insidethehouse
Apartment Suites Named for Otis Moss Jr. ‘56 THE REV. DR. OTIS MOSS Jr. ’56 says words deliberately—slowly, articulately, with just a faint hint of the Southern Baptist preacher’s singsong reminiscent of his roots. No doubt, the listener is sure that each word—nay, each syllable—is uttered with intent. So when Moss took the time to call a dozen or so family members by name–from Edwina, his wife of nearly 40 years to his youngest grandchild, two-year-old Makayla—during the renaming of the Morehouse Suites in his honor, the litany was purposeful. Here was a man who put family first. In spite of the pulls and pressures of being a hands-on pastor, a sought-after speaker and lecturer, and a consultant, he took out time for his family and was “always caring and compassionate to his wife, children and extended family,” said his son, Otis Moss III ’92. While the dedicatory prayer by Lawrence E. Carter, dean of the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel, reminded everyone of Moss’s remarkable contribution to various organizations—his consultancy with presidents and his accolades, honors and awards— it was the vignettes of how Moss touched individuals that brought this towering figure (in stature and reputation) to everyman size, and thus were the most poignant. Indeed, if you borrow from the “It’s a Wonderful Life”premise and imagine Morehouse without Moss, the College would be a different place. King Chapel wouldn’t be “international.” Massey perhaps wouldn’t be president.And at least one student who was short on means but tall on determination would not be poised to become a Morehouse man. During the morning naming dedication ceremony on May 12, 2006, Carter recalled, when he first proposed adding “national” to the Chapel’s name, Moss told him he was “thinking too small” and suggested instead “international.” MOREHOUSE MAGAZINE
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Otis Moss Jr. '56, who served for nearly 25 years on the Board of Trustees and recently stepped down as its chairman, is the namesake of the renamed Morehouse Residential Suites.
HONORING TWO By Vickie G. Hampton President Walter E. Massey ’58 credited Moss, along with current Board of Trustees chairman Willie “Flash” Davis ’56, with helping him to decide to return to his alma mater as president. And Basheer James, a 2006 Morehouse graduate from Cleveland, delivered the most impassioned endorsement: “I speak from the stories, mouths and souls of all those touched by Rev. Moss.” James is from the Huff area in Cleveland. “If you were to ever visit Huff, you would say there is no way a person can come from here and get [to Morehouse]”he said. Not only was he from the wrong side of the tracks, but, academically, his grades were off-track. He recalled going to Moss’s office saying, “If you give me an opportunity, I promise I won’t let you down.” While James, who graduated with honors in May, represented a kind of “before” pic-
ture of life under the Moss influence, several slightly older Morehouse men presented the successful “after” picture, including Moss’s son, Otis Moss III, and Kevin R. Johnson ’96. The younger Moss is pastor of the Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago, while Johnson is the assistant pastor of the historic Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem. Johnson worked with Moss as a summer intern in 1996, and later, from 1999 to 2002, as assistant pastor of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church, which Moss pastors.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS When Moss was a student at Morehouse, finances were tight. In his sophomore year, he recalls receiving two letters one day. The first was from the Morehouse Business Office asking him to move off campus because he had failed to pay his room and board fees.