Crist nominates slain civil rights champions Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore for Nation’s Highest Honor
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Washington, D.C. – Representative Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg) has asked President Joe Biden to award Harry T. and Harriette Moore the coveted Presidential Medal of Freedom. In a letter to the President, Crist said the posthumous award is a long overdue tribute to the couple’s fearless advocacy of equal rights and the abolition of Jim Crow Florida. “Longtime educators in segregated Brevard County, Florida, the Moore’s organized and spoke out against Jim Crow-era policies during the 1930s and 1940s and founded the Brevard County chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
They paid the ultimate price for their defiance of segregation and Jim Crow Florida. On Christmas 1951, a bomb hidden beneath the Moores’ home exploded killing the couple. While several suspects were identified, multiple investigations into the assassination were left unresolved. As Attorney General of Florida, Crist reopened the investigation into the Moores’ deaths and found that four now-deceased members of the Ku Klux Klan were responsible for their murders.
“”While serving as Attorney General of Florida, wanted to bring some level of peace and resolution to their surviving family and loved ones. Harry T. and Harriette Moore are two of our state’s greatest civil rights heroes. In the face of unspeakable discrimination and violence, the Moores’ organized and advocated for Black Floridians, bringing together a powerful coalition that would eventually help topple Jim Crow in the South and end the evils of segregation.
“Harry and Harriette deserve recognition and respect. For that reason, I am humbly asking President Biden to consider awarding them the Presidential Medal of Freedom.”
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