The Center for Community Change (CCC, Norman grantee 1970–1985) was founded in 1968 to build power among low-income people of color, challenge the government to be a force for good, and strengthen the field of community organizing. In 1982, CCC…
Norman continued its support of voting rights projects through the ACLU, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the NAACP, and the National Coalition on Black Voter Participation — organizations working to protect and expand the right to vote through litigation, advocacy,…
In this election year, the Board of Directors authorized the foundation to disburse beyond the required 5% of assets; the Grants Committee allocated $250,000 to groups engaged in nonpartisan efforts to increase voter participation.
The Southeast Women’s Employment Coalition (SWEC, Norman grantee 1983–1986) was founded in 1979 after 40 women from nine Southern states gathered to discuss economic equity for women in the workplace. It grew into a network of 14 community-based organizations united…
The Coal Employment Project (CEP, Norman grantee 1983–1987) was founded in 1977 by Kentucky-born attorney Betty Jean Hall to fight deeply-rooted discrimination patterns that kept women out of one of the only well-paying industries in Appalachia. Hall documented that 99%…
The White Lung Association (WLA, Norman grantee 1980–1982) was founded in 1979 in San Pedro, CA, by shipyard workers exposed to asbestos on the job, and was the first asbestos victims’ organization in the United States. WLA organized workers to…
Believing that the burden of budget cuts resulting from military spending fell hardest on low-income communities, the Norman Foundation funded a constellation of research and advocacy organizations throughout the 1980s to document and disseminate this case to policymakers and the…
The Norman Foundation formalized its governance structure with three bodies: a Board of Directors, comprised of direct descendants of Aaron E. Norman that meet annually to set policy, oversee operations, and ratify grant decisions; a Grants Committee that meets 4-6…
The foundation committed to applying affirmative action principles — in its operations and grant applications evaluation process — and prioritizing projects that address the needs of communities historically denied full participation in society. In the proposal review process, the Grants…
In 1979, armed Ku Klux Klan members attacked an SCLC-organized civil rights march in Decatur, AL, narrowly missing SCLC President Joseph Lowery and his wife; in the same year, five demonstrators were murdered by Klansmen and Nazis in Greensboro, NC,…