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 in Providence, Rhode Island where she was raised as one of the only black students at the predominantly white institutions she attended. Her parents were active in the Progressive Party, and her father was once the state chairman of the party. She graduated from the University of Michigan in December 1964, Noonan completed coursework for a PhD at the University of Michigan. She ended up in Albany, Georgia where she noted she "was scared the whole time I was there”. Noonan crossed paths with other civil rights activists including Prathia Hall and Stokely Carmichael.

Later life Noonan married Silas Norman in 1967 and they had one son. The Journal of African American History, and the Journal of American Ethnic History.

Selected publications