Slain activists' names found in stored voting records

MELBOURNE, Fla. — As Brevard County residents mark Black History Month, there's another tangible piece of local lore to add to the celebration.

The names of slain civil rights activists Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore were found in an "Official Register of Electors" during a cleanup of the Supervisor of Elections' Titusville office. Dozens of precinct registers and registers of electors, dating from the 1800s to around 1960, were found in boxes. In one book, the Moores appear to have registered on March 29, 1934.

Educators who taught in Cocoa, Titusville and Mims, the Moores registered black voters, established NAACP branches statewide and fought for equal pay for teachers, regardless of race. The two died after a bomb placed beneath their home exploded on Christmas night in 1951.

Honoring their memory, Brevard Supervisor of Elections Lori Scott will lend the book in which the Moores' names appear to the Moore Cultural Center in Mims. She will present it to Sonya Mallard, cultural center coordinator, during Wednesday's Black History Month celebration at the Brevard government center.

"It's an amazing find," said Scott, who's working to make her office's Titusville lobby a repository of local voting memorabilia.

"It's not just a piece of history, it's a piece of Brevard history, full of the names of longstanding families — the Crisafullis. Gleasons. Lansings. And the Moores ... they not only risked their lives but gave their lives for what they believed in, and that's what makes this register so special. They didn't just talk about it, they did it. They went in and voted, and helped others register."

The cultural center is "very excited," said Mallard.

"We're ecstatic for a number of reasons," she said. "Voter registration, getting people involved, was not only one of Harry T. Moore's major issues, as I say, before his time, but now we're a voting site. They killed him for his dreams but guess what? Out of the ashes, as they say ... it's truly such a great joy that Lori Scott found these books to help show and preserve the Moores' legacy."

The registers, along with dates, list occupations. Whether voters were W or C — white or "colored"— under the title "Color." D or R — Democrat or Republican. "Nativity," meaning where voters were born.

In the book, Harry was listed as 28; Harriette, 30. They are listed as teachers and Republicans, born in Florida. Their names (hers, missing the final "e") appear to have been entered by a clerk, as the handwriting for their names appear to match that of other names.

"In a day and age when there's a 59% turnout in a gubernatorial election, or 20% in a municipal election, this is thrilling," said Scott.

"It's an important reminder of the sacrifices of people in our own county who came before us and understood the importance of protecting the foundation of this country's democracy."