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Biography

Born in Ohio, Tomas Moore lived a fairly normal segregated life, with the exception of sit-ins, marches, and the controversy of Dr. King’s fight.  Even with a degree in Business Administration, Mr. Moore could not find work, until three and a half years in the Air Force and the advent of affirmative action.  He and his wife, Lily, have lived in Iowa for over thirty years raising their family and being active in their church.

Transcript

Date of Interview: May 4, 2009

Shawndell Young: My name is Shawndell Young. I spell it as S-h-a-w-n-d-e-l-l. I will be interviewing Mr. Tom Moore. Are you ready to get started?

Tom Moore: I’m ready to get started.

Shawndell: Okey dokey, well, here’s my first question; where were you born?

Tom Moore: I was born in Bellefontaine, Ohio, a little town near Columbus, Ohio.

Shawndell: And where do you live now?

Tom Moore: I live in Hiawatha, Iowa, which is just north of Cedar Rapids.

Shawndell: How long have you lived in Iowa? The parts around Iowa and Iowa?

Tom Moore: I’ve lived in the same place in Iowa since I came here thirty-four years ago, in 1974.

Shawndell: Where have you went to school?

Tom Moore: I attended college in Columbus, Ohio at Franklin University; got my BS Degree in Business & Administration.

Shawndell: Have you been involved in any Civil Rights movements or things that they have done? Organizations?

Tom Moore: I have been involved in the NAACP, not recently, but had been involved somewhat with the NAACP when moving to Iowa. I also have been involved in Civil Rights marches in Ohio, which was very, this was around 1963, 1964 when the Civil Rights marches and movement were very, very strong, and we would go hand in hand and we would march to, this was when I lived in Delaware, Ohio, we’d march to the city square. We held some readings and this type of thing, in those years that was prior to the Civil Rights Act, employment was really tough, there was a lot of segregation, there was a lot of hard feelings, and when I was coming along we could never swim in the swimming pool, that was public swimming pool; it was public to everyone else. We had our swimming hole out in the country, which was very dangerous with tree roots and quality of water cause cows were raised near by, a lot of toxins in the water and this type of thing but, those were some things we experienced coming up. I remember those very, very vividly.

Shawndell: Well, you’ve already kind of touched on it with some of your stories, but how did the Civil Rights Movement actually hit you? Like how did it affect you in your life?

Tom Moore: Well, Civil Rights, I was, I spent a number of years very frightened by the movement when Dr. King was marching. People were being lynched, hosed, and dogs were being sicced on people people and there were parts of the African-American Community was really not in favor of Dr. King doing this because it meant that they had a lot of retaliation on their jobs, and they were afraid of not being able to get mortgages or losing their jobs and Dr. King was stirring up a real hornet’s nest and of course many African-Americans were all for him. So actually people were split on which way to take Dr. King. It wasn’t until years later that I came to appreciate exactly what he was doing. It affected me, especially when I got out of college, I was not able, this was in 1969, at that time I was not able to find work; I would go to places and I knew that they were not going to take my application serious. So, I went on into the service, into the Air Force. I spent time there. They were desegregating and they were spending time with sensitivity training and these type of things that came about as a result of Civil Rights. The Air Force was forcing all of us, black and white, to go to special sessions to learn about each other, learn about our rights, to learn about what changes that were going about in the service, and affirmative action came about while I was in the service and when I came out it in 1972, I had six job offers that were very valid jobs that were very well paying jobs. So within that three, three and a half year time period, things changed that much. I’m talking about the same companies that I went to prior to going to the service.

Shawndell: How long were you in the service?

Tom Moore: I was in the service for three and a half years.

Shawndell: Ooo, long time! Could you explain to me like how it was to be African-American in that time? Like in that time on that diaphragm?

