Robert Moses, civil rights pioneer and founder of the Algebra Project, to speak at Vassar College, September 10

Robert Moses, a civil rights pioneer and founder of the Algebra Project, will give a talk titled "Radical Equations: Math Literacy and Civil Rights" at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, September 10, in the Villard Room, Vassar College, Main Building.

Moses's lecture, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Program in Africana Studies and cosponsored by the Office of the President, the Office of the Dean of the Faculty, the departments of education, math, sociology, and political science, and the Program in American Culture.

Moses was a pivotal organizer for the civil rights movement in the early 1960s as a field secretary for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and director of its Mississippi project. He also served as co-director of the Council of Federated Organizations, a group that incorporated all of the major civil rights organizations and agencies working in Mississippi. In that capacity, he became recognized as the driving force behind the Mississippi Summer Project of 1964 and the organizer of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which challenged the party leadership at the 1964 Democratic Party Convention. From 1969 to 1975, he worked for the Ministry of Education in Tanzania, where he was chairperson of the Math Department at the Same School.

In 1976, Moses returned to Harvard University to pursue doctoral studies in the philosophy department. A MacArthur Fellow from 1982 through 1987, he used his fellowship to work full-time teaching algebra to seventh and eighth graders as a school volunteer. During that period, Moses developed the concept for the Algebra Project and began to carry it out.

Moses is the author of "The Algebra Project Transition Curriculum–Book I" and one of the principal trainers for the project.

He has received several honorary doctoral degrees for his work in the civil rights movement and mathematics education reform. Currently, Moses commutes between Cambridge, Mass., and Jackson, Miss., where he teaches algebra and geometry to high school students while serving as president of the Algebra Project.

For additional information, call the Program in Africana Studies at (845) 437-7490. Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations should contact Cathy Jennings at (845) 437-5370, as far in advance as possible to request appropriate and reasonable accommodations.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.

Individuals with disabilities requiring accommodations or information on accessibility should contact Campus Activities Office at (845) 437-5370. Without sufficient notice, appropriate space and/or assistance may not be available.

Vassar College is a highly selective, coeducational, independent, residential liberal arts college founded in 1861.

This article was posted on Monday, September 10th, 2001.