Broward County Commission Regular Meeting
Director's Name: Dale V.C. Holness
Department: County Commission
Information
Requested Action
title
MOTION TO ADOPT Resolution No. 2021-143 designating a portion of NW 7th Street in the Broward Municipal Services District in honor of Harry T. and Harriette Moore. (Commissioner Holness) (Deferred from April 6, 2021 - Item No. 95)
body
Why Action is Necessary
Board action is necessary to adopt a Resolution renaming a County-owned road.
What Action Accomplishes
Adopts the proposed Resolution renaming a County-owned road after Harry T. and Harriette Moore.
Is this Action Goal Related
No
Previous Action Taken
Summary Explanation/Background
This item proposes adopting a Resolution renaming the portion of NW 7th Street between
NW 27th Avenue and NW 31st Avenue located in the Broward Municipal Services District (“County Road”) as “Harry-Harriette Moore Street” in honor of 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 nineteen 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 and 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, Mr. and Mrs. Moore were killed when a bomb was placed underneath their bed on Christmas Day 1951. 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.
On February 23, 2021 (Board Agenda Item No. 64), the Board provided notice on the record that it would consider a proposed Resolution renaming the County Road after Mr. and Mrs. Moore on April 6, 2021, as required under Section 18.43(h) of the Administrative Code, and directed the County Administrator to solicit community input from three (3) local municipalities, homeowners’ associations, or other appropriate community groups. The correspondence sent to the community is attached to the proposed Resolution as Attachment 1.
This item (1) adopts a Resolution designating the County Road as “Harry-Harriette Moore Street”; (2) directs the County Administrator, as Clerk of the Board, to provide notice to officials designated in the Resolution; and (3) directs the County Administrator to take all budgetary and other actions necessary to effectuate the renaming of the County Road.
This item was originally placed on the April 6, 2021 Board agenda as Item 95, but the item was deferred to the April 20, 2021 Board meeting at the Board’s request.
Source of Additional Information
Heidi Richards, Chief of Staff, District 9, 954-357-7009
Fiscal Impact
Fiscal Impact/Cost Summary
$1,700