Funeral services for Dr. Norma Stamps Smith will be Jan. 6, 2017, at noon at Greater Grove Street M.B. Church, 2715 Alcorn Drive, in Vicksburg. Dr. Casey Fisher will be officiating.

Repose will be at the church for viewing at 11 a.m. until the hour of service. Visitation will be at Greater Grove Street Jan. 5, 2017, from 5:30 to 7:00 p.m. Interment will be at New Popular Grove Cemetery in Utica.

Funeral services have been entrusted to C J Williams Mortuary Services in Vicksburg.

She died at a private residence in Madison.

Dr. Norma Stamps Smith, the younger of two daughters, was born to the late Elisha Stamps and Gideon Taylor Stamps of Utica.

Norma confessed a belief in Christ at an early age, was baptized and joined the Poplar Grove AME Church (now, New Poplar Grove Church) where she remained a faithful member until moving to Maywood, Ill., where she united with the Rock of Ages Church. Upon returning to Mississippi in 1998, Norma reunited with Poplar Grove where she remained and diligently served as a Sunday school teacher, workshop coordinator, Black History Month educator and member of the Mother’s Board until her passing.

Norma was a proud Alcornite and, in 1959, became a member of the Gamma Phi Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Incorporated while attending Alcorn College, (now, Alcorn State University). She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in business. Later, she also participated in many of the sorority activities with the Beta Delta Omega graduate chapter while working at Jackson State College, (now, Jackson State University). 

Norma eagerly became involved in community and civil rights causes starting in Mississippi in the 1960s and continued her advocacy work in Chicago well into the late 1990s. Norma worked with leaders, including Medgar Evers and James Meredith, drafting Meredith’s college application to the then-segregated University of Mississippi. Norma worked directly with Congress of Racial Equality and Dr. James Farmer and with the National Lawyers Guild for Civil Rights, fearlessly encouraging the African American Citizens of Miss., to register and exercise their right to vote. Some have said she helped pave the way for other African Americans working at Jackson State and was committed to supporting equal rights for African Americans in Miss.

After relocating to Ill., Norma continued to work for civil rights and social justice as a public school educator, fighting to provide quality education at one of Chicago’s most well-known inner-city high schools. Through her work, Norma helped to develop youth entrepreneurial programs that allowed students to establish and manage a school-based retail store. Through her educational workshops on civil rights with Mamie Williams, the mother of Emmett Till, she not only encouraged countless students to continue and even further their education, but to also seek social justice at every turn.

Norma also continued her own education, completing two masters’ degrees in education and computer science, respectively, as well as a doctorate in education at DePaul and Roosevelt Universities in Chicago, Ill. 

Mr. Whitfield Smith Jr., a devoted husband of 42 years, preceded her in death.

Dr. Norma Stamps Smith leaves to cherish her memory and celebrate her life her nieces and a multitude of dear cousins and friends.

She leaves us all with a rich legacy of intellect, advocacy, wit, strength, spirituality, integrity, humor, generosity and love that we will carry forward for generations.