Event-goers watch a presentation of Moore's life. 

The Iberia African American Historical Society offered a full day of events Wednesday with the organization’s Queen Mother Moore Legacy Symposium and Celebration.

The event was the first ever commemoration of Queen Mother Moore, an Iberia Parish native who became a civil rights leader, pan-Africanist and African liberation leader.

The event included experts in the field who came to town for the day to speak about Moore. Those included Ashley Farmer, PH.D, who is working on a biography of Moore, and Cassie Turnipseed, PH.D., an assistant professor at Jackson State University who is a leading historian on the preservation of civil rights activists in the south.

“She was a political activist, mother, writer, educator and so much more,” Tiffany Caesar, PH.D, said. “I hope this is the first and not the last commemoration we have of her.”

Caesar said the symposium came about after discussing with Phebe Hayes, PH.D, possible projects for the IAAHS. Caesar chose to write a grant for an event that would use Moore’s life to highlight African American history in New Iberia.

“I was fascinated that an international human rights figure like Queen Mother Moore was from New Iberia and yet her name wasn’t amplified as it should be,” Caesar said.

The event also included special guests, which were the grandchildren of Queen Mother Moore who flew in from Chicago and Philadelphia to see the event for themselves.

Audley Warner III, the granddaughter of Moore, said she was honored that the IAAHS had chosen to put on a symposium for her grandmother.

“It is our honor to be here with you,” she said.

Apart from speakers, the event also included a Queen Mother Moore Children’s Story at Cyr-Gates Community Center in City Park, where Caesar read an original children’s story to children participating in a New Iberia Recreation Department summer camp.

Later in the day Carl Cooper, the owner of Da Berry Fresh Market, gave a talk about the history of the black business district on Martin Luther King Boulevard (Hopkins Street).

The day closed out with a ceremony featuring John Reedom that included an African drum performance and libations.