Oct. 27, 2009
Contact:
Leah Seupersad, 404-413-1354
University Relations
ATLANTA - Robert Moses, a leading civil rights activist and founder of the math literacy program the Algebra Project, will speak at the College of Education's 21st annual Benjamin E. Mays lecture at 6 p.m. Nov. 3 in The Loudermilk Center, 40 Courtland St.
Moses, who will discuss public school education as a constitutional right, has been fighting to break down racial and economic barriers since he left New York to join the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. As field secretary for the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, Moses directed the Mississippi Project, organizing voter registration drives, sit-ins and freedom schools.
More than 50 years later, Moses continues his battle for equal opportunity in America through the Algebra Project, a nonprofit organization which prepares students for today's technological society, by teaching crucial mathematics skills to children in inner city schools. The program has developed curricular materials, trained teachers and provided ongoing professional development support and community involvement activities to schools seeking to achieve a systematic change in mathematics education.
"As a teacher educator in California back in the 1990s, I introduced my pre-service students to the Algebra Project to show them the power that we educators have to change the world," said Joyce E. King, Benjamin E. Mays Endowed Chair for Urban Teaching, Learning and Leadership at Georgia State. "Our Georgia State students and the Atlanta community will have a wonderful opportunity to learn about Bob Moses, his achievements as a living legend of the Civil Rights Movement and his tremendous commitment to high quality education for all."
Moses, who is currently serving as an Eminent Scholar at the Center for Urban Education & Innovation at Florida International University in Miami, was born and raised in Harlem, N.Y. He received his bachelor's degree from Hamilton College in 1956 and a master's degree in philosophy from Harvard University in 1957.
The annual Mays lecture series, sponsored by Georgia State's College of Education and the Alonzo A. Crim Center for Urban Educational Excellence began in 1989 to encourage the discussion of issues facing urban educational leaders. The event honors the memory of Benjamin E. Mays, an Atlanta educator, and promotes his philosophy of excellence in the education of those typically least served by society.
This event is free and open to the public. For additional information, call 404-413-8114 or e-mail aturk@gsu.edu.