Murders of Harry and Harriette Moore

1951 assassination of 2 civil rights activists in Mims, Florida

Murders of Harry and Harriette Moore
Part of the Civil Rights Movement and racism against African Americans
The home of the Moores after the Christmas Day bombing
Location	Mims, Florida
Date	December 25, 1951 (1951-12-25) Evening hours (EST)
Target	Harry and Harriette Moore
Attack type	Double-murder by bombing
Weapons	Dynamite
Victims	Harry T. Moore (died on the day of the bombing) Harriette V. Moore (died on January 3, 1952)
Assailants	Unknown
Motive	Retribution against Harry Moore for his civil rights activities
Convictions	None
Charges	None
Litigation	5 investigations

v t e Civil rights movement in Florida
Daytona Florida ex Rel. Hawkins v. Board of Control 1956 Daytona Beach sit-ins 1960 Jacksonville Jacksonville sit-ins 1960 Ax Handle Saturday 1960 Jacksonville riot 1964 Murder of Johnnie Mae Chappell 1964 Miami Miami sit-ins 1956 Miami sit-ins 1960 Gibson v. Florida Legislative Investigation Committee 1963 Robinson v. Florida 1964 Miami riot 1968 St. Augustine St. Augustine sit-ins 1960 St. Augustine movement 1963 Monson Motor Lodge protests 1964 St. Petersburg, Fl St. Petersburg sit-ins 1960 St. Petersburg sanitation strike 1968 Tallahassee Tallahassee bus boycott 1956 Tallahassee sit-ins 1960 Interfaith Freedom Ride 1961 Adderley v. Florida 1966 Other localities Murders of Harry and Harriette Moore 1951 Murder trial of Ruby McCollum 1952 Lido Beach wade-ins 1955 Tampa sit-ins 1960 Organized Labor–Professional Freedom Ride 1961 McLaughlin v. Florida 1964

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Florida ex Rel. Hawkins v. Board of Control 1956
Daytona Beach sit-ins 1960

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Miami sit-ins 1960
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Murders of Harry and Harriette Moore 1951
Murder trial of Ruby McCollum 1952
Lido Beach wade-ins 1955
Tampa sit-ins 1960
Organized Labor–Professional Freedom Ride 1961
McLaughlin v. Florida 1964

Harry T. Moore and his wife, Harriette V. S. Moore, were pioneer activists and leaders of the early Civil Rights Movement in the United States and became the first martyrs of the movement. On the night of Christmas, December 25, 1951, a bomb that had been planted under the bedroom floor of the Moores' home in Mims, Florida, exploded. They had celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary earlier that day. Harry died in the ambulance in transit from the attack, and Harriette died from her injuries nine days later, on January 3, 1952. Their deaths were the first assassination of any activist to occur during the Civil Rights Movement and the only time that a husband and wife were killed during the history of the movement.

Background

See also: NAACP, White supremacy, and Jim Crow era

Harry Moore and Harriette Simms married on December 25, 1926, and moved into the Simms' family home the following fall. Harry was an educator, and Harriette was a former teacher turned insurance broker. In 1927, Harry was promoted to the position of principal at the local Titusville Colored School. The city's school system was racially segregated, like many others in the country at the time. Harry taught the school's ninth grade (the school taught grades one to nine), and he also supervised the team of teachers at the school. The school was closed early his first year by the local school board just six months into the year, as part of the local school system's systemic discrimination against black children. The Moores had their first daughter in 1928 and moved into their own home with an acre of land given to them by Harriette's parents. They gave birth to their second daughter in 1930. Harriette returned to her career in education the following year and later began working as a teacher for the same school as Harry.

In 1934, Harry founded the Brevard County, Florida, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) chapter. He later served as the NAACP's first Executive Secretary in the state of Florida. The NAACP chapter worked towards achieving equal pay for equal work for teachers of any race, fought to get lynchings prosecuted, and attempted to register black voters in the region.

Moore's activism was highly controversial in the local white-dominated county. In 1946, it resulted in the firings of Harry and Harriette from their teaching jobs by state authorities. Harry then became a full-time employee of the NAACP.

