MSRI mourns the passing of U.S. civil rights leader and math educator Robert "Bob" Parris Moses. MSRI Director David Eisenbud shares his reflections on the influence that Bob Moses had on our institute's work towards a more welcoming and inclusive mathematics community for all ages:
I am deeply sad to mark the passing of a great leader, Bob Moses. He was a hero of the civil rights movement in Mississippi and a tireless crusader to recognize the availability of good teaching in general, and good teaching of algebra in particular, as a civil right, of crucial importance in our day. I met Bob when he agreed to join MSRI's Educational Advisory Committee many years ago. He spoke often at our Critical Issues in Mathematics Education meetings, always with the voice of a prophet and deeply thought ideas. Bob's death leaves a void that can never be filled, but his influence will continue in many areas. May the seeds that Bob planted prosper through the years!
A number of tributes to Bob Moses' life and legacy in civil rights and mathematics education are linked below.
- The Algebra Project
- Associated Press: "1960s civil rights activist Robert Moses has died" (July 26, 2021)
- New York Times: "Bob Moses, Crusader for Civil Rights and Math Education, Dies at 86" (July 25, 2021)
- Washington Post: "Bob Moses, 1960s civil rights leader who saw math as road to equality, dies at 86" (July 25, 2021)
- National Public Radio (NPR): "Bob Moses, Civil Rights Leader And Longtime Educator, Dies At 86" (July 25, 2021)
For more information about his work:
- Radical Equations: Civil Rights from Mississippi to The Algebra Project, by Robert P. Moses and Charles E. Cobb (2002)
- NPR Code Switch: "To '60s Civil Rights Hero, Math Is Kids' Formula For Success" (August 1, 2013)
- PBS: American Experience, "Seeking Radical Change" (Video clip from Freedom Summer: Mississippi 1964, aired 2014)
Photo: Bob Moses at MSRI's Critical Issues in Mathematics Education (CIME) workshop on "The Mathematical Knowledge For Teaching (K-8): Why, What And How?", May 2005.