Civil Rights Campaign Evolves Into Algebra Crusade

By David J. Hoff

Washington

When Robert P. Moses worked on civil rights voter-registration drives in the 1960s, the math was simple. The more black citizens who voted, the stronger the voice they had in political affairs.

Almost 40 years later, the mathematician has trained his civil rights mission into more complex math: the study of variables and linear equations.

After starting as a one-man tutoring operation in 1982, Mr. Moses' Algebra Project has grown to reach 100 schools sprinkled in urban centers and in rural areas in the South. The goal is to help minority children, mostly African-Americans, learn algebra so they can be prepared for the higher-level mathematics they need to succeed in some of the most high-demand...