The publication is reproduced in full below:
HONORING THE LIFE OF ROBERT ``BOB'' MOSES
______
HON. BENNIE G. THOMPSON
of mississippi
in the house of representatives
Thursday, July 29, 2021
Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor a remarkable public servant, Mr. Robert Parris Moses.
Robert ``Bob'' Parris Moses was a civil rights leader, educational advocate, and pioneer in grassroots community organizing whose efforts played a key role in helping Mississippians gain basic rights.
Moses, a New York native, was a field secretary for SNCC in Mississippi during the 1960s. He also served as co-director of the Council of Federated Organizations, which used community organizing as a tool to launch voter registration projects across the state. COFO served as an umbrella for an alliance between the SNC, the Congress of Racial Equality and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and helped focus civil rights efforts in the state. COFO was known for its young organizers' door-to-door canvassing, voter registration preparation and workshops, and actual registration attempts in Mississippi.
In response to the state Democratic Party denying access to Black Mississippians, Moses, along with Fannie Lou Hamer, Ella Baker and others created the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. The effort created national attention at the 1964 National Democratic Convention as conflict developed over whether to recognize the integrated party or the traditional party. New party members ultimately failed at being seated as voting members of the 1964 convention, but their efforts brought new attention to the plight of African Americans in Mississippi and other Southern states and ultimately led to a revolution in the national Democratic Party on racial issues.
In 2000, Moses was honored by both the Mississippi House and Senate, whose members in past years had passed laws that he fought to overturn denying voting rights and other basic rights to African Americans. On July 25, 2021, Moses died at the tender age of 86. Bob Moses was quiet, meticulous, effective visionary, and leader. His contributions to the State of Mississippi should not be forgotten.
Madam Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in recognizing Mr. Robert Moses for his dedication to serving his community.
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SOURCE: Congressional Record Vol. 167, No. 133
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