University of Minnesota Athletics
Black History Month: Charles Moss
2/25/2022 9:52:00 AM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
HOMETOWN AND CULTURAL BACKGROUND?
I am from Nassau, Bahamas, an independent predominantly black island nation with black leadership situated just 50 miles off the coast of Florida. In fact, one of our Prime Ministers is a graduate from the University of Minnesota as well.
WHAT SPORT WERE YOU A MANAGER FOR AND WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT JOB OR PAST JOB IN GOPHER ATHLETICS?
I am a semi-retired architect and was the first Bahamian student-athlete to attend the U of M, followed by Peter Gilcud and Mychael Thompson (1st foreign player drafted in the 1st round) and Osborne Lockart (played for the GlobeTrotters).
My career path came to the U of M to study architecture and my love for track and field.
While participating at the Northwest Open Track and Field Meet in the Fieldhouse as a walk-on, I won the event and had the triple jump record for 22 years. In 2022, I celebrated my 50-year anniversary receiving my 50-Year Diamond M Pin.
IF YOU WERE WRITING A LETTER TO YOURSELF, WHAT WOULD BE THE THREE POINTS OF WISDOM REGARDING BEING BLACK?
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A YOUNG PERSON OF COLOR DREAMING TO DO YOUR JOB ?
Life is about choices, so choose well, a small choice can affect you for the rest of your life.
"Man is the Master of his Thoughts, the Molder of Character, and the Maker and Shaper of Condition, Environment and Destiny" is the quote that I use to encourage the youth that I mentor.
WHAT DOES BLACK HISTORY MONTH MEAN TO YOU? AND HOW HAS THE SUMMER OF 2020 CHANGE IT?
We all need to know our history from where we came to be knowledgeable of those whose shoulders we stand on and keep making them proud. Many have made sacrifices for where we are today. We have come a long way but still there is a long way to go so we must keep improving ourselves.
The summer of 2020 has demonstrated that we do not live alone but in a very complex world composed of people from many cultures and must understand each other's differences in order for the world to be a better place. I was not proud to say that in 2020 and expressed it on my Facebook page "Black Lives Matter" and the world needs to understand what that means.
HOW HAVE YOU BEEN INFLUENCED OR INSPIRED BY OTHER BLACK ATHLETES, ROLE MODELS, OR LEADERS IN YOUR LIFE?
There are so many that have influenced me. My earliest athletic role model was one of my uncles who water skied from the Bahamas to the USA in the 1950s and is a GUINESS BOOK OF RECORDS holder. Another uncle was an excellent tennis player who was elected to parliament.
Muhammad Ali taught me to be PROUD OF THE SKIN and my role model that I am most proud of was Sir. Sidney Poitier, a groundbreaking black actor, first black academy award winner and a Bahamian who hailed from humble beginnings, to win the "Oscar" came from the island of cat island in the Bahamas.
Then there was my track coach, Roy Griak, at the university who encouraged me to be a student first, then an athlete because after your active athletic career is over, one needs a career to fall on.
Last, reading EBONY MAGAZINE in my early childhood. It opened my mind to "black life in AMERICA" and lastly, my father and mother. They knew that education was the most important way to getting ahead in life and instilled that in my sibling and myself the concept of the "Glass Ceiling" and so one needs to get educated to remove it.
I feel grateful and thankful and blessed for all those that mentored me and I have tried to be a positive influence to those that I encounter on a daily basis.
I am from Nassau, Bahamas, an independent predominantly black island nation with black leadership situated just 50 miles off the coast of Florida. In fact, one of our Prime Ministers is a graduate from the University of Minnesota as well.
WHAT SPORT WERE YOU A MANAGER FOR AND WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT JOB OR PAST JOB IN GOPHER ATHLETICS?
I am a semi-retired architect and was the first Bahamian student-athlete to attend the U of M, followed by Peter Gilcud and Mychael Thompson (1st foreign player drafted in the 1st round) and Osborne Lockart (played for the GlobeTrotters).
My career path came to the U of M to study architecture and my love for track and field.
While participating at the Northwest Open Track and Field Meet in the Fieldhouse as a walk-on, I won the event and had the triple jump record for 22 years. In 2022, I celebrated my 50-year anniversary receiving my 50-Year Diamond M Pin.
IF YOU WERE WRITING A LETTER TO YOURSELF, WHAT WOULD BE THE THREE POINTS OF WISDOM REGARDING BEING BLACK?
- First, set your career goals early in life.
- Secondly, look for a mentor to assist you and take their counsel. Hang out with people with like goals.
- Thirdly, have passion for what you want to accomplish and meet deadlines early.
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO A YOUNG PERSON OF COLOR DREAMING TO DO YOUR JOB ?
Life is about choices, so choose well, a small choice can affect you for the rest of your life.
"Man is the Master of his Thoughts, the Molder of Character, and the Maker and Shaper of Condition, Environment and Destiny" is the quote that I use to encourage the youth that I mentor.
WHAT DOES BLACK HISTORY MONTH MEAN TO YOU? AND HOW HAS THE SUMMER OF 2020 CHANGE IT?
We all need to know our history from where we came to be knowledgeable of those whose shoulders we stand on and keep making them proud. Many have made sacrifices for where we are today. We have come a long way but still there is a long way to go so we must keep improving ourselves.
The summer of 2020 has demonstrated that we do not live alone but in a very complex world composed of people from many cultures and must understand each other's differences in order for the world to be a better place. I was not proud to say that in 2020 and expressed it on my Facebook page "Black Lives Matter" and the world needs to understand what that means.
HOW HAVE YOU BEEN INFLUENCED OR INSPIRED BY OTHER BLACK ATHLETES, ROLE MODELS, OR LEADERS IN YOUR LIFE?
There are so many that have influenced me. My earliest athletic role model was one of my uncles who water skied from the Bahamas to the USA in the 1950s and is a GUINESS BOOK OF RECORDS holder. Another uncle was an excellent tennis player who was elected to parliament.
Muhammad Ali taught me to be PROUD OF THE SKIN and my role model that I am most proud of was Sir. Sidney Poitier, a groundbreaking black actor, first black academy award winner and a Bahamian who hailed from humble beginnings, to win the "Oscar" came from the island of cat island in the Bahamas.
Then there was my track coach, Roy Griak, at the university who encouraged me to be a student first, then an athlete because after your active athletic career is over, one needs a career to fall on.
Last, reading EBONY MAGAZINE in my early childhood. It opened my mind to "black life in AMERICA" and lastly, my father and mother. They knew that education was the most important way to getting ahead in life and instilled that in my sibling and myself the concept of the "Glass Ceiling" and so one needs to get educated to remove it.
I feel grateful and thankful and blessed for all those that mentored me and I have tried to be a positive influence to those that I encounter on a daily basis.
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