Harry T. Moore

Harry is born

Nov 18, 1905

Harry is born in the Florida panhandle, soon sent to live with his aunts in Jacksonville, where he will be raised in a large, black community.

Harry attends highschool

1919

Harry returns back to Suwanee County where he completes high school over the next four years, excelling in all his courses. He graduates in 1925 from Florida Memorial College and began teaching in Brevard County.

Harry meets Hariette

1925

While teaching fourth grade in Cocoa, Florida, Harry meets Hariette, an older, former teacher whom he married just a year later. Harry was now the principle of their local colored school, Titusville, teaching and supervising staff.

Harry starts a family

1928

Harry and Hariette welcome their first daughter, Annie Rosalea, then their second daughter in September 1930 naming her Juanita Evangeline.

Harry joins the NAACP

1934

Harry founded a chapter of the NAACP in Brevard County where he advocated for equal pay amongst all teachers, investigated lynchings, and help fight barriers for black voters. He worked unpaid for the NAACP for years while still keeping his teaching job. Eventually he and Hariette both lost their jobs due to involvement in activism in 1946. Harry then became a paid organizer for the NAACP, growing the Florida chapter to 63 branches and 10,000 members.

Harry files law suit calling for equal wages

1937

Harry filed the first law suit in the South calling for equal wages among black and white teachers. The first lawsuit was unsuccessful, as it didn't create a change right away but it did spark several other federal lawsuits that eventually resulted in equal salaries among teachers in Florida.

Harry becomes an investigator

1943

Harry began investigating lynchings and police brutality. He would write to governors and collect testimonies from victims, investigating each case himself.

Progressive Voters' League

1944

Harry creates the Progressive Voters' League, which can be responsible for adding over 100,000 black voters to the Florida Democratic Party.

Groveland Rape Case

1949

Harry begins investigating the Groveland Rape case, discovering that the four young black men were wrongly accused of raping a white woman, Norma Padgett. Harry used his position in the NAACP to convince the Attorney General to open an investigation. The investigation was led with racism and bias, resulting in an unfair investigation. The case was eventually heard by the US Supreme Court, resulting in overturning of the death penalties. A crooked sheriff shot both men in transport, killing one.

Harry and Hariette are Murdered

Dec 25, 1951

On their 25th wedding anniversary, they were killed by a bomb placed under their bed sparking national protest. Harry was the first NAACP member to be murdered and the couple was the first to die for the civil rights movement. It was later determined that the KKK was responsible for the murders.