Cecil B. Moore

Cecil B. Moore

Cecil Bassett Moore (1915 – 1979) was a Philadelphia lawyer and activist during the U.S. Civil Rights movement in the 1960s.

Born in West Virginia, Moore served in the U.S. Marine Corps during World War II. In 1947, after his discharge at Fort Mifflin, Moore moved to Philadelphia and studied Law at Temple University. He earned a reputation as a no-nonsense lawyer who fought on behalf of his mostly poor, African-American clients concentrated in North Philadelphia. From 1963 to 1967, he served as President of the Philadelphia chapter of the NAACP. He also served on the Philadelphia City Council.

Moore is best remembered for leading a picket against Girard College which led to the desegregation of that school. He was also a champion of a wide range of causes central to the Civil Rights Movement, including integration of schools and trade unions, and increased political and economic representation for poor African-Americans. He has been credited with helping to restore order after the unsettling vandalism and violence of the racially-charged Columbia Avenue riot of 1964. During his tenure, membership in the local NAACP chapter expanded from 7,000 in 1962 to more than 50,000 within a few years.

Moore's aggressive manner and confrontational tactics alienated many leaders, black and white, including many within the NAACP who preferred negotiation "behind closed doors" over direct action. Moore himself acknowledged how his military service shaped his grassroots activism:

:"I was determined when I got back [from World War II combat] that what rights I didn't have I was going to take, using every weapon in the arsenal of democracy. After nine years in the Marine Corps, I don't intend to take another order from any son of a bitch that walks."

In 1966, NAACP leaders fearful that Moore's leadership was getting out of hand responded by breaking up the Philadelphia chapter into smaller branches. Moore presided over the North Philadelphia branch for one year and left the NAACP on uneasy terms with the organization.

Over time, however, appreciation for Moore has grown beyond the working poor with whom he long enjoyed popularity, and he is cited as a pivotal figure in the fields of social justice and race relations. In 1987, following a successful petition, Columbia Avenue in North Philadelphia was renamed Cecil B. Moore Avenue in his honor.

Sources

* [http://www.wdashistory.org Cecil Moore with Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and NAACP-National leadership] [WDASHistory.org]
* [http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/special_packages/naacp/9099207.htm Moore's activism countered stereotypes] - "The Philadelphia Inquirer", July 7, 2004
* [http://libwww.library.phila.gov/branches/history.cfm?loc=CBM Cecil B. Moore branch - The Free Library of Philadelphia]


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