Before His Time: The Untold Story of Harry T. Moore, America's First Civil Rights Martyr (Hardcover)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Before graduate student Mike King began using his given name, Martin Luther, before Detroit Red changed his name to Malcolm X, and before Medgar Evers joined the NAACP, civil rights activist Harry T. Moore was murdered. On Christmas night, 1951, an explosion ripped through his house, the bomb having been planted directly under his bed. His mother, visiting for the holidays, had been very concerned for Moore's safety. In the 1950s, in the Deep South, Moore's political activism had earned him plenty of enemies. "Every advancement comes by way of sacrifice," he told his mother before going to bed that night. "What I am doing is for the benefit of my race."

In the 1930s and '40s, Moore drove the roads of Florida, organizing the local NAACP, speaking quietly against Jim Crow laws, and urging blacks to register to vote. He also wrote elegantly argued letters to the governor and other public officials, protesting injustices and atrocities against blacks. Seen as a troublemaker, Moore became entangled with Willis McCall--whom author Ben Green calls "the prototype of the racist Southern sheriff." Green intertwines the biographies of these two very different men, drawing a picture of racial tension in an era before the issues reached national attention. Green is especially good at capturing the atmosphere of the events--dense fogs, sticky heat, clouds of biting insects--but goes slightly astray when listening to drunken former Klansmen, who are perhaps merely seeking their 15 minutes of fame and not unburdening their souls before they die, as they spout confessions about Moore's murder. Like many biographers, Green clearly admires his subject, which makes him write slightly purple prose. Moore's life, however, was clearly admirable and Green has written a moving tribute to this sadly forgotten man. --C.B. Delaney

From Kirkus Reviews

A fascinating chronicle that fills in an important but often overlooked gap in the early civil rights movement's history. Long before Martin Luther King became a national civil rights leader, Harry T. Moore crisscrossed the buggy marshes of Florida, devoting himself to helping African-Americans learn their constitutional rights. Almost singlehandedly responsible for creating and then expanding the Florida NAACP, Moore fought against unequal pay, unfair voting procedures, and other discriminatory practices, frequently working without pay and usually only after first putting in a full day of teaching. He raised hell when black men were lynched, demanding that these deaths be investigated years after their cases were considered closed. Perhaps the most famous was the Groveland case, in which four young black men were found guilty of assaulting a young white couple and raping the wife. Two of the men were later killed after they triedor so the story wentto escape from the sheriff who was transporting them. Like King after him, Moore lost his life to the cause when he was murdered in 1951 by a bomb planted in his modest home; the crime, while unsolved, was thought by some to be the work of the Ku Klux Klan. Green (The Soldier of Fortune Murders: A True Story of Obsessive Love and Murder-for-Hire, 1992) admirably details Moore's life of sacrifice and that of his nemesis, Willis McCall, a southern sheriff whose hatred of blacks spurred him to violence against them, mostly without retribution. (McCall, investigated 49 times by the FBI, was never found guilty.) Although Green outlines Moores battles with the NAACP, this aspect of the book could have been improved with a more detailed analysis of why Moore has been largely forgotten after his death, especially as the movement shot forward beginning in 1954, with the Brown v. Board of Education decision. A tribute to the hard work and dedication of a forgotten hero in the battle for civil rights. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Free Press (April 11, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684854538
• ISBN-13: 978-0684854533
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,609,778 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The story of a Civil Rights Pioneer, July 23, 2000

By	J. Liesenfelt (Florida) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having moved to Brevard County in 1991, just when the Harry T. Moore murder case was back in the news, and the fact that I pass the Moore Justice Center every day, I was anxious to learn about Harry T. Moore and happily picked up a copy of this book.

Harry T. Moore and his wife Harriette were murdered on Christmas Day, 1951 when a bomb exploded beneath their bedroom at their home in Mims, Florida. At the time of his murder, Harry Moore was the Florida coordinator for the NAACP and a founder of the Progressive Voter's League. As the title of book implies, Harry Moore was before his time, including his murder. Remember this happen before Rosa Parks, before Medgar Evers, before Dr. Martin Luther King and before Brown vs. Board of Education. The murderer of the Moores has never been found.

Green traces the life of Harry Moore from childhood to teaching to his efforts in helping to lead the Civil Rights movement in Florida. Along the way Harry Moore instructed his students how to use the ballot, before African-Americans could vote and Harry Moore's efforts in the investigations of violence (re: lynching) and murders of African Americans in Florida.

The most famous case that Harry Moore investigated was the Groveland Incident. The case involved the conviction of three African-Americans in the rape of a 17-year-old woman and the subsequent killing of two of the suspects by the Sheriff of Lake County Florida, Willis McCall, in an escape attempt. All the while, Harry Moore was fighting with the NAACP national organization to retained his position in the organization.

Green's biography of Harry Moore is sparse, though a lot of it could be contributed to lack of documents related to Harry Moore's life. I felt the book would have been more complete with more details on Harry Moore's internal fight with the NAACP national office and why Harry Moore's place in the Civil Rights movement has been lost.

At the end of the book, Green spends too much time tracing down former Klan members who claimed they knew who murdered Harry Moore. However, all these statements were dead ends. Ben Green's book is a good starting point to learn about a true Civil Rights pioneer.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book, August 23, 2007

By	K. Heck (Texas) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Before His Time: The Untold Story of Harry T. Moore, America's First Civil Rights Martyr (Paperback)

Beautifully written; a story that needed to be told. It was at times painful to read because of how horrible people were treated due to the color of their skin.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A necessary and wonderful book, April 4, 2004

By	Richard B. Downing (hudson, Florida USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I cannot overstate my admiration for Ben Green's Before His Time. As I read I felt I was traveling the roads with Harry Moore, fighting the fight with him (I should be so brave). I am fairly well read (PhD, English Lit) and have enjoyed many books, but very few have moved me as much Green's has. You need to know Harry T. Moore. Ben Green has given you the chance. Take it.