Dr. Silas Norman

Dr. Silas Norman 

The family of Dr. Silas Norman has released the following arrangements:

VISITATION HOURS
Friday, July 24, 2015
3:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Swanson Funeral Home (Northwest),
14751 West McNichols (6 Mile Road)
Detroit, MI (313-272-9000).
There will be a family hour service from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm.

FUNERAL SERVICES
Saturday, July 25, 2015
Family hour and processional begins at 9:00 am
Service begins at 9:30 am
Hartford Memorial Baptist Church
18700 James Couzens Fwy
Detroit, MI

In lieu of flowers, contributions should be made out to:
Paine College or the Black Medical Students Association and mailed to:
Dr. Joseph Norman (son)
1320 Algonac
Ann Arbor MI, 48103

Bio of Dr. Silas Norman, Jr.

Silas Norman, Jr. was born on May 25, 1941 in Augusta, GA to the late Silas Norman, Sr. and Janie Mae King. Some members of his mother’s family settled in Albany, Georgia and their descendants were active in the Albany Movement. His mother instilled in him such a love of learning that even as a child, he always looked forward to the start of each school year. His father set an example of hard work, maintaining three jobs most of his life.

The Norman family lived three blocks from the Mt. Calvary Baptist Church, where his father was a deacon and his mother the church secretary. Baptized at the age of eleven, Silas enjoyed attending summer bible school. He started taking music lessons in the first grade.

Contrary to the historical record, Silas Norman, Jr. was not a cofounder of the Poor Peoples Corporation. He did become director of SNCC’s Alabama Project in January of 1965 and served in that position until he was drafted in October of that year. Recruited by Maria Varela to work on the Literacy Project, he had arrived in Selma, Alabama where both projects were based in the summer of 1964. In making this choice he left behind a full fellowship for a PhD in Medical Microbiology at the University of Wisconsin where was chairman of the campus civil rights organization and head of the local CORE chapter.

While in Selma, Silas was arrested and cattle prodded on the fourth of July when he and others attempted to desegregate the Tasty Boy restaurant. Along with Fay Bellamy, he had the honor of bringing Malcolm X to Selma during the Bridge Crossing demonstrations. Then Silas introduced Malcolm at the mass meeting and three weeks later travelled to New York to attend Malcolm’s funeral.

Silas’s civil rights activism began when he was a student at Paine College in Augusta, Georgia. While Chairman of the Student Body from 1960-1962, he also chaired the Paine College Steering Committee, a SNCC affiliate, which coordinated civil rights activities in Augusta and served as state vice president of the Colleges and Youth Chapters of the NAACP. At one of the committee’s demonstrations, his closest friend was stabbed near his heart.

When he was drafted, we believe as part of an effort to get civil rights organizers out of the South, the military refused to grant him the conscientious objector status he requested as a believer and practitioner of nonviolence. He remained in the service earning the rank of second lieutenant and reapplied for conscientious objector status. He married another SNCC worker, Martha Prescod, in the fall of 1967. At that time he had his orders to Vietnam and no idea of whether his request would be granted. So they had to consider the various options to his fighting in a war that he did not support. Fortunately his second request was granted. He went on to study medicine graduating from Wayne State’s Medical School in 1976.

When he died on July 17, 2015, Silas Norman, Jr. was Dean of Admissions for Wayne State University’s School of Medicine. Previously he was Medical Director of Correctional Facilities in the state of Michigan for eight years and Medical Director for Wayne County Jails in Detroit, Michigan for six. He was a deacon at Hartford Avenue Baptist Church and sang with six choral groups including two church choirs, the Brazil Denard Chorale and a gospel quartet. Among other associations, he was active with the Detroit Coalition for the Homeless and Doctors for Detroit. Four other SNCC veterans were also part of the Doctors group that arranged for less privileged black students to receive a free medical school education in Cuba. He was also serving as President of the Board of Directors for Paine College.

He leaves three children, Dr. Silas Prescod Norman, Dr. Joseph Wiley Norman, and Atty. Michael Edward Norman; three grandchildren, college students -- Alicia Susan Norman and Morgan Frederick -- and as well as almost four year old Silas P. Norman, IV. Three of his siblings are still alive; two sisters, Jessye Norman and Elaine V. Sturkey; one brother, James Howard Norman. An older brother, Romain and a younger brother George preceded him in death.

Silas lived a life dedicated to social justice. In addition to his obvious civil rights activities, he worked to include greater numbers of black people in the medical workforce and to ensure adequate and dignified medical treatment for inner city residents, prisoners, AIDs patients, the drug addicted, and the homeless. He loved his church and his college regularly supporting them with large quantities of his time and energy. He lived modestly avoiding a typical doctor’s life style and gave generously to the institutions and causes he believed in. He loved music, the arts and traveling; his deep bass voice will be greatly missed throughout the Detroit community.