Louisiana State Representative Barbara Norton is a lifelong resident of the Mooretown area, located in Shreveport, Louisiana, an area where she represented in the House of Representatives since her election in 2007. Upon her election, Representative Norton was the first African American woman to serve in District 3 in the  City of Shreveport.  As a state representative, she served on the following committees in the Legislature: Committee for Administration of Criminal Justice, Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs,   She was appointed to the National Criminal Justice Committee for the Conference of State Legislators in Los Angeles, California.
 

One of Representative Norton's proudest accomplishments has been organizing along with the late Claude Underwood, the 1st African American Parade Celebration founded in 1988, held in the City of Shreveport.  After over 30 years the parade has been named the largest African American celebrations throughout the country during the month of February.  Being the only parade that is covered live for 4 hours on the television network, KTBS -TV3/CW31 throughout the country during the month of February with over 300 entries and 150,000 in attendance.

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Each year the African American Parade Celebration sponsors a back-to-school giveaway for underprivileged children. As of today the organization and its many sponsors have given away over 22, 500 pairs of brand new shoes. During the covid pandemic, Norton sponsored a vaccination clinic to give access to individuals access to the vaccines. Vaccine shots were also made available during this year's parade.

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Norton is a leader in the Shreveport area. She founded the Mooretown Community Library in 1990. During the 2007-2008 school year, she honored over 1500 "A" and "B" students with certificates for their hard work. She was honored as  "Citizen of the Year" by the local Veterans Hospital for raising the most funds for homeless veterans.

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Norton hosts her own radio talk show on KOKA  980 AM, "Helping Others By Caring". Her show has been running for over 20 years.

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She has received numerous awards over the years for her generosity. 

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In her personal life, she is the proud mother of three, grandmother of eight, and great-grandmother to four.  Norton is a member of the Praise Temple Full Gospel Baptist Cathedral Church in Shreveport, Louisiana where Bishop Larry L. Brandon and Wanda Brandon as overseer and co-pastor.