Transcript Black Scientists

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 Opa Locka, Florida (Outside of Miami)
where his parents married
1935

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
College Photo

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.
Painting From Germany

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.”
Mom’s Wedding &
Present Day
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