Tom Moore: My experiences were mainly in Ohio at that time and there were still separate facilities for African Americans on the railroad, we lived in a railroad town most of the time. And most people don’t think of, in terms of black only when it comes to Ohio and in the Midwestern states but those things existed here, too, and they did in Iowa as well. So, those were some things I remember going by looking on restaurants and couldn’t go in; and I remember getting a hamburger once. It was the best tasting hamburger I think I ever had. I still remember that hamburger. It was at a little restaurant beside the railroad tracks that served railroaders. I had to go to the back door to get the hamburger but it was really quite an experience because it was really a dive; but for us it was something unusual and, of course, even it the worst of places we were not allowed to get in. I remember my dad involved in the sit ins at a place called Isley’s, which was an ice cream parlor and black people had to go to the back and wait to be waited on and if anyone else came in while you were waiting, they got added to the list before you and you waited until everyone was served and then you got some very mean treatment. But those are some things I recall coming along.

Shawndell: Can you describe what was it like to be a kid at a African-American church and actually some of your experiences being at church?

Tom Moore: I grew up in church and I have very fond memories. In Sunday School in the church is where I learned to speak publicly; we had little pieces to say for Easter and Christmas. I remember being secretary of the young people’s Sunday School and going to conventions that we were delegates even as children, we would go to camp meetings that they use to hold. Open-air Tent Meetings were a lot of fun. Church was a social outlet for African-Americans. In the African-American community you had a couple choices; you could either go to a bar, or a dive, or you could go to church, and the lodges were the social gatherings. So the church really was the focus of our social life and provided a lot of fun, but also provided a lot of guidance in our lives.

Shawndell: So, I know because I used to go to the same church as you, so why did you decide that you were going to go to church and get active?

Tom Moore: I didn’t have a choice to decide if I was going. Mom and dad said you will be going, so I started out going and actually after I became saved I had a strong desire to become a part of the church and I am there almost as much as the Pastor is there. I taught Sunday School for about forty years in the African-American church, I have seen kids of the kids I used to teach come back to the Sunday School, so church has been very, very important for me.

Shawndell: So what do you do for entertainment now?

Tom Moore: Golf when I can. I read some. I really enjoy fellowshipping with friends and visiting and doing a little bit of traveling, those are the things I remember as a kid, we really couldn’t travel much because you had to be going to someone’s house that you knew. Wherever they were going they had to have a place to stay. So now we travel and make reservations and stay at whatever hotel or motel we want to. So we travel and enjoy doing that.

Shawndell: So, and what did you do for entertainment back then when you were a kid?

Tom Moore: Oh, we rode bikes, we went swimming out in the country, we hiked, we would dam up the creek, and all sorts of things. We raised pigeons, played basketball, we made our own basketball courts, played football, probably played too much football without a helmet, but we had a lot of fun with simple things, played a lot of baseball.

Shawndell: What has been one of your happiest times of your life?

Tom Moore: Happiest times were when my, our children were born and when I got married, my wife and I got married. Also, I guess I would have to say the happiest time was when I got saved and came into the realization of Jesus Christ in my life, and those were some of the happiest times I can remember.

Shawndell: And what has been some of your saddest times?

Tom Moore: Well, I’d have to say burying my mother, burying my father two years later, were very, very sad because we were very close. Those were probably the saddest, saddest times and yet they were joyful because they were saved as well; they knew the Lord.

Shawndell: What has been one of your biggest accomplishments?

Tom Moore: I would say, the African-American Museum of Iowa. I was one of the founders of that. And I feel very proud of the Museum, and the staff, and the things that we’re doing; and I had no idea we’d be doing the things we’re doing when we started out this project about fourteen years ago and, I’m sorry it sixteen years ago is when we had actually started with the idea. To me, that’s one of the proudest things that I have. Raising our children and seeing them grow up and now having grandchildren is one of the proudest things I have.

Shawndell: Okay, now what would you change about the outcome of your life right now? If you could change anything in your life right now, what would it be?

Tom Moore: I guess I would, would have wanted to be better prepared for college when I went. College wouldn’t have been quite as difficult; we weren’t as prepared as we had hoped that we could be. But other than that I wouldn’t change much of anything, I’ve had a good life, continuing to have a good life and so there are very few things that I would change.

Shawndell: Is there any questions that you think I have missed or any stories that you would like to tell or anything that you think that we really should know?

Tom Moore: That’s a good question. I don’t know; you’ve asked an awful lot of questions. I’m not, not really coming up with anything else, I guess.

Shawndell: Well, thank you for interviewing with me.

Tom Moore: Thank you for interviewing me. You’re welcome.