Bob Moses: A Legacy of Advocacy and Change

Civil Rights leader and educator Bob Moses passed away on July 25 at his home in Hollywood, Florida. He was 86. Winsor families may remember him from our MLK Celebration in 2014. At the annual event, a group of eight Class III and Class IV students presented excerpts from the play McComb USA, 1964 written by high school students at a Mississippi Freedom School in the summer of 1964. 

In advance of the MLK Celebration, these Winsor student presenters and their classmates were invited to learn more about Freedom Schools and the context in which the play was written. Moses, a key figure in the work for civil rights in the early 1960s in Mississippi, offered to meet with the students and their parents as part of their preparation for the celebration.

 

Moses lived locally and came to campus for a “teach in” small group session and a light dinner. He addressed questions and provided context about what life was like for the young people who wrote the play McComb USA, 1964 and who lived in McComb, Mississippi in the early 1960s. 

As a young college graduate, Mr. Moses joined with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and spent four years in Mississippi working on African American voter registration. A Harvard-trained educator, he later founded the nationwide Algebra Project.

The Winsor community fondly remembers Moses' visit to campus, his generosity of time and spirit, and his tremendous work for equality and civil rights.