MIMS, Fla. – Nestled in Brevard County is the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Cultural Complex and Memorial Park. The historical site and museum celebrated a big milestone on Saturday when organizers and supporters celebrated the museum’s 20th anniversary.
The museum and historic site honors the lives and legacies of Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore, who were civil rights activists here in Florida.
The Moores lived in Mims and Harry was the founder of the Brevard County NAACP chapter.
“Harry Moore was one of the most hated Black men in the state of Florida in that time, primarily because he was changing the status quo,” said Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Cultural Complex Director William Gary. “Moore traveled throughout the state, organizing branches of the NAACP, registering black citizens to vote, investigating lynching and trying to bring justice for Black citizens in the state.”
On Christmas night in 1951, tragedy hit the Moore family.
“A bomb exploded under their bedroom,” Gary said. “Mr. Moore died on the way to the hospital that night. His wife was able to hang on for another nine days and died in 1952.”
The museum and memorial park includes a timeline of the civil rights movement, memorabilia from the Moore family and a replica of the Moores’ home.
Gary said the museum has changed in the last 20 years.
“It’s really like night and day,” Gary said. “This room, this museum is an example. Originally it was black and white. The posters and things you seen on here, and the board; had it remodeled, repainted the back some years ago. That makes it more vibrant and gives it more of a life there, and I think when people come in here, they are really impressed with what they see here.”
The museum not only welcomes students on field trips, but visitors from all over the world.
“Those people, I have tissues on hand, they cry, a lot of the kids are shocked, they always say, ‘Why did that happen?’” said Cultural Complex Coordinator Sonya Mallard. “‘Why were they so mean? What happened? Why couldn’t we get along?’ They always want to know, so that conversation is sparked from the civil rights history of the Moores. It’s important to see because then they learn kindness matters.”
To learn more about the Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore Cultural Complex and Memorial Park, click here.
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