| Murders of Harry and Harriette Moore | |
|---|---|
| Part of theCivil Rights Movement andracism 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 bybombing |
| Weapons | Dynamite |
| Victims |
|
| Assailants |
|
| Motive | Retribution against Harry Moore for his civil rights activities |
| Charges | None |
| Convictions | None |
| Litigation | 5 investigations |
Harry T. Moore and his wife,Harriette V. S. Moore, were pioneer activists and leaders of theearly Civil Rights Movement in theUnited States and became the firstmartyrs of the movement. On the night ofChristmas, December 25, 1951, a bomb that had been planted under the bedroom floor of the Moores' home inMims, Florida, exploded.[1] They had celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary earlier that day.[2] Harry died in the ambulance in transit from the attack, and Harriette died from her injuries nine days later, on January 3, 1952.[1] 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.[3][4]
Harry Moore and Harriette Simms married on December 25, 1926, and moved into the Simms' family home the following fall.[5] Harry was an educator, and Harriette was a former teacher turnedinsurance broker.[3] In 1927, Harry was promoted to the position ofprincipal at the local Titusville Colored School.[5] The city's school system wasracially segregated, like many othersin the country at the time.[5][1] Harry taught the school'sninth grade (the school taught grades one to nine), and he also supervised the team of teachers at the school.[5] The school was closed early his first year by the localschool board just six months into the year, as part of the local school system's systemicdiscrimination against black children.[5][1][3] 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.[5][6] They gave birth to their second daughter in 1930.[3][6] Harriette returned to her career in education the following year and later began working as a teacher for the same school as Harry.[6]
In 1934, Harry founded theBrevard County, Florida,National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) chapter.[7][3][8] He later served as the NAACP's firstExecutive Secretary in the state ofFlorida.[8] The NAACP chapter worked towards achievingequal pay for equal work for teachers of any race, fought to getlynchings prosecuted, and attempted toregister black voters in the region.[8][1]
Moore's activism was highly controversial in the localwhite-dominated county.[8] In 1946, it resulted in the firings of Harry and Harriette from their teaching jobs by state authorities.[8][3] Harry then became a full-time employee of the NAACP.[8]
On the night of December 25, 1951, the Moores finished celebrating Christmas and their 25th wedding anniversary.[9] 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.[10] Theimprovised explosive device, which was made fromdynamite, had been placed directly under the Moores'bedroom floor.[3] The Moores were rushed to the nearest hospital that would treatAfrican-Americans inSanford, Florida, a 29.8 miles (48.0 km) drive by car.[9] Harry died while being transported; his wife, Harriette, lived to see her husband buried before she died nine days later from her injuries.[9]
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, 35thAttorney General of the State of Florida[1]
Since the night of the explosion in 1951, five separate criminal investigations have been initiated and completed.[10] The first investigation was headed by theFBI, began on the night of the explosion, and concluded in 1955.[10] The second investigation was a joint investigation by theBrevard County Sheriff's Office and Brevard CountyState Attorney's Office in 1978.[10] The third investigation took place in 1991 by theFlorida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE). In 2004, a fourth investigation was commenced by the Florida Attorney General's Office of Civil Rights.[10] In 2008, the FBI again investigated the Moore homicides as part of theDepartment of Justice's "Cold Case Initiative".[10]
In total, the five criminal investigations revealed evidence implicating four subjects in the bombing.[10] The four subjects were known to be high-ranking members within theKu Klux Klan in the central region of Florida.[10] 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 aKlavern of the Ku Klux Klan inGeorgia for engaging in unsanctioned acts of violence.[10] Brooklyn reportedly was in possession of floor plans of the Moore home and was said to be recruiting volunteers to assist in the bombing.[10] The second subject, Tillman H. "Curley" Belvin, was also reported to be a violent member of the Klan and a close friend of Brooklyn.[10] Joseph N. Cox, another Klansman, was implicated in the bombing by a fourth co-conspirator, Edward L. Spivey.[10]
Spivey implicated Cox in adeathbed confession while he suffered in the late stages of cancer in 1978.[10] Cox committed suicide on March 30, 1952, one day after he was confronted by the FBI. Both Brooklyn and Belvin died during the FBI's initial investigation—Belvin of natural causes in August 1952, and Brooklyn of natural causes on Christmas Day 1952, one year to the day after the bombing.[10] No arrests were ever made in the case.[10]
The investigation revealed that Harry's civil rights advocacy made him a known target of the Klan.[10] The Department of JusticeCivil Rights Division closed the file on the federal investigation in 2011.[10]
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.[11] In the following hours men and women from Brevard County, still in their nightclothes, walked and rode towards Mims to protest in the streets.[11] Most of the people knew Moore personally, some via his job in education, others via the NAACP, and still others through his registration drives.[11]
The assassination triggered nationwide protests, with rallies, memorials, and other events held following the news of the bombing.[11][12] PresidentHarry S Truman and GovernorFuller Warren both received a high volume of telegrams and letters in protest of the murder of the civil rights activists in Mims, Florida. InNew York City, a few weeks later on January 5, 1952,Jackie Robinson held a memorial service drawing approximately 3,000 mourners.[13] The NAACP held a memorial service, in March 1952 in theMadison Square Garden that was attended by 15,000 people, and speakers likeLangston Hughes had come to give their respects.[13]
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)[13]
In 1952, the year following the Moore's deaths, Harry was posthumously awarded the NAACP'sSpingarn Medal.[14] 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.[12] Five years later, Brevard County's local government christened the "Harry T. and Harriette Moore Memorial Park and Interpretive Center."[12]
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain:Department of Justice (July 13, 2011)."Harry T. Moore, Harriette V. Moore – Notice to Close File;".www.justice.gov. RetrievedMarch 1, 2018.
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