The Suwannee Scribbler - A very brave man » Local News

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February 22, 2012

The Suwannee Scribbler - A very brave man

Jim Holmes Suwannee Democrat The Suwannee Democrat Wed Feb 22, 2012, 07:46 AM EST

Live Oak — In doing some research recently for a column relating to Black History Month, I came across a website that contained a lengthy list of “Noted Civil Rights Leaders.” The problem with making such lists is that someone will almost always point out that at least one name is missing. In this case, the person doing the “pointing” is me and the missing name is that of Suwannee County native Harry T. Moore.

Now if Moore’s name doesn’t jump out at you, don’t be surprised. During a recent meeting I attended of a dozen or so like-minded history buffs, none knew it…although one did say she thought it rang a bell. So let me start by saying that Harry Moore, born just outside Live Oak, was a very brave man. You see, in a time when African Americans “knew their place,” Harry stood up - often nearly alone - to challenge the status quo of Jim Crowism in Florida. But I am getting ahead of myself.

It was 1905 when Harry was born to Johnny and Rosalea Moore. His father worked for the railroad in Live Oak, while his mother helped run a tiny store for “coloreds” out of the family home. Harry proved to be an academic star and upon graduation earned admittance to a Negro college where he was awarded a degree in education. A teaching job then took him to the Titusville area, where he would meet his future wife, Harriet, and eventually become a school principal.

For a black man living in Florida in the 1930s, Harry seemingly had it all; a white collar job that paid well, was secure, and was highly respected. Then there was his loving spouse and his three daughters. But that wasn’t enough for Harry, for he understood that, despite all his personal and professional accomplishments, he and his family were still second class citizens in a nation that promised its people so much more.

Harry must have also known that to challenge his lot in life could be dangerous. Still, he would not be silenced. He joined and quickly became a Florida leader in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. He spoke out publicly or demanded investigations when there were lynchings or other suspected racial miscarriages of justice. Then in 1944, he took the helm of a group called the Progressive Voters League and within six years had succeeded in registering nearly a third of the state’s black population to vote. Small wonder he was admired by so many black national leaders, including future US Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and poet Langston Hughes.

Of course, his successes also earned him the hatred of others, most notably members of Florida’s Ku Klux Klan.

Bravery often comes with a steep price. Harry Moore was forced to pay it on Christmas Night, 1951, when he and his wife, only in their 40s, were killed after a bomb exploded under their home in the little town of Mims. Harry died almost instantly; Harriet, nine days later. No one was ever convicted of the murders, but the evidence suggests Harry had been targeted by members of the KKK.

Today, those who remember Moore’s sacrifice often call him, “The first martyr of the modern civil rights movement.”

Harry T. Moore. A brave man from Live Oak. A man whose name seems worth remembering.

Jim lives in Live Oak.

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