"The Road to Freedom Avenue – The Legacy of Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore" is a multimedia project fully produced and executed by University of Central Florida journalism students. The project aims to spotlight the lives and modern-day legacies on Harriette V. and Harry T. Moore - a married couple who became America's first civil-rights martyrs in 1951. 
 

The Moores were Brevard County teachers and civil-rights activists who were murdered on Dec. 25, 1951, while asleep in the bed of their home in Mims on Christmas night. On Black History Month, and as this year marks the 70th anniversary of their deaths, this project commemorates them amid the current moment of reckoning over race facing our country. 
 

Rick Brunson, instructor of journalism at University of Central Florida, initiated this project for his 21 students in his Electronic Journalism I class. The students were paired in reporting teams of two and fanned out across Brevard County to interview people impacted by the Moores’ legacy and who are working to keep that legacy alive. The project was led by a student in the class, Julianne Amaya, who served as the executive producer. 
 

Brunson believed WUCF to be the perfect platform for this project because of WUCF’s mission is to be “Central Florida’s Storytellers.’’ Another reason is because WUCF is a multimedia organization, where these stories could be best told through audio, photographic, and written digital pieces.
 

The stories are organized by theme and identified by the people interviewed who are keeping the Moores’ legacy alive: The Activists, The Family, The Neighbors, The Investigators, The Justice Warriors, The Flame Keepers, The Educators, The Students, The Artists, and The Grave Tenders.  
 

Freedom Avenue in Mims is the road that leads to the Moore Cultural Complex and Museum and the original homesite where the Moores were murdered. The complex is the storehouse of the Moores’ legacy and the center from where it emanates across Brevard County, Central Florida, and the nation. This project uses storytelling to map out the path that leads through Freedom Avenue in hopes that this important piece of history becomes a well-known and treasured part of our community. 

A number of organizations and people contributed to make this project possible. We would like to thank each and every single one of them for helping us elevate the voices of the past. 

For more information and further study of Harry and Harriette Moore, please visit our Learn More page to access additional resources and find out how to become involved.