Chess set made by Ruth Moskowitz
Gift of Ann Moskowitz Lyons and the Gershon family
Id no. 2009.A.9.1-36, Toy/game
Ruth Moskowitz made this chess set out of water and bread at the Parchman State Penitentiary in Mississippi. A Freedom Rider and at age 25, Moskowitz was removed from a Greyhound bus and arrested for ?breach of the peace? on July 21, 1961. She was headed from Nashville, Tennessee, to Jackson, Mississippi. Moskowitz and other Freedom Riders went to bus stations and integrated public spaces that were otherwise segregated, such as restrooms, and restaurants.
Moskowitz was born in Brooklyn, attended Brooklyn College, and received a master?s degree from the University of Connecticut. She then joined the civil rights movement in 1961, the year she was arrested. While in solitary confinement in the Mississippi prison, Moskowitz decided to go into the field of law, eventually earning her degree from Brooklyn Law School in 1964. She later worked for the Legal Aid Society.
Moskowitz had her own practice. In 1982, she was elected to the State Supreme Court and then re-elected for a second 14-year term. She passed away in 1996.
Moskowitz was born in Brooklyn, attended Brooklyn College, and received a master?s degree from the University of Connecticut. She then joined the civil rights movement in 1961, the year she was arrested. While in solitary confinement in the Mississippi prison, Moskowitz decided to go into the field of law, eventually earning her degree from Brooklyn Law School in 1964. She later worked for the Legal Aid Society.
Moskowitz had her own practice. In 1982, she was elected to the State Supreme Court and then re-elected for a second 14-year term. She passed away in 1996.
