The true aspects of segregation pitted citizens of color and non-color apart from each other in a desperate, yet unforgiving atmosphere that permeated society, especially following World War II. People were inclined to go with the basic thought process that existed then for fear of being ostracized. Corruption, homicide, arson, and the lynching of blacks ran amuck. At times, anyone caught defending them was also considered breaking the law. Economic depravity encompassed not only black civilians but poor, less educated white people.
William Moore would always stand up for what he believed in. Once in 1963, he stood in line for a white only movie theater with some black students. They wanted to buy tickets. The police arrived and arrested them for trespassing. William was arrested and he spent the night in jail. Another time he marched by himself in 16-degree in front of a court house, carrying a sign that said “Turn toward Peace.” He walked alone from Baltimore to the state capitol to protest segregation. After he did that he walked to Washington, D.C., to deliver a letter to President Kennedy at the White House. He wanted to deliver a letter to the governor of Mississippi asking him to accept integration. Finally the day came for William to start his walk; it was April 21, 1963. A little while after he had crossed the Alabama state line some people in cars went by. They called him a ‘****** lover’ and threw rocks at him. Just south of Collbran, Alabama, a white store owner named Floyd Simpson heard about him. He found Moore and they stopped to talk. Later, on Highway II, William stopped to rest. While he was resting he was shot and killed. Law enforcement officials were later to prove it was Simpson's gun. Although he was murdered, Moore died for a good cause.
Moore, William. Against The Odds. Jan. 1970 p 212.
Barbarously obscene