Alona Norwood, age 21, was born in Elizabethton, Tennessee. Alona currently resides in Johnson City, Tennessee where she is active in community protests and continues her work with several grassroots organizations as a member of The New Generation Freedom Fighters. Alona grew up as the epitome of blackness, often as the only black student in classes or as a member of sports teams. She used her many hours of free time reading fiction to escape her feelings of isolation in the mountains. Upon attending Berea College, the first integrated, co-educational college in the South, Alona found her identity as an Afrolachian woman. Her classes challenged her and allowed her to break free of preconceived mental chains.
Graduating from Berea College with her undergraduate degree in Peace and Social Justice, Alona’s work as a community activist seeks racial and economic justice which require police and community reforms in the Tennessee Tri-Cities area. New Generation Freedom Fighters work directly with local leaders, which include Johnson City Mayor Jenny Brock and Johnson City Chief of Police Karl Turner, to make communities in the Tennessee Tri-City region safer and more inclusive for all Tennessee residents.
