Martha Prescod Norman Noonan

Martha Prescod Norman Noonan was a civil rights activist who is known for her work within the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and co-editing a 2012 book Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC.

Early life and education

Noonan was born on February 25, 1945^[1] in Providence, Rhode Island where she was raised as one of the only black students at the predominantly white institutions she attended.^[2] Her parents were active in the Progressive Party,^[3]: 45 and her father was once the state chairman of the party.^[4] She graduated from the University of Michigan in December 1964,^[1] and has a master's degree from Wayne State University where she studied history.^[5] Noonan completed coursework for a PhD at the University of Michigan.^[5]

Civil rights activism

Soon after arriving at Michigan, Noonan joined VOICE, a chapter of Students for a Democratic Society,^[2] and she raised funds for Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) by selling copies of a documentary record made about the Albany Movement.^[1] When she heard presentations by Curtis Hayes and Tom Hayden^[3]: 45 she was "almost giddy with the idea that someone my age could take action that might change the overall racial situation in the United States”.^[2] From 1962 to 1963, Martha organized a Friends of SNCC group in Ann Arbor,^[3]: 45 which was providing support for the student activists in the south.^[1] In 1963 at the age of 18, Noonan first went to the American south.^[6] She ended up in Albany, Georgia where she noted she "was scared the whole time I was there”.^[4] By 1965 Noonan deliberately was eating in newly integrated places, such as a Holiday Inn in Selma, Alabama, where she remained calm while keeping her right to eat in such institutions.^[7] Noonan crossed paths with other civil rights activists including Prathia Hall^[8] and Stokely Carmichael.^[9]

Later life

Noonan married Silas Norman in 1967 and they had one son.^[2] She taught classes on African American history at the University of Michigan, the University of Toledo, and Wayne State University.^[4] In 2012, Noonan co-edited the book Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC which was reviewed by The Women's Review of Books,^[10] The Journal of African American History,^[11] and the Journal of American Ethnic History.^[12]

Selected publications

• Hands on the freedom plow : personal accounts by women in SNCC. Faith S. Holsaert, Martha P. Noonan, Judy Richardson, Betty Garman Robinson, Jean Smith Young, Dorothy Zellner. Urbana. 2012. ISBN 978-0-252-07888-0. OCLC 812780336.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) CS1 maint: others (link)