Remembering Robert Moses
July 27, 2021
On July 25th, we sadly lost an extraordinary human being. Bob Parris Moses was a humble, soft-spoken activist who fought relentlessly for civil rights. He registered Black voters in Mississippi in the 1960s and founded the Algebra Project, teaching higher math to Black students as a means to equalize society. He always put his community’s interests above his own. The Puffin Foundation gives a yearly $100,000 award to a creative and courageous individual who works to make positive change in society. Our first ever Puffin Prize for Creative Citizenship (then called the Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship) was awarded to Bob Moses in 2001 for his years of combating systemic racism. He set the standard high and we were honored to make this award to him.
To learn more about the remarkable life and work of Bob Moses, please see this piece in the NY Times, and for a more personal reflection, read this tribute by Margaret Burnham, who began working with him in 1964, published in the Nation.
Photo via Bates.edu