Noonan was born on February 25, 1945[1] in Providence, Rhode Island where she was raised as one of the only black students at the predominantly white institutions she attended.
[1] When she heard presentations by Curtis Hayes and Tom Hayden[3]: 45 she was "almost giddy with the idea that someone my age could take action that might change the overall racial situation in the United States”.
[2] From 1962 to 1963, Martha organized a Friends of SNCC group in Ann Arbor,[3]: 45 which was providing support for the student activists in the south.
[7] Noonan crossed paths with other civil rights activists including Prathia Hall[8] and Stokely Carmichael.
[4] In 2012, Noonan co-edited the book Hands on the Freedom Plow: Personal Accounts by Women in SNCC which was reviewed by The Women's Review of Books,[10] The Journal of African American History,[11] and the Journal of American Ethnic History.