12 Crimes of Christmas: Christmas with the KKK
On Christmas night 1951, civil rights activists Harry and Harriette Moore were bombed in their home by the Florida Ku Klux Klan. The Moore’s were known for having started the Brevard County Chapter of the NAACP in 1934, and later the Florida State branch.
On Christmas Everning in 1951, the two were at their home in Mims, Florida. Not only were they celebrating Christmas, but it was also their 25th wedding anniversary. They were celebrating with cake, and had just settled into bed when there was an explosion in their bedroom window. Harry died on the way to the hospital, and Hariette died nine days later.
The two were targted by the KKK because they had been fighting against segregation during the Jim Crow era in Florida, and because he had campaigned against a corrupt Sheriff who had murdered one black man and severely wounded another. The Moore’s murder remained unsolved until their case was reopened in 2005. The State of Florida named four men as the chief suspects, but they were all already dead.
