Day 22 - Audley Moore

“I had two guns-one in my bosom and one in my pocketbook . . . Everybody was told, and everybody knew they had to come armed. We wanted that freedom.” Audley “Queen Mother” Moore. Mother Moore describes the scene in New Orleans, Louisiana after Marcus Garvey was listed to speak but police officers prevented his speech by arresting him. Audley Moore has fond memories of Marcus Garvey, he was known as a Black nationalist leader.

In the early 1920s Audley Moore joined a community of Black Activists after the post- World War I era. The community turned to the UNIA which provided them with a platform for Black women to speak to the masses about universal liberation. Audley Moore gives homage to Garvey,”  [He]  brought me a new consciousness in relation to Africa and the connection with the Caribbean. I didn’t know my connections with the West Indies and neither did I know my connections with Africa”. Moore used her experience with Garvey to learn and grow. She shaped her own thoughts and language on Pan-Africanism, African heritage, self sufficiency, racial solidarity, etc. 

Mother Moore is revolutionary because she continued to advocate for other women. In 1957, She established the Universal Association of Ethiopian Women (UAEW). The focus of the organization was a grassroots Pan-African organization. Mother Moore was able to collaborate with other women in Louisiana to teach the principles of Pan-Africanism and Marcus Garvey’s lessons. Mother Audley Moore utilized her experiences while educating herself to create space for other Black Women. We must continue to collaborate, create spaces for other Black women and girls to educate each other because education is the key to the future. 

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