Queen Mother Moore

Queen Mother Moore
Born	Audley Moore (1898-07-27)July 27, 1898 New Iberia, Louisiana,U.S.
Died	May 2, 1997(1997-05-02)(aged 98) Brooklyn, New York,U.S.
Known for	Reparations movement American Civil Rights Movement

Queen Mother Moore(bornAudley Moore;July 27, 1898 – May 2, 1997)was an African-American civil rights leader and ablack nationalistwho was friends with such civil rights leaders asMarcus Garvey,Nelson Mandela,Winnie Mandela,Rosa Parks,andJesse Jackson.She was a figure in theAmerican Civil Rights Movementand a founder of theRepublic of New Afrika.Dr.Delois Blakelywas her assistant for 20 years. Blakely was later enstooled in Ghana as a Nana (Queen Mother).

Biography

She was bornAudley MooreinNew Iberia, Louisiana,to Ella and St. Cyr Moore on July 27, 1898. Both her parents died before she completed the fourth grade, her mother Ella Johnson dying in 1904 when Audley was six. Her grandmother, Nora Henry, had been enslaved at birth, the daughter of an African woman who was raped by her enslaver, who was a doctor. Audley Moore's grandfather was lynched, leaving her grandmother with five children with Moore's mother as the youngest. Moore became ahairdresserat the age of 15.

Moore later had an adopted son, Thomas O. Warner.

After viewing a speech byMarcus Garvey,Moore moved toHarlem, New York,and later became a leader and life member of theUNIA,founded in 1914 by Marcus Garvey. She participated in Garvey's first international convention in New York City and was a stock owner in theBlack Star Line.Along with becoming a leading figure in the Civil Rights Movement, Moore worked for a variety of causes for over 60 years. Her last public appearance was at theMillion Man MarchalongsideJesse Jacksonduring October 1995.

Moore was the founder and president of the Universal Association of Ethiopian Women as well as the founder of the Committee for Reparations for Descendants of U.S. Slaves. She was a founding member of the Republic of New Afrika to fight forself-determination,land, and reparations.

In 1964, Moore founded the Eloise Moore College of African Studies, Mt. Addis Ababa in Parksville, New York. The college was destroyed by fire in the late 1970s.

For most of the 1950s and 1960s, Moore was the best-known advocate ofAfrican-American reparations.Operating out of Harlem and her organization, the Universal Association of Ethiopian Women, Moore actively promoted reparations from 1950 until her death.

Although raisedCatholic,Moore disaffiliated during theSecond Italo-Ethiopian War,during which Moore feltPope Pius XIItook improper actions in supporting the Italian army.She later became bishop of the Apostolic Orthodox Church of Judea. She was also a founding member of the Commission to Eliminate Racism, Council of Churches of Greater New York. In organizing this commission, she staged a 24-hour sit-in for three weeks.

She was also a co-founder of the African American Cultural Foundation, Inc., which led the fight against usage of the slave term "Negro".

In 1957, Moore presented a petition to theUnited Nationsand a second in 1959, arguing for self-determination, against genocide, for land and reparations, making her an international advocate. Interviewed by E. Menelik Pinto, Moore explained the petition, in which she asked for 200 billion dollars to monetarily compensate for 400 years of slavery. The petition also called for compensations to be given to African Americans who wish to return to Africa and those who wish to remain in America. Queen Mother Moore was the first signer of the New African agreement

Taking the first of many trips to Africa in 1972, she was given thechieftaincytitle "Queen Mother"by members of theAshanti peopleinGhana,an honorific that became her informal name in the United States.

In 1990, Blakely took her to meetNelson Mandelaafter his release from prison inSouth Africa,at the residence of PresidentKenneth KaundainLusaka,Zambia.In 1996, Blakely assisted Moore in enstoolingWinnie Mandelain the presence of theAusar Auset SocietyInternational at the LowesVictoria Theater (New York City)5 at 125th Street, Harlem.

The first African-American Chairman of the DNC (Democratic National Committee) and U.S. Secretary of CommerceRon Brown (U.S. politician),U.S. CongressmanCharles Rangel,NYC MayorDavid Dinkinsand U.S. Presidential CandidateJesse Jacksonhonored, supported, acknowledged, respected and insured the well-being of Moore as a Royal Elder in the Harlem community.

Sonia Sanchez,voice of the liberation struggle of a people, was a God-daughter adored by Moore.

Queen Mother Moore died in aBrooklynnursing home from natural causes at the age of 98.

Further reading

• "Moore, Audley 'Queen Mother'".American National Biography.Oxford University Press.(subscription required)

External links

• "'Queen Mother’ Moore; black nationalist leader".
• "Queen Mother" Moore, Black History Pages.
• Andy Lanset,"Marcus Garvey: 20th Century Pan-Africanist",NYPR Archives & Preservation, WNYC, February 15, 2013. Queen Mother Moore talks about seeing Marcus Garvey and being in the UNIA in this radio documentary.