Queen Mother Moore petitioned the United Nations for reparations for Black Americans in the 1950s — making her the first person to formally bring the reparations demand to an international body.
The Story of Queen Mother Audley Moore
Audley Moore was born in 1898 in New Iberia, Louisiana and grew up experiencing the full violence of Jim Crow America. She became a communist organizer in her thirties, worked with Marcus Garvey's movement, and gradually developed into one of the most significant Black nationalist thinkers of the 20th century.
Moore became known as 'Queen Mother' for her tireless advocacy and her recognition as an elder in Pan-African circles. She was a founding member of the Universal Association of Ethiopian Women and later established the Committee for Reparations for Descendants of American Slaves.
In the 1950s, she took the demand for reparations for slavery to the United Nations — becoming the first person to formally bring this demand before an international body. Her petition argued that the United States owed reparations to Black Americans for centuries of unpaid labor and the ongoing effects of slavery and segregation.
She continued to organize, speak, and demand reparations until her death in 1997 at age 98. The modern reparations movement — including HR 40, the bill introduced annually in Congress to study reparations — traces its lineage directly to Queen Mother Moore's decades of advocacy. She is honored as a foundational figure in Pan-African and Black nationalist political thought.
Color Queen's Portrait
The Alphabet Book of Generals — Who Resisted White Supremacy and Won features a full-page coloring portrait of Queen with a color guide and fun fact. Perfect for children ages 4–12 and Black history education.
Get the Book on Amazon →