The Algebra Project, Inc., is a national education program headquartered inCambridge, Mass. The program, founded by Moses, teaches math literacy to innercity students. It has gained national recognition as educators have noted itspositive results in student math-proficiency.
Moses graduated from Hamilton in 1956. He then earned a masters degree fromHarvard and taught briefly at the prestigious Horace Mann School in Riverdale,N.Y. In the early 1960's, he went to Atlanta to work with the civil rightsmovement. He became a prominent leader as a field secretary for the StudentNonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and was co-director of MississippiFreedom Summer. He then moved to Tanzania and taught math there for eightyears. After returning to the U.S., Moses pursued doctoral studies at Harvard.He taught algebra as a McArthur Fellow which led to the development of theAlgebra Project.
Using the strategy of the civil-rights movement, Moses organized thenon-profit Algebra Project, Inc. in 1990. He set up local organizations ofparents and educators, and within three years over 100 schools wereparticipating in the program. He is now taking the program to schoolsnationwide, including 31 schools in the Mississippi Delta. "Our mission is togive young people the tool of mathematics and a chance at the good life," hesays. "That chance is not meant just for the few, but for everyone."
Moses' honors and awards include an honorary doctorate from Hamilton in1991.
