[2] She is a civil rights activist who served as a member of both the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Nation of Islam (NOI).

She spent a night in jail and was again summoned by the dean of students, who put her on academic probation for violating Spelman's prohibitions on civil rights demonstrations.

In light of these punitive measures, friends and fellow demonstrators throughout the Atlanta University Center rallied to Simmons' support, organizing a march to President Manley's house.

[4][11] Simmons used her time on the Atlanta Project to evaluate civil rights movement tactics and develop preliminary theories of Black Power.

[6] Simmons harbored a number of frustrations with white SNCC organizers, whom she felt disrespected her authority and used up resources in being trained to work in black communities.

These stances, as expressed in the project's Black Power position paper, were controversial and not necessarily indicative of the views of SNCC leaders, including James Forman and head of research Jack Minnis.

[11] In the late 1960s, Simmons left Atlanta for Philadelphia, where she spent twenty years working for the American Friends Service Committee.

[3] While a member of the NOI, Simmons also served as Midwest region coordinator for the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) while living in Chicago.

As I was to learn later, my role as a woman in the NOI was to be a 'symbol of purity and chastity' and to be obedient and submissive to male authority, and the hallmark of my existence was that of mother of many children and a dutiful wife and helper to my husband, to whom I should defer in all matters of importance.

She refrained from wearing the Muslim Girls Training uniform and headscarf, choosing not to complicate her organizing efforts with religious expression.

Other criticisms Simmons expressed regarding the NOI concerned the emphasis on money that burdened poor members, the militaristic and gendered hierarchy, and the use of corporal punishments.

[3] Beginning in 1971, Simmons spent seventeen years as a disciple of Sufi Sheikh Muhammad Raheem Bawa Muhaiyaddeen, a renowned leader of Islamic mysticism.

[7] As part of her work in academia, Simmons researched the contemporary impact of Sharia law on Muslim women in various communities, traveling to Jordan, Egypt, Palestine, and Syria.

[17] Her teaching at the University of Florida centered on race, gender, and religion, particularly on African American religious traditions and women's relationship with Islam.

[16] She believes that Islamic feminism recalls the respect for women expressed in the Quran and the Prophet Muhammad's teachings that has been forgotten in more modern interpretations.

[19] Her writings address issues facing African Americans, such as teen pregnancy, as well as broader concerns related to Third World inequities.

[18] Robinson formed a romantic relationship with Michael Simmons, a fellow Atlanta Project organizer, after recruiting him in 1965 to work on Julian Bond's campaign for a Georgia state legislature seat.