Who is Bob Moses's wife Dr Janet Jemmott? Civil rights activist and Math pioneer dies at 86
Robert 'Bob' Moses, the prominent civil rights activist who helped change the face of American history, has died at the age of 86 years. The inspiring educator, who worked for voter education and registration during the Civil Rights Movement, left behind a legacy to be cherished by thousands. Moses, who held a Master's in Philosophy from Harvard University, was also a crusader for Math education — as he helped develop the nationwide Algebra Project. However, the McArthur Fellowship awardee was better recognized as the people's leader who led the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in the 1960s and later.
The revered activist breathed his last on Sunday, July 25, 2021, in Hollywood, Florida. The cause of his death is not known yet. Moses is survived by his wife Dr Janet Jemmott Moses, his children Maisha Moses, Omo Moses, Taba Moses, Malaika Moses and Saba Moses as well as his seven grandchildren. His wife Janet is also a recognized civil rights activist, who fought injustice together with her husband.
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We have lost one of the most courageous organizers of our time. As a Field organizer for SNCC, Bob Moses was the architect of the Mississippi Freedom Project, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the Algebra Project.
— zellie (@zellieimani) July 25, 2021
Rest in Power, Bob Moses pic.twitter.com/tnUQ1fKXLO
My dearest brother Bob Moses – spiritual genius, intellectual giant and moral titan – has left us! Words fall short! He was larger than life and one of the great exemplars of our humanity! Let us never forget him!
— Cornel West (@CornelWest) July 25, 2021
Who is Dr Janet Jemmott?
Like her husband, Janet also involved herself in the Civil Rights Movement at a young age. The New York native was only 22-year-old when she decided to join the front lines as an activist. In the mid-1960s, Janet was working as a social studies teacher at Wadleigh Junior High School in Harlem. When she joined the movement at that time, she thought, "..I would risk my life to stay alive, to walk in the sun without shame or guilt for not doing what in my heart I knew I should do."
Janet was brought up by her mother in South Bronx, New York after her mother relocated there from Greenville, South Carolina. As a child, Janet grew up listening to incidents of violence and racial atrocities against Black people. In the spring of 1966, she was escorting a group of people willing to register as voters, when a large mob of klansmen tried to interrupt the process. Being protected by allies, Janet carried on her work with immense resilience even in the face of danger.
She also participated in picketing and sit-in-movements in New York, before heading to the south to raise funds for the SNCC - the voter organization co-founded by Bob Moses. Eventually, the two fell in love and got married in 1968. The same year, the newlywed couple decided to leave the country in protest of the Vietnam war. They moved to rural Tanzania where Moses started teaching at a school. Among the four children of the couple, three were born in Tanzania. Meanwhile, Janet also taught English as a Second Language with the Ministry of Education.
The couple returned to the US in 1976, after which Janet went ahead to pursue a medical degree at the University of Boston. Eventually, she established herself as a successful pediatrician at M.I.T. While her husband was running the Algebra Project to impart basic Math lessons to minority students, Janet was an advisory board member to Cambridge Young People's Project (YPP).
Dr Janet Jemmott Moses confirmed the tragic death of her husband on the morning of July 25, 2021. His legacy continues to live on and will inspire generations to come.