Murder

On the night of December 25, 1951, the Moores finished celebrating Christmas and their 25th wedding anniversary. When they later retired to their bedroom for the evening, a bomb exploded, injuring Harry and Harriette but leaving their daughter (who was at home at the time, the other being in a different location) unharmed. The improvised explosive device, which was made from dynamite, had been placed directly under the Moores' bedroom floor. The Moores were rushed to the nearest hospital that would treat African-Americans in Sanford, Florida, a 29.8 miles (48.0 km) drive by car. Harry died while being transported; his wife, Harriette, lived to see her husband buried before she died nine days later from her injuries.

Investigations and motive

Over the years, a number of motives have been suggested for the Moores' deaths. All of them share a common theme — retribution against Harry Moore for his civil rights activities. — Charlie Crist, 35th Attorney General of the State of Florida

Since the night of the explosion in 1951, five separate criminal investigations have been initiated and completed. The first investigation was headed by the FBI, began on the night of the explosion, and concluded in 1955. The second investigation was a joint investigation by the Brevard County Sheriff's Office and Brevard County State Attorney's Office in 1978. The third investigation took place in 1991 by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). In 2004, a fourth investigation was commenced by the Florida Attorney General's Office of Civil Rights. In 2008, the FBI again investigated the Moore homicides as part of the Department of Justice's "Cold Case Initiative".

In total, the five criminal investigations revealed evidence implicating four subjects in the bombing. The four subjects were known to be high-ranking members within the Ku Klux Klan in the central region of Florida. The first of the four, Earl J. Brooklyn, was a Klansman with a reputation for being exceedingly violent and described as "a renegade" after being expelled from a Klavern of the Ku Klux Klan in Georgia for engaging in unsanctioned acts of violence. Brooklyn reportedly was in possession of floor plans of the Moore home and was said to be recruiting volunteers to assist in the bombing. The second subject, Tillman H. "Curley" Belvin, was also reported to be a violent member of the Klan and a close friend of Brooklyn. Joseph Cox, another Klansman, was implicated in the bombing by a fellow Klansman, Edward L. Spivey. Spivey implicated Cox in a deathbed confession while he suffered in the late stages of cancer in 1978. Cox committed suicide on March 30, 1952, one day after he was confronted by the FBI. Both Brooklyn and Belvin died while the FBI's initial investigation was being conducted. Belvin died of natural causes in August 1952. Brooklyn died of natural causes on Christmas Day 1952, one year to the day after the bombing.

The investigation revealed that Harry's civil rights advocacy made him a known target of the Klan. No arrests were ever made in the case. All four of the subjects are now deceased. The Department of Justice Civil Rights Division closed the file on the federal investigation in 2011.

Public reaction

During the early morning hours of the following day, December 26, 1951, angry men in Titusville's black neighborhoods were in the streets spreading word of the bombing. In the following hours men and women from Brevard County, still in their nightclothes, walked and rode towards Mims to protest in the streets. Most of the people knew Moore personally, some via his job in education, others via the NAACP, and still others through his registration drives.

The assassination triggered nationwide protests, with rallies, memorials, and other events held following the news of the bombing. President Harry S Truman and Governor Fuller Warren both received a high volume of telegrams and letters in protest of the murder of the civil rights activists in Mims, Florida. In New York City, a few weeks later on January 5, 1952, Jackie Robinson held a memorial service drawing approximately 3,000 mourners. The NAACP held a memorial service, in March 1952 in the Madison Square Garden that was attended by 15,000 people, and speakers like Langston Hughes had come to give their respects.

And this he says, our Harry Moore
As from the grave he cries
No bomb can kill the dreams I hold
For freedom never dies!"

— Langston Hughes, (1951)

Awards and tributes

In 1952, the year following the Moore's deaths, Harry was posthumously awarded the NAACP's Spingarn Medal. In 1999, the site of the Moore's home in Mims, Florida, where the bombing occurred became an Historical Heritage Landmark of the State of Florida. Five years later, Brevard County's local government christened the "Harry T. and Harriette Moore Memorial Park and Interpretive Center."

