Cocoa Junior High School

Cocoa Junior High School is a historic school building in Cocoa, Florida (Brevard County). Built in 1923-24, it is one of the oldest remaining Rosenwald Schools in Florida.[2] After the school closed in 1954, the building served as a community center and later as an African-American history museum.[2]

Not to be confused with Moore Memorial Park and Cultural Center.
Cocoa Junior High School
The school building in 2019
Cocoa Junior High School is located in Florida
Cocoa Junior High School
Cocoa Junior High School is located in the United States
Cocoa Junior High School
Location307 Blake Avenue, Cocoa, Florida
Coordinates28°21′14.6″N 80°44′19.1″W
Built1924 (1924), renovated 2019
NRHP reference No.100003581[1]
Added to NRHPApril 3, 2019

History

Cocoa Junior High School was built between 1922 and 1924.[2][3][4] Part of the funding for the school came from the Julius Rosenwald Fund and it served African American students. In 1938, teachers Harry T. Moore and John E. Gilbert sued the school district in order to receive equal pay for black teachers. Gilbert v. Board of Public Instruction of Brevard County reached the Florida Supreme Court, where the court ruled in favor of the district.[5]

It became Monroe High School in 1947 when it began to serve grades 10-12.[2] Following the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision which desegregated American public schools, the school was closed and pupils were sent to integrate local public schools.

The building was acquired by the City of Cocoa and turned into a community center. Renamed the Harry T. Moore Center, it was named for Harry T. Moore, a local civil rights advocate. Moore and his wife had been assassinated three years earlier on Christmas Day 1951 and are believed to be the first civil rights activists to be assassinated during the movement.[6][7]

In 2014 the building was renovated for use as an African American history museum. It is currently a site on Florida's Black Heritage Trail.[8]

In 2019 Cocoa Junior High School was added to the National Register of Historic Places.[2][9]

References
  1. "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
  2. "Cocoa Junior High School - Division of Historical Resources - Florida Department of State". dos.myflorida.com. State of Florida. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  3. Salamone, Debbie (6 July 1986). "BLACKS INSIST SCHOOL RATES PLACE IN HISTORY". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  4. "Harry T. Moore Center in Cocoa, FL". Visit Florida.
  5. Palmer, Kathryn B. (2014). ""A Cruel Hoax": How Brown v. Board of Education Undermined Florida's Black Educators; an Examination of Two Counties, 1954-1971". Florida State University Electronic Theses: 22. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  6. "PBS — Freedom Never Dies: The Story of Harry T. Moore — Harry T. Moore — Moore's Bio". www.pbs.org. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  7. Schudel, Matt (October 28, 2015). "Evangeline Moore, daughter of slain civil rights workers, dies at 85". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved February 27, 2018.
  8. "THE FLORIDA BLACK HERITAGE TRAIL". Tampa Bay Times.
  9. "Secretary of State names two schools to National Register of Historic Places". Tallahassee Democrat. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
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