Harry Moore (1905 - 1951)

Sat Nov 18, 1905

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Harry Tyson Moore, born on this day in 1905, was a civil rights activist and NAACP Florida state president who, alongside his wife Harriette, was among the first people assassinated in the civil rights movement in 1951. Harriette Moore was also a civil rights activist as well as an elementary school teacher.

Through his registration activities with the NAACP, he greatly increased its number of members. Harry Moore also advocated for better housing and education, as well as investigating lynchings, filing lawsuits against voter registration barriers, and fighting for equal pay for black teachers in public schools. In 1946, Harriette Moore and her husband were both fired by the Brevard County public school system and blacklisted due to their political activities.

On their 25th wedding anniversary (December 25th, 1951), their home in Mims, Florida was bombed. The local hospital would not treat black people, and Harry died on the way to the nearest one that would, 30 miles away in Sanford, Florida. Harriette died from her wounds nine days later, on January 3rd, 1952, at the same hospital. Their deaths were two of the earliest assassinations in the civil rights movement.

Although the Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated their murders, no one was ever prosecuted. A state investigation and forensic work in 2005 identified four Ku Klux Klan members who likely committed the bombing, however they had all been dead for many years.