In 1951, Harry and Harriette Moore were killed in their home when a bomb detonated directly under their bedroom.
Their deaths caused an uproar in the Black community and beyond and set the path for subsequent civil rights activism known to history.
Born in 1905 Florida, Harry’s mom sent him to live with his three aunts in Jacksonville who were all teachers.
He attended high school and after graduation, taught fourth grade. At the university, he met Harriett Moore who sold insurance. They married within a year of meeting and both returned to teaching. He was later promoted to principal although the school was closed in his first six months of being in the position, due to systematic racial discrimination against blacks, made by the School Board.
In 1934, he and his wife founded the Brevard County chapter of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Through their registration activities, they greatly increased the number of members.
As time passed, he established more than 50 branches across Florida. His primary objective was to seek equal pay for African Americans in comparison to their white counterparts. He also investigated lynchings, filed lawsuits against voter registration barriers.
In 1937, Harry filed the first lawsuit for equal pay, backed by NAACP attorney Thurgood Marshal which eventually led to equal pay.
He and his wife also encouraged the black community to vote, registering more than 100,000 black voters.
Harry and Harriet were making significant waves in their activism which upset so many people. Some thought they were stirring a smoke and preferred to stay out of the spotlight. As their efforts created more tension, they were both fired from their teaching positions.
Harry continued his activism with the NAACP full-time and was being paid while Harriette found work in another district.
Harry and Harriet moved to a very dangerous neighborhood known for lynching black people in 1941. Undeterred, he began investigating every single lynching that occurred.
What led to his eventual death was when he became deeply involved in a case where a group of four African-American boys were accused of raping a white girl. One of the boys was lynched, leaving three. The three were sentenced to death by the Supreme Court after a massive campaign organized by Harry, the decision was overturned, and a new trial was ordered.
While driving two of the defendants to a pre-trial hearing, Sheriff McCall shot and killed one, and critically injured the other. He claimed that the two handcuffed defendants attacked him in an escape attempt. However, the surviving defendant alleged that Sheriff McCall shot them in cold blood.
Harry sought the indictment of Sheriff McCall, which led to the bombing of his house on Christmas Day by those opposed to his activism.
On the night of December 25, 1951, Harry and Harriette finished celebrating Christmas and their 25th wedding anniversary and retired to their bedroom when a bomb planted directly under their bedroom exploded, immediately killing Harry. Harriet died 9 days later as a result of the injuries sustained during the bombing.
This was likely a plan to silence the Black community, but it sparked national outrage instead. News of the bombing made headlines across the country, bringing more attention to racial violence, and even the FBI got involved in investigating it.
The bombing is widely believed to have been perpetrated by members of the Ku Klux Klan. Although there have been breaks in the case over the years regarding the real murderers, there haven’t been any conclusive results and thus no convictions for the murder. In 2005, the case was re-opened by the Florida Attorney General’s office and four Ku Klux Klan members were identified as primary suspects. The case was officially closed in the year 2011 as it had gone beyond the time limit required for a murder case and also, the suspects were already long dead.
Harry and Harriette devoted their whole lives to fighting injustice in the black community, and their names are forever etched in history as the pioneers of activism and freedom fighting in the United States of America. A memorial was dedicated to honor them in the previous site of their former home which is known today as Harry T. & Harriette V. Moore Memorial Park and Cultural Center located in Mims, Florida, and established in 1999.
