Apr. 24, 1963 - In Attalla, Alabama today, state and county authorities began a massive search for the slayer of a white Baltimore mailman who was making an integration pilgrimage to Mississippi. William L. Moore (pictured the day he was murdered), 35, was shot to death at close range yesterday as he walked near Attalla, a town in northeastern Alabama. He was wearing pro-integration signs. “We have nothing concrete,” Chief Deputy Sheriff Tony Reynolds said. “It’s a process now of elimination — talking to witnesses and running down leads.” In Washington, President Kennedy described the slaying as an “outrageous crime.” At his news conference, the President expressed personal shock about “the assassination of citizens” on public roads. Governor George Wallace, a staunch segregationist, called the slaying a “dastardly act.” He offered a $1,000 reward for the arrest of the killer. Mr. Moore started his trek Monday in Chattanooga, Tenn., after a bus trip from Washington, D.C. In a letter to The Associated Press, postmarked yesterday morning in Trenton, Ga., Mr. Moore said that his reception in the South “was very courteous.” He said the only incident occurred when a Negro objected to the word “black” on his integration sign. He said the Negro ripped it off, saying the word should have been “colored.” The sign read on one side: “Eat at Joe’s, Both Black and White.” The other side read: “Equal Rights for All — Mississippi or Bust.” The slain man’s widow described him as “a crusader for people’s rights and freedoms.” Mrs. Moore said: “Oh God, I don’t know why anyone would want to hurt him. He was so kind.”
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