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by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World
Today on BlackAmericaWeb, Tonyaa Weathersbee writes about the lives of Harry and Harriette Moore, two heroes of the civil rights struggle. You may not know about the Moore family because they were fighting for our freedom long before it was fashionable to do so. Mr and Mrs. Moore were, according to historians, the only husband-wife team to die in our nation’s quest for racial equality. They were killed in an explosion on Christmas day, 1951.
Harry Moore died instantly from the blast, and Harriette died just nine days later. Both of these heroes deserve to be recognized.
The Moores are believed to be the first martyrs in the struggle for civil rights, but I don’t consider this to be the case. The first martyrs in the struggle were the Africans who died on slave ships during the Middle Passage. However, the fact that the Moore family confronted the white power structure in Florida about the ills of lynching makes it clear that their courage deserves a place in our nation’s history books.
According to Weathersbee, “Florida, in fact, had the most lynching per capita between 1900 and 1930, and 61 black people were lynched in the state between 1921 and 1946.”
It was Mr. Moore’s decision to write letters to protest the lynchings which led to the death of he and his wife. Similar to Coretta Scott King and Betty Shabazz, Harriette Moore made the ultimate sacrifice for her husband, possessing the kind of ride-or-die tenacity that makes enlightened and courageous black women so beautiful.
“The whole course of my family’s history changed when they killed my parents,” said Evangeline Moore, the 81-year old daughter of the couple. ”I won’t stop until someone is held accountable.”
Even at the age of 81, Evangeline speaks with the pain of a little girl’s heart that was broken after seeing both of her parents killed in a horribly unjust manner. It’s not inconceivable that the killers were not brought to justice because they likely had connections to the justice system itself. Even to this day, scores of black citizens are murdered regularly (including my best friend, Greg Wilkins in 1996) without serious police investigations into the crime.
The question we must ask ourselves is this: ”How do we as a nation, while letting go of preconceived, racially-tinged biases and norms, find a way to honor this couple?”
You see, folks like George Washington, Abraham Lincoln and even Christopher Columbus are easy to honor because there is a precedent. Our nation chose most of its heroes with almost no African Americans in mind, and this kind of “historical grandfather clause” grants a bias in favor of white men in nearly every field, from Engineering to Archaeology.
But if we want to move forward in our quest toward racial equality, American heroes like the Moore family must be remembered for the great sacrifices they made for this country. They aren’t just African American heroes, they are American heroes for confronting the social disease of racism in our society. Additionally, their little girl should get the justice she deserves, whether it is by noting who the true killers were or by compensating her financially for her tragic loss. At the very least, she deserves a trip to Washington DC to spend time with the nation’s first black president.
For every Martin Luther King who is placed in history books, put up on living room walls or featured in one of those corny McDonald’s commercials, there are thousands of other soldiers of justice who lived and died without any fanfare whatsoever. So, the same way America honors the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, we must also honor the Unknown Soldiers of American Civil Rights.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is a Professor at Syracuse University and founder of the Your Black World Coalition. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.
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blacxkcobra
February 17, 2012 at 12:53 pm
Wow I love history like this and we still have a long way to go, I love reading history of the past even though this was a sad outcome, who ever did this only killed the body of these two people, but there is one thing man can’t kill and that’s THE SPIRIT OF THESES TWO LOVELY PEOPLE, the SPIRIT always come back and teach the future, and the ones who did it will answer one day and that’s real!
BLACXKCOBRA//PRINCE OF THA UNITEX STATES
Rose
January 10, 2012 at 1:14 am
I live in Florida and have learned that Florida has a serious history of racism and mistreatment of blacks and indians. I was made aware of the Moore’s sacrifice when I read a local minority owned news paper years ago. Florida is so far behind in giving recognition and honor to black history in this state. It could be that we just do not fight hard enough or long enough,because we struggle with educational problems and lack of jobs here in Florida. This child support situation is getting out of control and most men on child suppport have more than one out of wedlock child. When you are fighting the system, it is difficult to focus on black history. I agree, the Moores should be honored along with all our black heroes.
