Norma Marcere

Norma Snipes Marcere (October 21, 1908 – August 10, 2004) was an American educator. After being rejected from employment opportunities due to her race, Marcere became the first African-American counselor and school psychologist in the Akron City Schools.

Norma Marcere
Born(1908-10-21)October 21, 1908
Canton, Ohio, U.S.
DiedAugust 10, 2004(2004-08-10) (aged 95)
Louisville, Ohio
EducationKent State University
OccupationActivist, feminist, educator
Spouse(s)
Percy Marcere
​
(m. 1929⁠–⁠1971)​
Children2
HonorsOhio Women's Hall of Fame (1985)

Early life and career

Marcere was born on October 21, 1908, in Canton, Ohio. She graduated from Canton McKinley High School in 1926.[1] After graduating from McKinley, Marcere worked to pay for her teaching degree tuition at Kent State University.[2] After earning her teaching degree, Marcere graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in elementary education and a Master of Arts degree in counseling.[3] With these degrees, Marcere applied to teach in her hometown of Canton, however, a superintendent refused to hire her based on her race.[2][4] As a result, her first teaching placement was at Edmund A. Junior High. As her career developed, she became the first African-American counselor and school psychologist in the Akron City Schools.[2][4]

In 1969, Marcere was elected a lay member of the Youngstown Diocesan Board of Education.[5] Nearly a decade later, in 1976, Marcere retired from teaching and wrote two autobiographies.[2] The two books were later formed into a play by Lois DiGiacomo in 1994[6] which was performed in front of an audience of more than 12,000 people.[7]

In 1973, Marcere was named Junior League Woman of the Year. In 1979, Marcere established the Project for Academic Excellence (PAX), a Saturday school for underachieving inner-city elementary students. This led to the development of Study, Think, Read, Investigate, Volunteer and Excel (STRIVE), a program for minority students that focused on social issues and personal responsibility.[8]

In 1991, Marcere was awarded the Norma Award, named after Norma Sigler Atkins Rowlands, for her educational work.[9] In 1998, she earned the Sister Thea Bowman Medallion from the Office for Black Catholic Ministries of the Diocese of Toledo.[10] She was inducted into the Ohio Women's Hall of Fame in 1985.

Marcere died on August 10, 2004 of natural causes.[8]

References
  1. "Stark's Famous: Norma Snipes Marcere". Akron Beacon Journal. February 1, 2016. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  2. Jacqueline Jones Royster (2003). Profiles of Ohio Women, 1803-2003. Ohio University Press. ISBN 9780821415085.
  3. "North Canton Resident Is Woman Of The Year". The Sun. May 8, 1974. p. 12. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  4. "Norma Marcere". odjfs.state.oh.us. Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  5. "School Board". The Sun. November 19, 1969. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  6. "The Fences Between". The Sun. January 20, 2000. p. 20. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  7. Reicosky, Lisa (May 1, 2010). "TAKE IN A SHOW". aboutstark.com. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
  8. "Norma Snipes Marcere - Obituary". ancestry.com. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  9. "North Canton resident given Guild award". The Sun. October 9, 1991. p. 5. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  10. "The Diocese by the Decades". doyorg.ipage.com. January 11, 2019. Retrieved July 30, 2019.
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