The first time I met Rebecca Moore, we were both out on the streets. She was doing her thing (speaking out against violence) and I was doing mine (photographing).
© 2011 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Community activist Rebecca Moore speaks to a Fox 43 reporter at a rally against crime at the intersection of West King and South West Streets on Thursday, Oct. 6, 2011. Joanne Borders, a community resource liaison with the York City police, organized the rally, which took place about four blocks from the area where a man was shot and robbed of his SUV on Wednesday, Oct. 5.
Reporter Rebecca had already been in touch with Moore, for a Sunday centerpiece story about her acting out against gang activity in the Parkway neighborhood of York City. (According to York City police, the Parkway gang is one of the five most active gangs, out of 49 total gangs that have been documented in city limits over the past five years.) Rebecca introduced Moore to me, and later that night, we went to Moore’s house for the first time.
Between daily assignments and over the next two weeks, I spent time with Moore — on a personal level, in her home, with her family, with just her.
© 2011 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Community activist Rebecca Moore watches from her front porch as a car pulls up along the curb of Parkway Boulevard at dusk on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011. Moore is a resident on Parkway Boulevard, where she has seen the level of crime and violence rise in the past six years. She has since formed Operation Stand Up - an organization that assists residents and police officers at crime scenes - and become an outspoken member of the community against the Parkway Gang's activities.
Most of the pictures that were published in the centerpiece two Sundays ago were taken on one particular day — Sunday, Oct. 16. For a while, Moore and I were unable to make our schedules work, so on Saturday the 15th, I stopped by her house on a whim after I wrapped up an assignment, just to say hi. She ended up showing Rebecca and me around the neighborhood…
© 2011 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. A "No Trespassing" sign is one of several posted around the fringes of the Parkway neighborhood. The neighborhood, which is owned by the York Housing Authority, is restricted only to residents and their guests, for whom residents are to be held accountable.
…and I ended up spending the rest of the day with her and her family.
© 2011 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Tah'ryzma Holland, 3, looks up at her grandmother Rebecca Moore as Moore prepares to leave the house for a while on Saturday, Oct. 15, 2011. The girl, known as Nana to friends and family, and her father live with Moore on Parkway Boulevard. Nana calls Moore "Mommy" and gets separation anxiety whenever Moore leaves the house without her. When asked if she fears retaliation for her boldness, Moore said she is not afraid. When asked if she fears retaliation upon her loved ones, Moore said her loved ones are why she refuses to back down.
I joined them again the next day — Sunday — for their weekly family dinner.
© 2011 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Community activist Rebecca Moore, in orange, and her family gather around a groaning table of food as her mother Mary Tyler, back and seated, says a prayer before the family dinner meal on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011, at Moore's house. Every Sunday, members of Moore's family come to her house for family dinner, although attendance varies during the football season.
It was a wonderful evening. The house filled up quickly with more family members and friends than I could keep track of, and Moore became engaged that night.
© 2011 by The York Daily Record/Sunday News. Cake topper in hand, community activist Rebecca Moore surprises her new fiance Andy after she said yes on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2011, to his proposal for marriage the day before. Moore teased Andy by presenting him with a sheet cake with three toppers and telling him that two of the toppers said "no" and one topper said "yes" - and that whichever topper he picked would be her answer to his proposal. In fact, Moore had written "yes" on all three toppers.
The story ran two Sundays ago, after being held for two Sundays because of the Penn State coverage. Be sure to check out Rebecca’s story for a lot more information about Moore, as well as for more photos.
Rebecca, our editors and I agree that this story isn’t complete — it’s absolutely a work in progress. And this probably won’t be the last we’ll see of Moore, either in the newspaper or on this blog. Stay tuned…
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