JOEY
January 5, 2012 at 10:38 am
Many, if not most white folks argue that, blacks quest for reparations is unjustified, because African Americans are generations passlavery and it is difficult to know who the direct descendants of slave truly are. Of course I don’t agree with them. I just want to know what their excuse for not paying reparations to the daughter of Harry and Harriet Moore will be, because Evangeline Moore in without a doubt the direct descendant of African Americans who were done an injustice because of their race/color.
Cuthbert Simpkins MD
January 4, 2012 at 12:25 pm
This brings tears to my eyes. Our home was bombed and my parents and entire family could have been killed. I hurt deeply when my mother was arrested for riding the front of the bus when I was about 8 years old. I can only imagine the hurt felt by Ms. Moore. It is imperative that we transmit the memory of our glorious struggle to those who come after us. We have failed to do this and because of that failure we have self deprecation manifested by the perpetuation of the N word and negative images of ourselves. We have created an unbearably self hating music in which we demean ourselves and we are trapped in intellectual and economic stagnation. One of the most damaging consequences of segregation was our exclusion from the larger market and a vulnerability that led to the destruction of wealth such as occurred in Tulsa in 1921. We need an intellectual renaissance to free our minds.
Cuthbert Simpkins MD, FACS
Gloria Baker
January 4, 2012 at 1:48 am
Yes, they should be honored, particularly in our history data. This information should be made available to our educational system. They are a part of the rock on which we stand…our foundation. Thank you for this article.
Victoria Brown
January 2, 2012 at 8:24 pm
In addition, there were the following articles written earlier this week in the Washington Post:
At Christmas, Evangeline Moore thinks of her martyred parents and demands justice
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/at-christmas-evangeline-moore-thinks-of-her-martyred-parents-and-demands-justice/2011/12/22/gIQAtdcxHP_story.html
How the Harry Moore killing shames us all
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/how-the-harry-moore-killing-shames-us-all/2011/12/27/gIQAmhVFNP_story.html
Are you unable to do your homework first? Are you still a “Professor” at Syracuse University? I thought you were not tenured? If not, why are you still citing the University as your place of employment?
Just an Observer
January 2, 2012 at 5:09 pm
Until there is an agreed acknowledgment and acceptance tha racism has and continues to skew the objective view of history and justice, monumental tragedies, overt omissions and blatant falsehoods against the African American legacy will continue to be the norm for mainstream Eurocentric culture. It won’t happen. The responsibility falls to those with strength to carry the torches to light the path walked so future generations may remember, learn and also pay it forward. Euro/mainstream society make it historical habit of killing their people and promoting fools in their place to martyr the person and shape the message to whatever’s convenient. Let the African American community honor it’s own fallen to make certain they are never lost to the winds of history and political static. When it comes a time the all people are acknowledged as one people, then we all can accept all of our heroes…
marcus davis
January 2, 2012 at 5:02 pm
Of course they should be honored any black folks who had the guts to stand up and put it on the line deserves to be honored
Mike C. Okereke
January 2, 2012 at 12:16 am
I am with you on the need to make national heroes out of those who died for civil rights. Do you think this President has the spine to chart that course?
Rachel Frink
January 1, 2012 at 11:22 pm
Oh no one wants to comment on this article? Why not? Some of you racist punks can’t figure out what to say? Normally you have a lot to say. Let’s hear it you chickens.
kw6544
January 1, 2012 at 6:19 pm
I agree, the Moores are heroes and deserve to be honored…as well as others who made the ultimate sacrifice by standing up for what they believed in and “died because of it.” God bless your family. Your parents should never be forgotten.
Oscar
January 1, 2012 at 6:09 pm
As a citizen of Florida, I Thank you sincerely for bringing the Moores into our collective consciousness to honor some of the heroes who have done milestone work in Civil Rights. Even today, 2012, with a black president in office, Racism is STILL to this minute the MAJOR sickness that continues to plague American Society.
Brenda J Burch
December 31, 2011 at 4:58 pm
How long will We let the Enemies destroy our planet and Our livestocks . We should have been put this Devil off the Earth . He left his little Demons behind . Did not Our ANCESTORS get enough beat down from this cruel devil and his evil and wicked way there is no Good in HIM Satan is his Name and his Time is Up so let us get that Picture . Separate yourselve from your evil and wicked SLAVEMASTERS . Black Man and Woman Wake Up you been sleep to LONG . IT IS A NEW DAY AND NEW TIME .