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An Interview with Eugene Moss Jr. By Jordan J. Lassiter. Interview with Eugene Moss Jr. Born: August 1927 in East Orange, New Jersey Was one of four children Served in WWII and Korean Conflict Son of immigrant parents True Blue and C rooked I sland , Bahamas
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An Interview with Eugene Moss Jr. By Jordan J. Lassiter
Interview with Eugene Moss Jr. • Born: August 1927 in East Orange, New Jersey • Was one of four children • Served in WWII and Korean Conflict • Son of immigrant parents • True Blue and Crooked Island, Bahamas • Father was a carpenter and fisherman. • Moved to OpaLocka, Florida (Outside of Miami) where his parents married
Childhood • Grandpa would go to Upsala College to fly kites as a child • Father would always have him doing chores • Bought 1929 Ford for 25 dollars • Father tried really hard to keep kids out of trouble especially during the summer
Continued… • Through grade school- Grandpa did not experience much racism and excelled in his studies • However, when walking around his neighborhood his brother and he would choose the “right streets” to walk down, especially during Halloween
Military Experience • Was classified as 1A • During weekends in High School, he worked at medical lab in Newark analyzing cultures in a Bacteriology lab. • Was sent to the medical corps in Texas and was the only black person that went to the medical tech training. • WWII ended and he was honorably discharged
College • With the GI Bill Grandpa perused a degree at Lincoln University in 1947 • Many of his classmates were from New Jersey and were taught by mainly white professors • Joined Kappa Alpha Psi • Father was very against education
THE KOREAN WAR (1950’s) • Received a letter stating that he needed to serve another 10 months in the military • Completed basic training again, and was very nervous he would be sent to the battle front • Stationed in Germany • Encountered a new form of racism • Joined military track team (traveled throughout Europe) • Worked in and out of hospitals • Was the only black person to be doing this at the time in the bacteriological phase. • Given graduate credit.
Interest in Research • High School jobs at both the bacteriology lab and pharmacy • Military experience • In the military expanded him • Worked with diseases, bacteria and fungus with the diseases/ bacteria and fungus • Patients! • Bacteriological phases in all kinds of projects. • CDC and Doctors. • After Korean Conflict went to graduate school
Career • Schering-Plough researcher • Schering-Plough manufactured several pharmaceutical drugs best known for the allergy drug Claritin, and an anti-cholesterol drug called Vytorin among others • Working with one phase of a chemists work and expanded it to create a more in depth analysis • Was the only black researcher until the end of his career • International meetings
How the field has changed? • COMPUTERS! • “It is nice to see other black scientist, and that they are in programs. I am very proud of what they are doing and the dignity they take in their work.”