This is a legendary love story:
Harry and Harriette Moore are a relatively unknown yet pioneering couple that helped pave the way for the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
The two met in 1925 while Harry, 20, was teaching elementary school in Cocoa, Florida, and Harriette, 23, formerly a teacher herself, was selling insurance. The two quickly fell in love and were married within a year.
At first, Harry's involvement was confined to letters to government officials, but he quickly began launching his own investigations. Many believed this is what precipitated the attack in 1951 on Christmas Day -- also the Moores' 25th anniversary -- when a bomb exploded in their bedroom.
Harry died before he reached the hospital; Harriette passed away nine days later from her injuries. Though authorities believe that the Ku Klux Klan was involved, the murders have never been solved.
Harry Tyson Moore and Harriette Simms Moore
Harry and Harriette Moore are a relatively unknown yet pioneering couple that helped pave the way for the civil rights movement of the 1960s.
The two met in 1925 while Harry, 20, was teaching elementary school in Cocoa, Florida, and Harriette, 23, formerly a teacher herself, was selling insurance. The two quickly fell in love and were married within a year.
Both strong-willed and compassionate people, the Moores raised a family (they had two daughters) while organizing the first Brevard County Chapter of the NAACP in 1934, championing such causes as equal pay for black teachers. With the support of legendary African-American attorney Thurgood Marshall, the Moore couple became key allies in the movement.
By 1941, Harry was the president of the Florida chapter of the NAACP, and his new level of activism took him into the dangerous arena of lynchings and police brutality.
By 1941, Harry was the president of the Florida chapter of the NAACP, and his new level of activism took him into the dangerous arena of lynchings and police brutality.
At first, Harry's involvement was confined to letters to government officials, but he quickly began launching his own investigations. Many believed this is what precipitated the attack in 1951 on Christmas Day -- also the Moores' 25th anniversary -- when a bomb exploded in their bedroom.
Harry died before he reached the hospital; Harriette passed away nine days later from her injuries. Though authorities believe that the Ku Klux Klan was involved, the murders have never been solved.
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