The Honorable Luke Charles Moore served our city with great distinction and honor for over fifteen years as a judge of the D. C. Superior Court. One of his many endeavors was his support of the D. C. Street Academy, an alternative education program for at-risk students. Judge Moore devoted a great deal of his personal time trying to steer our troubled youth to base their lives on hard work and perseverance, values which made him successful in like and respected across the land.
Luke Charles Moore was born in Collinsville, Illinois, on February 25, 1924. During his early childhood, his parents returned to Memphis, Tennessee where he attended public schools. After graduating from high school, he matriculated at LeMoyne College, where he attended for one year prior to his induction into the Army in 1943. While in the military service, he was selected to attend the Army Specialized Training Program at Howard University in 1944. Thereafter, he was assigned for duty with the 92nd Infantry (Buffalo) Division, and engaged in combat duty with that unit in the Italian Campaign. After his discharge from military service in 1946, he re-enrolled at Howard University, from which he graduated with honors in 1949. In 1950, he entered Georgetown University Law School where he graduated in the top echelon of his class in 1954.
In 1955, Luke Moore was admitted to the District of Columbia Bar. He engaged in the general practice of law with the law firm of Cobb, Howard & Hayes until 1959, when he was appointed Assistant United States Attorney. He served in that position until 1962 when he was appointed Chief United States Marshal for the District of Columbia by President John F. Kennedy. Luke Moore was the first African-American to serve as a Chief Marshal in any Federal District of the United States since the appointment of Frederick Douglas in 1877. As Chief Marshal for the District of Columbia, he directed and supervised the yearlong security for James Meredith whose admission to the then segregated University of Mississippi was ordered by the Federal Court. Luke Moore was reappointed to the United States Attorney's Office in 1969, where he served as Chief of the Superior Court Division.
President Richard M. Nixon appointed Luke Moore as Judge of the Superior Court of the District of Columbia in July 1972. Judge Moore presided over the Superior Court with great distinction and honor for fifteen years. In 1987, Judge Moore received senior status as a judge.
Judge Moore was a member of many charitable, civic and fraternal organizations. He was an active participant in support of alternative educational programs which afforded young people a second, and sometimes a third chance to continue their education. His mission was to "break the cycle of young people graduating from youth offenses to adult offenses." Judge Moore and other judges began a program called Reclaim Our Youth where young people who had gone through the juvenile justice system were assigned adult mentors. He served as the Chairman of the Board of Advisors for the D. C. Street Academy. On May 4, 1997 the school honored this humanitarian by renaming it as the Luke C. Moore Academy SHS. |
