Monday, May 19, 2025

Author Talk with Omo Moses


The State Library of Massachusetts Author Talks Series presents Omo Moses as our June speaker. Omo will be joined by his mother Dr. Janet Moses!

Omo Moses, photo by Early Futures and Dr. Janet Moses, photo by Kristen Joy Emack


Please join us at noon in our historic reading room or tune in virtually; the event will be livestreamed on our YouTube channel courtesy of the Massachusetts House of Representatives Broadcast Services.

Be sure to sign up for our Author Talks newsletter and follow our social media channels (Instagram, Facebook, and X) for the latest information on our visiting authors. If you are unable to attend, the recording will be posted to our YouTube channel to watch anytime - view all past recordings here!

About the book: The White Peril is the story of author Omo Moses. Moses grew up in Cambridge, MA in the 1980s after his family moved back to the U.S. from Tanzania. For Moses, being back in the states would be the first time he encountered racial injustice. The White Peril is much more than a coming-of-age story, it is the story of the black experience. Moses not only recounts his personal journey but includes the perspectives from his great-grandfather’s sermons and the writings from his father, noted Civil Rights activist Bob Moses.

For this event, Omo will be joined by his mother, Dr. Janet Moses, who will provide her own perspective on their family history. Read Dr. Moses’ bio below:

Born in 1942, Bronx native Janet Jemmott completed the 1963-1964 year teaching social studies in one of Harlem's middle schools and in the summer of 1964 joined the ranks of The Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in Mississippi and later in Alabama to register African Americans to vote. Several years later, she and Civil Rights leader Bob Moses moved to rural Tanzania where Janet taught English and Bob taught math. In 1976 the Moses family returned to the United States and Janet entered the University of Boston Medical School. She worked as a pediatrician at M.I.T until retiring in 2004.

In 1996 she was awarded the President's Award at MIT for her service in support of the work of The Algebra Project in Cambridge. In 2021 she was one of the founding organizers of the Bob Moses Legacy Conference Series. The conference aims to continue Bob's legacy by heightening national awareness of mass incarceration and the crisis in education - particularly as it affects Black and Latino communities. Dr. Moses is a very proud mother of four, and a doting grandmother of seven. Janet continues to act in an advisory role to The Young People's Project, a peer-to-peer math literacy offshoot of The Algebra Project.

About the author: Omo Moses is an author, activist, entrepreneur, and educator. He is the Founder and CEO of MathTalk; an education technology company focused on making math accessible and enjoyable for all. Omo grew up in Cambridge, MA with his four siblings. He attended University of Pittsburgh and George Washington University on basketball scholarships where he majored in mathematics and minored in creative writing. He is the former Executive Director and a founding member of the Young People’s Project; producer of the award-winning documentary, Finding Our Folk, which features the Grammy-nominated Hot 8 Brass Band; and author of two books, Sometimes We Do (2019) and The White Peril (2025). He is the father of Johari and Kamara Moses.

As always, this author talk is free and open to all. Assisted listening devices will be made available upon request. If you are able to join us in person for this talk, attendees will be able to participate in a question-and-answer session with the author. Books will be available for purchase; $27.95 - cash, card, and Venmo/CashApp/Zelle accepted.

Any questions or concerns, please email us at AuthorTalks.StateLibrary@mass.gov.

For more information on the State Library Author talks series, please visit our site.


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