[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 165 (Tuesday, December 14, 2010)]
[House]
[Pages H8310-H8311]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
HARRY T. AND HARRIETTE MOORE POST OFFICE
Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill
(H.R. 5446) to designate the facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 600 Florida Avenue in Cocoa, Florida, as the ``Harry
T. and Harriette Moore Post Office''.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5446
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of
the United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. HARRY T. AND HARRIETTE MOORE POST OFFICE.
(a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal
Service located at 600 Florida Avenue in Cocoa, Florida,
shall be known and designated as the ``Harry T. and Harriette
Moore Post Office''.
(b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation,
document, paper, or other record of the United States to the
facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be
a reference to the ``Harry T. and Harriette Moore Post
Office''.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
California (Ms. Chu) and the gentleman from Utah (Mr. Chaffetz) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.
General Leave
Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from California?
There was no objection.
Ms. CHU. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5446, a bill to designate the
facility of the United States Postal Service located at 600 Florida
Avenue in Cocoa, Florida, as the Harry T. and Harriette Moore Post
Office.
H.R. 5446 was introduced by our colleague, the gentleman from
Florida, Representative Bill Posey, on May 27, 2010.
Mr. Speaker, Harry Tyson Moore was born in Houston, Florida, on
November 18, 1905. He excelled in his schooling and graduated from
Bethune-Cookman College in 1936. He soon after accepted a teaching
position in a segregated school in Cocoa, Florida, and later became
principal of the Titusville Colored School in Brevard County. There, he
met Harriette Simms. The two married on Christmas Day, 1926, and had
two daughters, Annie and Juanita.
After the birth of their two daughters, Harry and Harriette Moore
founded the first branch of the NAACP in Brevard County, Florida, in
1934. They also helped the Florida State Conference of the NAACP in
1941, and Harry Moore took an unpaid position as its secretary.
The Moores led a successful effort to advance civil rights. In 1937,
Harry Moore filed the first lawsuit in the Deep South to equalize
salaries of black teachers with white teachers in public schools. This
effort failed at first, but it laid the foundation for other lawsuits
that succeeded.
In 1943, Moore began reviewing every incident of lynching involving
black people in the State of Florida, taking affidavits from victims'
families and launching investigations. He pursued this effort for the
rest of his life.
In 1944, the Supreme Court ruled in Smith v. Allwright that all-white
primaries in Texas and other States were unconstitutional, a major
victory for the NAACP. Moore then organized a group called the
Progressive Voters League and spent 6 years registering over 116,000
black voters in the Florida Democratic Party. This activism led the
Florida public school system to fire and blacklist the Moores in 1946,
after which Harry Moore became a full-time paid activist for the
Florida NAACP.
In July 1949, he got involved in a police brutality case in
Groveland, Florida, where he uncovered evidence that four black men
accused of rape had been beaten. Moore leveled brutality charges
against Lake County Sheriff Willis McCall. Three of the defendants were
convicted in 1949, but two of the convictions were overturned by the
U.S. Supreme Court. Lake County prepared to put the two on trial again,
and on November 6, 1951, while Sheriff McCall drove them back to Lake
County for a pretrial hearing, he shot the two handcuffed men, killing
one and critically wounding the second. Moore immediately called for
Sheriff McCall to be suspended and indicted for murder.
Six weeks later, on Christmas Day, 1951, Harry Moore was killed when
a bomb exploded beneath the floor joists under his bed. Harriette died
of her injuries 9 days later. Harry Moore was the first NAACP official
murdered in the civil rights struggle, and Harry and Harriette Moore
remain the only married couple to be murdered for their activism in the
era. The FBI was unable to file charges due to a lack of evidence, but
it was suspected to be the work of central Florida members of the Ku
Klux Klan.
Harry Moore has been called the first martyr of the 1950s civil
rights movement. The Moores' murder sent a shock around the country and
around the world, drawing attention to the movement.
