One of the most influential leaders in the civil rights movement, Robert Parris Moses was essential in making Mississippi a central battleground state in the fight for voting rights. As a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Moses presented himself as a mere facilitator of grassroots activism rather than a charismatic figure like Martin Luther King Jr. His self-effacing demeanor and his success, especially in steering the events that led to the volatile 1964 Freedom Summer and the formation of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, paradoxically gave him a reputat ... More

One of the most influential leaders in the civil rights movement, Robert Parris Moses was essential in making Mississippi a central battleground state in the fight for voting rights. As a leader of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Moses presented himself as a mere facilitator of grassroots activism rather than a charismatic figure like Martin Luther King Jr. His self-effacing demeanor and his success, especially in steering the events that led to the volatile 1964 Freedom Summer and the formation of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, paradoxically gave him a reputation of nearly heroic proportions. Examining the dilemmas of a leader who worked to cultivate local leadership, the book exploresthe intellectual underpinnings of Moses's strategy, its achievements, and its struggles from his youth in Depression era Harlem to his post-Mississippi career in math literacy as Director of the Algebra Project. This new biography recasts Moses as an effective, hands-on organizer, safeguarding his ideals while leading from behind the scenes. Using new primary sources and oral history, fresh light is shed on Moses’s elusive persona, place in movement historiography, and role in SNCC’s floater-hardliner debate. Through his alignment with activists like Ella Baker, Amzie Moore, and Martin Luther King, questions about movement (dis)continuities and the relationship between organizational structures and individuals’ ability to thrive are investigated.By returning Moses to his rightful place among the foremost leadersof the movement, it testifies to Moses's revolutionary approach to grassroots leadership and the power of the individual in generating social change.