 Her and her husband's murder was the first assassination to happen during the civil rights movement, and the only time a husband and wife were both killed for their activism.Harriette Vyda Simms was born in West Palm Beach, Florida on June 19, 1902, to David Ira Simms (a wood lathe worker) and Annie (Warren) Simms.She had sisters Valerie and Mae, and brothers George, Arnold, Rupert and David, Jr.