Mr. Speaker, the extensive efforts of the Moores during the civil
rights movement is worthy of our greatest praise. Let us now pay
tribute to the life and work of Harry T. and Harriette Moore by
designating the postal facility on Florida Avenue in Cocoa, Florida, in
their honor. I urge my colleagues to vote in favor of H.R. 5446.
I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. Mr. Speaker, let me simply say the majority has done a
wonderful and thorough job of describing the justification for this
bill. I commend Mr. Posey, our colleague from Florida, for introducing
this bill and urge support of this bill.
Mr. POSEY. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to rise today in support of
legislation I introduced earlier this year (H.R. 5446) to name the U.S.
Post Office in Cocoa, Florida in honor of Harry T. and Harriette Moore.
Harry T. Moore and his wife Harriette Moore served as pioneer
trailblazers of the modern civil rights movement, propelling the
struggle for justice and equality far beyond the borders of their home
in Brevard County, Florida. Remembered for their dignity, compassion,
and emphasis on education, Mr. and Mrs. Moore left a legacy that
remains close to the hearts of community members; one that is sure to
outlast the lengths of their lives that were so tragically cut short.
Harry began his first job as an elementary teacher at Monroe
Elementary School in Cocoa, Florida in 1925. It is only fitting that
the Post Office in the community where he began his service to this
community bear his name. Two years later, Harry began a decade of
service as a High School Principal in Titusville. Then, from 1936-1946
he served as Principal and Fifth and Sixth Grade teacher in Mims.
The couple first met in Brevard County when Harry was serving as a
principal in Titusville and Harriette was an elementary school teacher.
They were married on Christmas Day in 1926. They were blessed with two
daughters and they committed the duration of
[[Page H8311]]
their lives to the pursuit of civil justice for African Americans.
In 1934, the Moores founded the Brevard County Chapter of the NAACP,
which led to a Statewide NAACP Conference in 1941. Mr. Moore served as
the President of the Florida State Conference of NAACP chapters, as
well as the founder and Executive Director of the Progressive Voters
League. It was through these channels that the Moores propelled
progress on such issues as equality, education, and voter registration.
Their steadfast adherence to equality was not without a price, however,
as both Mr. and Mrs. Moore were fired from their teaching jobs and
found it difficult to find employment due to their activism. To
proclaim them pillars of the community would be an understatement.
As the couple also celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary on
Christmas Eve, 1951, a bomb exploded beneath their home. Mr. Moore died
on the way to the hospital, and Mrs. Moore died as a result of her
injuries 9 days later. The tragic murder, which cut short the lives of
this heroic couple, sparked an even more resounding outcry for civil
rights.
Having recognized the profound impact the Moores made on the
community, Brevard County has since honored them by designating their
homesite a Florida Historical Heritage Landmark, creating the Harry T.
and Harriette Moore Memorial Park and Interpretive Center, and naming
its Justice Center after the trailblazing couple. Additionally, the
NAACP posthumously awarded Mr. Moore the Spingarn Medal for outstanding
achievement by an African American. Both of these fine citizens
undoubtedly touched the lives of others with the dedication, integrity,
persistence, compassion, and commitment each of them so courageously
demonstrated.
Approving H.R. 5446 will further honor the achievements and
sacrifices of Harry T. and Harriette Moore, the leaders and first
martyrs of our Nation's modern civil rights era. By designating the
United States Postal Service located at 600 Florida Avenue in Cocoa,
Florida as the ``Harry T. and Harriette Moore Post Office'', we will
commemorate the Moores' legacy in a town where Mr. Moore began his
service to others. This will serve as a reminder to this community of
the important and lasting contribution the Moore's made to Cocoa and
the Nation. I urge my colleagues to support me on this measure.
Mr. CHAFFETZ. I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, I again urge my colleagues to join me in
supporting this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from California (Ms. Chu) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 5446.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Ms. CHU. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
The yeas and nays were ordered.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of XX and the Chair's
prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be
postponed.
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