Why We Run: JA Moore
As we get closer and closer to election day, we’re showing off some of our inspiring endorsed candidates in our “Why We Run” series. Our next candidate is JA Moore. JA grew up serving his community. But when tragedy touched his family twice, he knew he needed to do more. Now, he’s running to change the status quo in the South Carolina House of Representatives.
What problem do you want to solve by running for office?
We have a culture of corruption in Columbia, South Carolina. We’ve had one political party that’s been in power for a generation, at almost every level — from municipal government, to school boards, to county government, to the state legislature, and up to the governor’s mansion. The majority of our Congressmen, other than Jim Clyburn, are Republican. Both our United States Senators are Republican. We have an entire state run by one political party, so there’s no accountability.
It’s extremely important to elect a pragmatic, progressive Democrat to this seat, because the challenges we face here in South Carolina are the same challenges that we face all across our country. Our roads and bridges are crumbling. Sewer and water systems are outdated. Our schools are ranked at the bottom in the nation. Our teachers’ pay is ranked in the bottom 30 percent.
So many of the challenges we face start with our leadership. I’m sure they’re nice people, but we need change. We need more, we deserve more, and we, as a community, have to start demanding more.
Who has inspired you in your life?
My dad, James Moore Sr., joined the Marine Corps in 1945 at the age of 15. He was one of the first African-Americans to join the Marine Corps. He was what they call a Montford Point Marine. They were like the Tuskegee Airmen for the Marine Corps.
He later became a civil rights leader, and fought not only for the rights of African-Americans in the rural south in the sixties, but also for women’s rights — which was very progressive for his time.
You see — at the plant where he worked in Hampton, African-American women weren’t allowed to work in the office. So, he organized for women’s rights and the rights of minorities. He eventually started a non-profit organization, The Hampton County Committee for the Betterment of Poor People. He ran it together with my mom for 25 years.
What’s amazing is that the week before he died, my dad was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal for being a Montford Point Marine. He got the Congressional Gold Medal in DC, took a train back to South Carolina, and died the next week.
My dad was incredible.
My mom, along with running the non-profit with my dad, was an educator and worked in public schools in four different counties here in South Carolina. She always talks about why she worked 80 hour weeks — 40 hours to pay the bills, another 40 hours to give back to the community. But she doesn’t just talk about it, she lives it every single day.
Was there a specific incident that led you to decide to run?
I’ve always been civically active because of my parents’ non-profit organization. One of my first memories was being five or six years old in the summertime, giving out free lunch to about 200 kids every day before I could eat my own lunch.
But the pivotal and transformative moment for me came in 2015, when my sister, Myra Thompson, was tragically murdered in the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston. It really made me realize that it was time for me to start cause-based activism, and to work on closing the background check loophole.
I’m a proud gun owner, so I’m not against guns. It’s just that this particular background check loophole allowed a person who was legally prohibited from owning a gun to purchase a gun. So, I started advocating for that.
In December of that same year, my brother was killed. He walked into the street and was hit by four cars. He was in Iraqi Freedom and struggled with post-traumatic stress. He had a lot of mental health and substance abuse challenges.
Both of these tragedies sparked me to get involved in so many different issues dealing with mental health, substance abuse, background checks, education and teacher’s pay. Before 2015, I knew these issues were important, but they weren’t specifically important to me.
Since 2015, I’ve realized that 1) life is fragile, and 2) if there’s something you want to change, you have to do it now. You can’t just ask other people to do it — you have to be the change that you want to see.
Anything interesting happen during door-knocking?
One amazing thing I’ve learned from knocking on doors is that people don’t know who their representatives are. They find it so refreshing that someone is coming to their door, meeting with them, and spending time with them.
We’re not just coming by once and asking for their vote. We started this campaign meeting people and saying, “Hey, I’m not even asking for your vote today. I just want to introduce myself and get to know you. I’ll be back.” I’ve had so many people invite me in their homes, and invite me back to dinner, to their churches and civic groups.
The most interesting part is just getting to know people as individuals. In our society, we don’t know our neighbors. It has been amazing to reconnect with my neighborhood and to this community — and to realize how people really just want be listened to. People just want be heard.
What has surprised you about running?
I think what surprised me about running is just how good people are. It’s a good surprise. Especially in the world that we live in, and with our current political discourse, sometimes it can be discouraging. Sometimes it can be taxing. But people really are good.
I wish we could get to a place where we take down that wall that we’ve built up of partisanship, sexism, racism, and all the “isms” that you can possibly imagine –because I think the people I’ve spoken to are good. That’s what it’s been for me.
Anything you’d like to add to our conversation?
My plea to everybody is simple — just walk with me. I’m asking everybody over these next several days to walk with me, and to walk with all of us.
Check out JA’s campaign website to learn more about his campaign: http://jamooreforsc.com/
