[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 133 (Thursday, July 29, 2021)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E843]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               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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