Belle da Costa Greene (November 26, 1879 – May 10, 1950) was an American librarian who managed and developed the personal library of J. P. Morgan. After Morgan died in 1913, Greene continued as librarian for his son, Jack Morgan, and in 1924 was named the first director of the Pierpont Morgan Library.

2019年5月3日 · She and her siblings had all plugged “Da Costa” into their names; should anyone remark on her complexion, Belle mentioned Portuguese ancestry. Greene’s literary and artistic background may have produced the addition.

2024年10月29日 · After the separation, Genevieve dropped the last letter of their family name and was lighter-skinned enough to pass as white, as were Greene's siblings. This opened doors for Belle da Costa Greene in segregated America, and she worked at Princeton before joining the research library.

2024年12月9日 · Together with her mother and siblings, Greene determined to “pass” as white, and they were listed so beginning with the 1905 New York state census. She settled on the name Belle da Costa Greene and would explain that “da Costa” reflected Portuguese ancestry, as did (she implied) her olive complexion.

For many, racial passing involved cutting ties with family members who were unable to pass as white. Despite this trend, Belle da Costa Greene kept much of her family intact, since her mother and three siblings also chose to pass.

2021年3月15日 · From then on, the Greenes identified themselves as being of Portuguese descent, with Belle adopting the middle name “da Costa,” her older brother Russell, “de Costa,” while Genevieve took a Dutch middle name, “van Vliet,” possibly because it sounded like her maiden name “Fleet.”

2021年6月9日 · Belle da Costa Greene was one of the most prominent librarians in American history. She was born Belle Marion Greener to African American parents Richard Theodore Greener and Genevieve Ida Fleet Greener, in Washington, D.C., on November 26, 1879. Her parents separated in her childhood.

She was born Belle Marion Greener to an elite Black family in Washington, DC. A few years after moving to New York City in 1888, during the age of Jim Crow, she passed as white as Belle da Costa Greene, crossing the color line with her mother and siblings.

After her parents separation the light-skinned Belle, her mother , and siblings passed as white and changed their name to Greene to distance themselves from the father. Belle dropped her middle name in favor of da Costa and began claiming a Portuguese background to explain her …

Belle had four siblings: her older brother Russell, her older sisters Louise and Ethel, and her younger sister Theodora. The family was raised in DC, alongside Genevieve’s relatives, but they relocated to New York in the mid-1880s when Richard was offered a position with the Grand Monument Association.