Bill Text: NY J01271 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Mourning the death of Robert Parris Moses, renowned civil rights activist, educator, distinguished citizen and devoted member of his community

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-07-30 - REFERRED TO FINANCE [J01271 Detail]

Download: New_York-2021-J01271-Introduced.html

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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.