Amzie Moore Home

Built in 1941 with the first FHA loan issued to a Black homeowner in Bolivar County, the Amzie Moore Home in Cleveland, Mississippi, is far more than a modest brick residence—it’s a national symbol of grassroots civil rights organizing and quiet, persistent leadership.

Amzie Moore was already advocating for Black rights in Mississippi decades before the Civil Rights Movement hit its stride. A World War II veteran, postal worker, and local businessman, Moore became president of Cleveland’s NAACP chapter in 1955 and quickly turned his home into a strategic refuge for movement leaders. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Medgar Evers, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Bob Moses were among those who found shelter, strategy, and sustenance within its walls.

Moore worked to register Black voters, defied segregation in his businesses, helped search for Emmett Till, and eventually shifted his focus from the NAACP to SNCC, building programs like Head Start and supporting the National Council of Negro Women. He believed in leading from behind, connecting people, sustaining the work, and building local power.

After years of vacancy, the house was restored and preserved through a partnership led by the Cleveland Heritage Commission and Delta State University. Today, the Amzie Moore House Museum & Interpretive Center stands as a powerful educational space and a monument to a man whose legacy shaped a more just Mississippi.

Open by appointment.
Learn more or schedule a visit here.