Martha Prescod Norman Noonan Oral History Interview: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The oral history consists of seven digital files: 2011.174.80.1a, 2011.174.80.1b, 2011.174.80.1c, 2011.174.80.1d, 2011.174.80.1e, 2011.174.80.1f, and 2011.174.80.1g.

Martha Prescod Norman Noonan describes her childhood in Providence, Rhode Island, and being one of the few black families in the neighborhood. Her parents urged her to attend the University of Michigan, where she joined Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and learned about the Civil Rights Movement in the South. She eventually made her way to Albany, Georgia, where she worked with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. She also worked in the Movement in Mississippi and later in Alabama. Noonan describes the March on Washington, her perception of Mississippi Freedom Summer, and the early iterations of Black Power.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: March 18, 2013
• Created by: Civil Rights History Project, American, founded 2009
• Interview of: Martha Prescod Norman Noonan, American
• Interviewed by: John Dittmer Ph. D., American, born 1939
• Subject of: University of Michigan, American, founded 1817
• Subject of: Students for a Democratic Society, American, 1960 - 1969
• Subject of: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, American, 1960 - 1970s
• Subject of: March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, American, founded 1963
• Subject of: Mississippi Freedom Summer Project, American, founded 1964
• Type: video recordings
• Type: oral histories
• Type: digital media - born digital
• Medium: digital
• Dimensions: Duration: 1 hr., 32 min., 37 sec.
• Dimensions: Total: 157.43 GB
• Place collected: Cockeysville, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Providence, Rhode Island, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Michigan, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Albany, Dougherty County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Mississippi, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Alabama, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: American South
• Topic: Associations and institutions
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Education
• Topic: Social reform
• Topic: Suffrage
• Object number: 2011.174.80.1a-g
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in partnership with the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Smithsonian National Museum of African American History & Culture and The American Folklife Center, Library of Congress Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.