Issued July 26, 2021
WASHINGTON, DC: Service Employees International Union (SEIU) International President Mary Kay Henry released the following statement on the death of educator and civil rights activist Bob Moses:
“Today, we celebrate the life and legacy of one of the greatest organizers, strategists and champions for human dignity this country has ever known, Bob Moses. Most known for his role as the architect of the voting rights campaigns that culminated in Freedom Summer 1964, he was a lifelong champion for multi-racial democracy, for education rights and for workers rights. Moses was a passionate defender of the idea that Black, brown, white and API working people could decide for themselves how to run their workplaces, their communities and the wider society in which they lived. While other civil rights campaigns centered on clergy and Black professionals, Moses’ organizing featured the courage of service workers such as domestics and tenant farmers. He never sought the limelight and saw organizing as primarily about creating spaces for leadership to emerge organically within and among the most vulnerable sectors of society.
“Sadly, the death of our friend Bob Moses coincides with the most sweeping assault on voting rights in decades happening in southern states across the country. That said, SEIU members, worker leaders in the Fight for $15 and and Union, and our allies are determined more than ever to make sure his legacy endures in our current fight for voting rights and for the dignity of all working people at this moment.
“Our condolences are with Bob Moses’ family, friends and the generations of organizers he touched. This is the time for every person who loves freedom and justice to honor his legacy by fearlessly and courageously facing the threats to multi-racial democracy and dignity in front of us.”
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