References

^ Crist, Charlie; Attorney General (August 16, 2006). "The Christmas 1951 Murders of Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore; Results of the Attorney General's Investigation: Executive Summary" (PDF). Retrieved February 27, 2018.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
"Christmas 1951: Murder of a civil rights pioneer". Daily Kos. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
^ "PBS – Freedom Never Dies: The Story of Harry T. Moore". www.pbs.org. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
Schudel, Matt (October 28, 2015). "Evangeline Moore, daughter of slain civil rights workers, dies at 85". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
^ Green 1999, p. 27.
^ Green 1999, p. 28.
Green 1999, p. 45.
^ Newton 2014, p. 335.
^ "Florida Frontiers: Remembering Harry T. Moore". Florida Today. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
^ Department of Justice (July 13, 2011). "Harry T. Moore, Harriette V. Moore – Notice to Close File;". www.justice.gov. Retrieved March 1, 2018.
^ Green, Ben. "Before His Time". New York Times. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
^ "Black History Fact A Day Series". Orange County Democratic Black Caucus. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
^ "Moore, Harry T. 1905–1951 – Dictionary definition of Moore, Harry T. 1905–1951". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
"NAACP | Spingarn Medal Winners: 1915 to Today". NAACP. Archived from the original on October 1, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2018.

Sources

Green, Ben (1999). Before His Time: The Untold Story of Harry T. Moore, America's First Civil Rights Martyr. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780684854533.
Newton, Michael (2014). Famous Assassinations in World History: An Encyclopedia [2 volumes]. ABC-CLIO. ISBN 9781610692861.

This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain: Department of Justice (July 13, 2011). "Harry T. Moore, Harriette V. Moore – Notice to Close File;". www.justice.gov. Retrieved March 1, 2018.

Civil rights movement (1954–1968)

Events
(timeline)

Prior to 1954	Journey of Reconciliation Executive Order 9981 Murders of Harry and Harriette Moore Sweatt v. Painter (1950) McLaurin v. Oklahoma State Regents (1950) Baton Rouge bus boycott
1954–1959	Brown v. Board of Education Bolling v. Sharpe Briggs v. Elliott Davis v. Prince Edward County Gebhart v. Belton Sarah Keys v. Carolina Coach Company Emmett Till Montgomery bus boycott Browder v. Gayle Tallahassee bus boycott Mansfield school desegregation 1957 Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom "Give Us the Ballot" Royal Ice Cream sit-in Little Rock Nine Cooper v. Aaron Civil Rights Act of 1957 Ministers' Manifesto Katz Drug Store sit-in Kissing Case Biloxi wade-ins
1960–1963	New Year's Day March Sit-in movement Greensboro sit-ins Nashville sit-ins Sibley Commission Atlanta sit-ins Savannah Protest Movement Greenville Eight Civil Rights Act of 1960 Ax Handle Saturday Gomillion v. Lightfoot Boynton v. Virginia University of Georgia desegregation riot Rock Hill sit-ins Robert F. Kennedy's Law Day Address Freedom Rides Anniston bombing Birmingham attack Garner v. Louisiana Albany Movement Cambridge movement University of Chicago sit-ins "Second Emancipation Proclamation" Meredith enrollment, Ole Miss riot Atlanta's Berlin Wall "Segregation now, segregation forever" Stand in the Schoolhouse Door 1963 Birmingham campaign Letter from Birmingham Jail Children's Crusade Birmingham riot 16th Street Baptist Church bombing John F. Kennedy's speech to the nation on Civil Rights Detroit Walk to Freedom March on Washington "I Have a Dream" Big Six St. Augustine movement
1964–1968	Twenty-fourth Amendment Chester school protests Bloody Tuesday 1964 Monson Motor Lodge protests Freedom Summer workers' murders Civil Rights Act of 1964 Heart of Atlanta Motel, Inc. v. United States Katzenbach v. McClung 1964–1965 Scripto strike 1965 Selma to Montgomery marches "How Long, Not Long" Voting Rights Act of 1965 Harper v. Virginia Board of Elections March Against Fear White House Conference on Civil Rights Chicago Freedom Movement/Chicago open housing movement Loving v. Virginia Memphis sanitation strike King assassination funeral riots Civil Rights Act of 1968 Poor People's Campaign Green v. County School Board of New Kent County Jones v. Alfred H. Mayer Co. 1968 Olympics Black Power salute

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