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Moore, Ronnie Malcolm, Ronnie (Ronnie Malcolm), 1940-

 Person

Dates

  • Existence: 1940-

Biographical Statement

Ronnie Moore is a civil rights activist, community development consultant and photographer who trained leaders in community organization, youth development, cultural diversity, and team building. Moore was the field secretary in the South for the Congress of Racial Equality (1961-1965) and the executive director of the Scholarship, Education and Defense Fund for Racial Equality, Inc. (1965-1973).



Moore, son of Albert and Beatrice (nee Andrews) was born on December 31, 1940, in New Orleans, Louisiana. At the age of 15, Moore and his peers attempted to integrate a public park across from All Saints Catholic School in New Orleans. Shortly thereafter, the police arrived ordering them to leave the park. The boys refused and were subsequently arrested and later released into the custody of their parents. Moore recalls, "We were before the movement... we were out there confronting school segregation."

Moore, a civil rights veteran, became involved in the movement in 1961. He stated, "The Civil Rights movement wasn't something you joined, it was something you got drafted and persuaded." While a student at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Moore led a group of 2,500 students to the state capitol to protest the city's hiring policies and segregated lunch counters. Moore was arrested, jailed, and expelled from Southern University for his involvement in the demonstration.

After his release from jail, Moore began working full-time as a field secretary for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in 1961. In this position, Moore worked on CORE's Southern program where he established voter registration initiatives in the South, particularly in St. Francisville and Jonesboro, Louisiana and Williamsburg, South Carolina, where he and other activists registered and recruited African Americans to vote and establish local CORE chapters.

In 1965, Moore was appointed as the executive director of the Scholarship, Education and Defense Fund for Racial Equality, Inc. (SEDFRE), a leadership training organization committed to serving civil rights organizations and producing community leaders. As executive director, Moore was responsible for staff recruitment and the development of leadership programs in more than 25 states.

Moore also served as the director of the Institute for Resident Initiatives at Tulane University (1996-2005) and the director of the African American Youth Congress (1982-1994). He has authored articles and pamphlets on community change skills and "how to" manuals on generic skills such as listening, community organization, affirmative action and leadership training.

Citation:
Author: Amber L. Moore
Citation:
Amistad Reports: The Amistad Research Center, Spring/Summer 1997, Vol. XI, No. 2

"SEDFRE Appoints Ronnie Moore Executive Director," The Louisiana Weekly, March 29, 1969.

Interview with Ronnie Moore by Plater Robinson, 2003. Ronnie M. Moore papers, Amistad Research Center, Tulane University.

Jong, Greta de, "A Different Day: African American Struggles for Justice in Rural Louisiana, 1900-1970," The University of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 2002.

Found in 2 Collections and/or Records:

Nils R. Douglas papers

 Collection
Identifier: 128
Scope and Contents The Nils R. Douglas papers consist primarily of items collected or generated by attorney Nils R. Douglas, concerning Louis Andre Martinet and the legal society that bears his name, in addition to those concerning the case of Plessy v. Ferguson and the life of Homer A. Plessy. In addition, the bound personal manuscripts of Nils Douglas reflect his years as a prominent civil rights attorney, representing activists from the Congress of Racial Equality along with his law partners Robert F....
Dates: Created: 1893-1967; Other: Date acquired: 01/01/1979

Ronnie Moore papers

 Collection
Identifier: 531
Scope and Contents The bulk of this collection consists of photographs (1964-1972) from Moore's involvement with different civil rights activities including the 1965 Voter Registration Drives in Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina; Economic Development Commission Projects in Mississippi, Maryland and Washington D.C.; conferences; elections; and demonstrations in Louisiana, Mississippi, and North Carolina; and other activities in the South, Connecticut, Indiana, New Hampshire, and Virginia. Photographs...
Dates: Created: 1959-2004; Other: Majority of material found in 1964-1972; Other: Date acquired: 04/16/1997

Filtered By

  • Subject: Civil rights demonstrations X

Additional filters:

Subject
African American lawyers 1
Civil rights demonstrations 1
Civil rights demonstrations -- Louisiana -- New Orleans 1
Civil rights movements 1
Civil rights movements -- Louisiana -- Bogalusa 1