Esther Hunt Moore was born of slave ancestry in Mississippi and spent over 40 years in Hickory, North Carolina as a teacher, wife, mother and civic worker. After marriage, Mrs. Moore taught in the elementary grades and taught choral music, a combination destined for a professional lifetime. With her three children through college and established, Esther turned to more training for herself. In 1959, she earned a BS in Special Education and in 1963, earned a Master’s from Columbia in Special Education for the Gifted. In 1960, she toured 8 countries in Europe on a Columbia Travel Course, observing educational facilities and philosophy. In 1967, she spent her time in work in the Association of University Women and with the League of Women Voters, the organization which sponsored her nomination as Mother of the Year. She was also the first black women to register in Catawba County. Her interests in equal opportunity and equal pay have made her a welcome member of the League of Women Voters Committee on Human Resources. She was also very active in Women in Community Service, an organization that helps disadvantaged girls learn and earn. She was a member of Kappa Delta Pi , Phi Lambda Theta and Alpha Kappa Alpha.
