Porchia Moore, iSchool alumna, has been striving to help the world understand and connect threads between literacy, cultural heritage and historical artifacts centering on the Black, Indigenous and People of Color Movement.
Moore grew up not far from the university in Columbia, with her mother, a teacher, and her father, who was involved in higher education in politics and history.
Her background is where Moore gained her love and passion for literacy and informatics. Education was extremely important in Moore’s household — her parents were first-generation students and encouraged their daughter to spend her time reading and learning as much as possible.
"While other people were attending, like football games, basketball games, and sporting events, we were going to historic house museums,” Moore says.
Moore attended College of Charleston, finding a love for English literature while pursuing her degree. She got a master’s degree from a joint program at College of Charleston and The Citadel in English literature with a focus on African American literature.
“And while I was taking classes at The Citadel, I learned about a program called the JET Program, which stands for Japan exchange and teaching,” Moore said, “And it was a life changing moment for me.”
The JET program allowed students to be in an English as a second language class with a Japanese-speaking teacher. The program’s mission was sharing cultural heritage. Following the program, Moore moved to Japan, teaching in a rural area.
“The town where I was placed to teach was actually a village, with rice fields, as far as I could see,” Moore says, “They got a traffic light and became a town. I lived in the city, so I rode my bike, almost an hour from the little town where I worked. And it was absolutely fantastic.”
Moore returned to South Carolina, earning a Ph. D. at the School of Information Science.
“What I was curious about is how every time I went to visit a museum or cultural heritage’s place, I would literally be the only person of color or one of a small handful,” Moore says.
She researched the lack of diversity in museums and heritage site attendance, collaborating with iSchool faculty, pioneering the Inclusive Museum Movement.
After her time in the research field, Moore was sent a job posting by friends and colleagues for what turned out to be the next step in her career — associate director of the Center for Arts at University of Florida, connecting literacy and education.
Over the years, Moore has been on NPR’s Here and Now, amd co-authored a book. She was recognized by Forbes and created an activist scholarship at UF.