Martha Aenchbacher oral history interview, November 27, 2015

Martha Aenchbacher was born in Russell County, Kentucky. When she was a child, her family moved to south Georgia, where witnessing poverty and racial injustice inspired the development of her social conscience. Aenchbacher enrolled in Georgia Southwestern College at age 16. While in college, she met her husband, Louie, with whom she had seven children. Aenchbacher finished her college education in Savannah, Ga., where she majored in social work and became interested in feminism and the women's movement. She became active in a local chapter of the National Organization for Women. She and some of her social work colleagues worked to establish the first rape crisis center in Georgia in order to address the problem of inadequate care that was often provided to rape victims. She also worked with what would become the first hospice in Georgia. Aenchbacher later earned a master's degree in psychology and worked as a counselor.