Norma Becker facts for kids

Norma Becker (1930–2006) was an important American activist who worked for peace and fairness. She helped start groups like the Fifth Avenue Vietnam Peace Parade Committee, which organized large protests against the Vietnam War. She also co-founded the Mobilization for Survival, a group that worked against nuclear weapons and nuclear power. From 1977 to 1983, she led the War Resisters League, an organization that believes in solving problems without violence.

Norma Becker's Life and Activism

Early Life and Education

Norma Becker was born in the Bronx, a part of New York City, in 1930. She went to Hunter College and graduated in 1951. Later, she became a social studies teacher at a junior high school in Harlem. She continued her education and earned a master's degree in education from Columbia University in 1961.

Fighting for Civil Rights

In 1963, Norma Becker became involved in the Civil Rights Movement. She was deeply upset by news reports of unfair treatment against civil rights protesters in Birmingham, Alabama. Because of this, she traveled to the South to teach in special summer schools called Freedom Schools. These schools helped Black children and adults learn and prepare to vote.

Protesting the Vietnam War

Over the next few years, Norma Becker became a leader in the growing movement against the Vietnam War. In 1965, she helped create the Fifth Avenue Peace Parade Committee. This group organized many large protests in New York City, bringing together thousands of people who wanted the war to end. In 1970, she also worked with a group called War Tax Resistance. This group encouraged people to protest the war by refusing to pay certain taxes.

Working for Nuclear Peace

After the Vietnam War ended, Norma Becker continued her activism. In 1977, she helped start the Mobilization for Survival, often called "the Mobe." This group brought together people who were against nuclear power plants and those who wanted to get rid of nuclear weapons. They believed that these two issues were connected to the wider goal of peace.

The Huge 1982 Protest

On June 12, 1982, the Mobilization for Survival organized a massive protest in Central Park, New York City. About 700,000 people attended this event. It was a huge and lively gathering where people called for an end to the nuclear arms race, which was a dangerous competition between countries to build more and more nuclear weapons.