Description
In ‘1951 America’ terrorism was homegrown. There were no battles fought on American soil. Yet there were twelve bombings targeting black Americans, Catholics, and Jews in “Jim Crow” Florida. And one of those bombs was, symbolically, heard around the world.
Harry T. Moore and his wife, Harriette, were murdered on Christmas night, in 1951, by racist terrorists. Ironically, Harry knew he was a target of the KKK but he swore he would keep going, working for civil and human rights for African Americans, even if they killed him. The Moore family’s courage was remarkable.
World War ll had just ended and with battles taking place overseas, Americans had never experienced the shock and tragedy of war on ‘home soil’ (apart from Pearl Harbor). As well, Americans, for a very long time, paid little attention to the persecution of blacks and other minorities, despite the multitude of violent, racist episodes; not dissimilar from events in Nazi Germany.
The Bomb Heard Around the World explores the events leading up to the Moore assassinations and follows long after, with extensive investigations by the FBI, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Brevard County Sheriff’s Office, and the Department of Justice. What they uncovered was remarkable, and the corruption that accompanied the crime was shocking. The Bomb Heard Around the World reveals new information and hidden facts which exposes both savage corruption and exceptional courage over decades in America.
The Moore assassinations became an international referendum on America, its law enforcement, its politics, its value, and its administrations. At the end of World War ll the world had turned to America as the beacon of freedom and liberty, yet after the deaths of Harry and Harriette Moore, world opinion shifted. This journey through Harry and Harriette Moore’s lives and deaths is a road trip through the history of America over many decades. And while this is the story of Harry and Harriette Moore, it is also a story for today.
With many unjustified killings of blacks in America today, the racial divide has widened, exponentially. Racial injustices of yesteryear relate directly to today’s current events. Ironically, decades after the assassinations of Harry T. and Harriette V. Moore, a Republican Attorney General named Charlie Crist, would take on this criminal case in an attempt to solve the Moore assassinations once and for all. He faced enormous political pressures yet stayed the course. While this is a story from history, it is also a story for today.
Generations of racism, murders, lynchings, judicial malfeasance, police corruption, perverted politics, and controversial crime investigations populate the pages of “THE BOMB HEARD AROUND THE WORLD”.
Endorsements:
In his new book The Bomb Heard Around the World, Gregory Marquette reveals the incredible story of the civil rights movement’s first pioneers and trailblazers, and sadly its first martyrs, Harry and Harriette Moore. Killed on Christmas night 1951 as they slept in their bed, the Moore’s story was far from over, and Marquette finally shines a light on not only their extraordinary courage and determination and the brutal environment which they relentlessly confronted, but also on the multiple investigations unfolding over decades that all seemed frustratingly fruitless, until a determined attorney general from Florida decided to take one last look in 2004. Marquette chronicles these remarkable events meticulously and with an investigative journalist’s zeal for unassailable reporting, including a trove of chilling photos, artifacts and archival material and interviews with firsthand participants and witnesses to this monumental journey. In The Bomb Heard Around the World, Marquette masterfully shows what hope and determination can accomplish, while unflinchingly laying bare how much further we have yet to go. — Peter Shakkour, producer/director
“This is a particularly important time to explore the life and commitment to civil and human rights lived by Harry T. Moore and his wife Harriet. I consider them to be the first true martyrs of the modern Civil Rights Era. Their assassination by White Supremacists was the result of their work equalizing teacher pay; investigating instances of police misuse of force and abuse of black citizens; and ultimately their efforts to register black voters. All these efforts were a threat to the white power structure. Though these efforts brought about their murders, their efforts were all ultimately successful for the black community. They fought and they won.” — Leon W. Russell, Chairman NAACP National Board of Directors
About the Author
Gregory Marquette, author of The Bomb Heard Around The World, lives and works in Los Angeles, California, writing, producing, and directing for television and motion pictures. Prior to his move to Hollywood, he worked as producer, writer, or director for three television networks in Canada. Currently he writes for production companies, producers, and film directors on three continents. Some of his produced screenplays and teleplays include Oba: The Last Samurai, Ballad From Tibet, Legacy of War, and Genius On Hold. He is a Clio Award-winning director and his literary work allows him to pursue his significant interest in story-telling with history, socio-political issues, and the human condition as central themes.
