Their house in Mims was bombed by KKK in 1951. A replica aims to keep the civil rights history alive
A small yellow house in Mims is rich with the history of Florida's civil rights movement that dates back to the 1930s.
By Luana Munoz
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MIMS, Florida (WESH) — A small yellow house in Mims is rich with the history of Florida’s civil rights movement that dates back to the 1930s.
It’s a replica of the home where Harry T. and Harriette Moore lived and died.
On Christmas night in 1951, the couple’s 25th wedding anniversary, members of the KKK planted a bomb under the couple’s home directly below their bedroom.
Harry died in route to the hospital. Harriette died days later.
The Harry T. and Harriette Moore Cultural Center is a museum dedicated to the civil rights trailblazers who fought Jim Crow laws in Florida and helped defend the Groveland Four.
“He brought in Thurgood Marshall and other legal experts from the NAACP who tried to help overturn those convictions. some say that was one of the things that led to a conspiracy to assassinate him,” said William Gary, board president of the Harry T. and Harriette Moore Cultural Complex.
Born in Florida, Harry moved to Brevard County in 1925 for a teaching job. One year later, he met Harriette. Together, they had two daughters. Harry later became a principal and began fighting politically forming the first NAACP chapter in Brevard in 1934.
“He went about advocating for equalization of salaries, anti-lynching, fighting to bring justice in cases of police brutality,” Gary said.
Harry also taught his students how to register to vote.
“Even though they might not have been able to elect the person they wanted, they were able to leverage their vote for people who had some interest in helping them live a better life.”
Harriette was also an educator. She worked alongside her husband traveling with him as they worked on civil rights issues.
“She helped him to write speeches,” said Gary. “She memo graphed fliers and memos for him. She was a great help to him. She was his right-hand man.”
Harry’s mother and the couple’s oldest daughter were asleep in their beds the night the house was bombed, but survived.
“Peaches slept in her bed which prevented the glass from falling on her and cutting her up,” Gary said on a tour through the home.
Today, the museum invites thousands of students from nearby schools each year.
“We hope people who visit here or read about the Moore’s get a sense of hope that things can get better if you take action,” he said. “You have to be one who is willing to make sacrifices. Certainly, the Moore’s made a sacrifice.”
A sacrifice that cost their life to give a better life to future generations for people of color.
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