EJI celebrates the life and work of Dr. Derryn Moten, a brilliant scholar, historian, and Alabama State University professor who passed away last week. Dr. Moten was an early ally and supporter of EJI’s public history work. With his vast knowledge and understanding of America’s history of racial injustice, he contributed enormously to our projects and the development of our Legacy Sites. He taught for nearly 30 years and was the chair of the Department of History and Political Science at Alabama State University until 2024.
Derryn Moten was a Howard University graduate who went on to earn multiple graduate degrees and a PhD in American Studies from the University of Iowa. He began teaching at Alabama State University in Montgomery in 1996 and played a crucial role in elevating the history of Black activism in this region.
Dr. Moten revived the first biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “Crusader Without Violence,” after it had fallen out of print. He was critical to the effort to expunge the records of nine ASU students who were expelled in 1960 for participating in sit-in demonstrations against racial segregation. Dr. Moten did extensive work detailing the extraordinary career and work of the legendary attorney Fred Gray and wrote extensively about the legacy of racial injustice in America.
A frequent consultant and collaborator with EJI, he was instrumental in our efforts to change Montgomery’s landscape by erecting markers that addressed the city’s prominence in the trade of enslaved people in the 19th century. Dr. Moten also played a leadership role in community reckoning with lynching violence and is featured in one of our films that plays at the Legacy Museum.
Dr. Moten was a true crusader for justice, an intellectual who made vital contributions to the study and understanding of race in America and Black life. He will be dearly missed.