CRIST NOMINATES FLORIDA CIVIL RIGHTS LEADERS HARRY T. AND HARRIETTE MOORE FOR PRESIDENTIAL MEDAL OF FREEDOM

Press Release

Representative Charlie Crist (D-St. Petersburg) sent a letter to President Joe Biden nominating Florida civil rights leaders Harry T. and Harriette Moore to be honored posthumously with the Presidential Medal of Freedom for their decades-long advocacy for Black equality and equity. Longtime educators in segregated Brevard County, Florida, the Moores 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).

On Christmas 1951, a bomb went off under the Moores' home and fatally injured 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.

"Harry T. and Harriette Moore are two of our state's greatest civil rights heroes, speaking out against segregation in Jim Crow-era Florida and demanding a voice for Black Floridians in our government and society," said Rep. Crist. "In the face of unspeakable discrimination and violence, the Moores organized and advocated for their fellow Black Floridians, bringing together a powerful coalition that would eventually help topple Jim Crow in the South and end the evils of segregation.

"While serving as Attorney General of Florida, I saw it as my responsibility to help solve the Moores' murders and bring some level of peace and resolution to their surviving family and loved ones. But it is not for their deaths that the Moores should be remembered - it is for their lives, their decades of work in pursuit of justice and equal representation, and their bold leadership that helped inspire the next generation of civil rights heroes that have rightfully become household names."

"Harry and Harriette deserve that same recognition and respect. On behalf of the people of Florida that I represent, I am humbly asking President Biden to consider awarding them the Presidential Medal of Freedom."

A PDF of the letter sent to President Biden can be found here.

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