Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: Dale V.C. Holness
Department: County Commission
Information
Requested Action
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A. MOTION TO NOTE FOR THE RECORD that the Board of County Commissioners (“Board”) will consider the approval of a Resolution renaming NW 7th Street in the Broward Municipal Services District (“County Road”) after Harry T. and Harriette Moore at the meeting of the Board on Tuesday, April 6, 2021.
ACTION: (T-2:55 PM) Approved. (Refer to minutes for full discussion.) (See Yellow-Sheeted Additional Material 64, 64(2) & 65(5) and 64(3) & 65(5), dated February 23, 2021, submitted at the request of Commissioner Holness.)
VOTE: 9-0. Commissioner Bogen voted in the affirmative telephonically.
B. MOTION TO DIRECT County Administrator to solicit the input of at least three local municipalities, homeowners’ associations, or other appropriate community groups of the Board’s proposal to rename the County Road after Harry T. and Harriette Moore, as required under Section 18.43(i) of the Broward County Administrative Code. (Commissioner Holness)
ACTION: (T-2:55 PM) Approved. (Refer to minutes for full discussion.) (See Yellow-Sheeted Additional Material 64, 64(2) & 65(5) and 64(3) & 65(5), dated February 23, 2021, submitted at the request of Commissioner Holness.)
VOTE: 9-0. Commissioner Bogen voted in the affirmative telephonically.
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Why Action is Necessary
Motions A and B, which address public notice and input, are required to accomplish the renaming of the County Road.
What Action Accomplishes
Enables the Board to consider the referenced renaming on April 6, 2021.
Is this Action Goal Related
No
Previous Action Taken
Summary Explanation/Background
This item proposes renaming the portion of NW 7th Street between 27th Avenue and 31st Avenue located in the Broward Municipal Services District (“County Road”) after Harry T. and Harriette Moore, a couple that was at the forefront of the Civil Rights Movement, particularly in Florida.
Harry T. Moore (“Mr. Moore”) was born in Houston, Florida, located in Suwanee County. When he was 19 years old, Mr. Moore graduated from the high school program of Florida Memorial College where he excelled academically. After graduation, Mr. Moore became a teacher and met his wife Harriette (“Mrs. Moore”). In 1934, Mr. Moore started the Brevard County National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (“NAACP”). Mr. Moore’s work in the early days of the Brevard County NAACP focused on fighting for equal pay for black teachers, protesting segregated schools, and the disenfranchisement of black voters. Mr. Moore also began to protest lynchings and police brutality. Mr. Moore is credited with investigating every single lynching in Florida from 1934 until his death in 1951.
After Justice Thurgood Marshall, who was an attorney at the time, succeeded in defending the right of black voters to cast their ballots in primary elections in the landmark case Smith v. Allwright, Mr. Moore organized the Progressive Voters’ League in 1944. For the next six years, over 116,000 black voters were registered to the Florida Democratic Party.
In 1946, Mr. and Mrs. Moore were fired from their teaching positions due to their political activism. Mr. Moore took this opportunity to become a full-time paid organizer for the Florida NAACP. In just two years, Mr. Moore expanded the Florida NAACP to over 10,000 members in 63 branches, including the newly founded branch in Broward County.
In 1951, after a Florida sheriff killed one young black man and left another critically injured, a case commonly known as the Groveland Murders, Mr. Moore called for the sheriff’s suspension and indictment for murder. Shortly thereafter, on Christmas Day 1951, Mr. Moore was killed when a bomb was placed underneath his bed. Mrs. Moore died nine days later. Multiple investigations indicate that the perpetrators were members of the Ku Klux Klan. However, despite the involvement of the FBI in the investigation, the case remained unsolved because of interference by local law enforcement. Mr. Moore’s death is regarded by some historians as the first assassination of a civil rights leader in the modern Civil Rights Movement.
Pursuant to Section 336.05, Florida Statutes, the Board is authorized to name and rename County-owned streets and roads. Section 18.43 of the Broward County Administrative Code (“Administrative Code”) establishes the Board’s policies for naming property, buildings, structures, or facilities, including roads.
This item provides notice that the proposed designation of the County Road will be on a future Board agenda, as is required under Section 18.43(h) of the Administrative Code and directs the County Administrator to solicit community input from three local municipalities, homeowners’ associations, or other appropriate community groups. Correspondence will be included in the Board agenda item considering the proposed Resolution designating the County Road.
Source of Additional Information
Heidi Richards, Chief of Staff, District 9, 954-357-7009
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
The Fiscal Impact Statement by the Office of Management and Budget will be provided at the time of the public hearing.