Dignity: Bob Moses and the Civil Rights Movement

Soft-spoken yet magnetic, Bob Moses became revered within the civil rights movement for his humility, courage, and unparalleled organizing talents. Moses’s organizing skills produced results that retained the commitment of embattled local people and sustained Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee staff morale. But this came at the expense of developing local leadership.

Challenging entrenched accounts, Alan Draper reveals that Moses could pursue either “Freedom Now” or develop local leaders, but not both. Rich with new details, Dignity follows Bob Moses from his early years through his death in 2021, presenting a clear-eyed view of his personality and achievements. Draper describes how Moses pursued Black voter registration in Mississippi and then in a second career devoted himself to math education. Just as dignity for Blacks in the twentieth century required voting rights, so did Moses believe that dignity for Blacks in the next century required math skills.