Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: This property is the former homesite of civil rights activists Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore, two people whose lives were committed to help Florida’s Negro communities unite to form a collective identity. Mr. Moore was a Brevard County educator who became a full-time civil rights activist. After being fired for demanding equal pay, he worked to equalize the salaries received by Negro teachers with that of their white counterparts. He organized the Progressive Voters League of Florida, and his efforts to open the Democratic Party to Negroes provided new political opportunities for minority citizens all over the state. Mr. Moore organized the first Brevard County Branch of the National Association for he Advancement of Colored People in 1934, and served as its president for five years. From 1941-1946, he served as president of the Florida State Conference of the Branches of the NAACP, and then as the executive director until his death. Mr. Moore and his wife were murdered when a bomb was planted beneath their house on Christmas night in 1951.