Senate Resolution No. 1271

BY: Senator PARKER

MOURNING the death of Robert Parris Moses,
renowned civil rights activist, educator,
distinguished citizen and devoted member of his
community

WHEREAS, This Legislative Body, representing the people of the State
of New York, is moved this day to pay tribute to an eminent man of
indomitable faith and dedication whose public service and countless
accomplishments will forever stand as a paradigm and inspiration for
others; and

WHEREAS, It is with profound sorrow and deep regret that this
Legislative Body records the passing of Robert P. Moses, noting the
significance of his purposeful life and accomplishments; and

WHEREAS, Robert P. Moses, known to many as Bob, died on Sunday, July
25, 2021, at the age of 86; and

WHEREAS, Born on January 23, 1935, to Louise (Parris) and Gregory H.
Moses in Harlem, New York, Robert P. Moses, earned his Bachelor of Arts
degree from Hamilton College and his Master of Arts degree in philosophy
from Harvard University; after his mother passed away and his father was
hospitalized, he returned to New York City where he taught at the Horace
Mann School in the Bronx; and

WHEREAS, During the height of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement,
Robert P. Moses moved to Mississippi where he became involved with the
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC); as director of the
committee's Mississippi Project in 1961, he calmly and peacefully led
Black voter registration drives in the South, enduring much harassment,
many assaults and jail time; and

WHEREAS, In 1964, Robert P. Moses founded the Mississippi Freedom
Summer Project in the hope of ending racial disfranchisement by
recruiting approximately 700 volunteers to the South to aid in voter
registration efforts; and

WHEREAS, Later, Robert P. Moses protested the Vietnam War and moved
to Canada and then to Tanzania where he and his family lived for many
years; upon his return to the United States, he completed his doctoral
work in philosophy at Harvard University, and after learning his
daughter's school did not teach algebra, he began teaching high school
math in Cambridge, Massachusetts; and

WHEREAS, After receiving a MacArthur Fellowship in 1982, Robert P.
Moses used the funds to create the Algebra Project, a program dedicated
to improving minority education in math, beginning in his daughter's
classroom; by the late 1990s, the program was being used in more than
200 schools across the country; and

WHEREAS, For his valuable work with the Algebra Project, Robert P.
Moses was selected as an Alphonse Fletcher Sr. Fellows by the Fletcher
Foundation and in 2006, the Project received an award from the National

Science Foundation to improve the development of materials for the
algebra curriculum, which promotes collaboration of teaching methods and
knowledge; and

WHEREAS, Robert P. Moses was named the 2006 Frank H. T. Rhodes Class
of '56 Professor at Cornell University and as a visiting scholar, helped
teach an African American Studies class at Princeton University; later,
he moved to Florida where he continued to teach math in Miami; and

WHEREAS, It is the sense of this Legislative Body that the common
and shared responsibility of governance demands an irrevocable
commitment to the preservation and enhancement of human dignity as
exemplified by Robert P. Moses; and

WHEREAS, This extraordinary man will be remembered as one of the
most significant and enduring civil rights leaders in the history of our
great Nation; his insight and strength will forever serve as a beacon of
strength, love and hope to the countless lives he touched; now,
therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That this Legislative Body pause in its deliberations to
mourn the death of Robert Parris Moses, renowned civil rights activist,
educator, distinguished citizen and devoted member of his community; and
be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution, suitably engrossed, be
transmitted to the family of Robert Parris Moses.