heights, Ohio, to Asheville for a family reunion. The trip to Asheville was enjoyable, and I intended to just sit back and relax.”

But, he continues, “No sooner than I took a seat, family members
began asking me for rides back and forth to the store. A loaf of bread
here; cigarettes, beer, potato chips, candy there – and the
‘honey-do’s’ – kept me running! Everyone forgot just how far I had
traveled to get here; I was looking for some rest. When I came back
from a run to the store, I finally was able to set on the porch for a
minute. After I took a seat my grandmother nonchalantly leaned over,
tapped me on the shoulder, and said, ‘You need to move back home, son.
You need to help your people, they’ve torn everything down around
here!’”

As Green rode through his old neighborhood, he thought about his
grandmother’s words. “I remembered growing up in the old neighborhood
of Southside, and the beautiful ornate train station that I walked past
most everyday as a child. I also remembered that one day I would board
that train in search for a better life.”

And he got that better life through hard work and determination.
But that visit home also brought other good memories of his childhood,
“working at Mr. Owens and Mr. Hagan’s stores, delivering groceries to
all the neighborhood families, earning money to buy school clothes and
other personal necessities. It was a hard time, but I was able to
finish school, join the army, and earn an associates degree in
engineering. I married, and was living a good life,” said Green.

But the words of his grandmother kept haunting him. After years
of agonizing over what his grandmother said, Green finally made the
decision to move home to Asheville.

“My wife initially hit the ceiling when I announced my
intentions to the family. Leaving all that we had acquired, the good
jobs, and the amicable lifestyle we had became accustomed to, was
unbelievable for my wife and children. But I personally felt convicted
– convicted to do what I could for my home-town community,” said Green.

In 1980, with the help of a business loan from the old Clyde
Savings & Loan (now Home Trust Bank), Green acquired property on
Depot Street and built Green’s Minimart to offer the historic community
necessary services: a convenience store, Laundromat, and the popular
take-out foods delicatessen.

“For the past thirty years I feel that I’ve done what I was
compelled to do. My store has never been broken into or robbed. The
community knows I support them however I can. I want the youngsters
here to realize that education is the key to success.”

James Green got an education, and he also made a success of his
business and his life. Unlike many successful men, he also knows
exactly where his own priorities lie. “My biggest accomplishment in
life was to educate both my sons, and to see them both walk across the
stage at Morehouse College.”

The walk he walks is the best advertisement for what he
believes. “It’s not that I came home to take anything from my
community,” says James Green. “It’s about that old spiritual I’ve heard
many times in my life,” said Green. “If I can help somebody, then my
living shall not be in vain."