Calvin E. Mosley, Jr.

1906 - 2001

In his lifetime, Calvin Mosley became known as the "father of preachers." He first came to Oakwood College, now University, in the 1920s to teach in the religion department, when white administrators were still running the school.

In 1934 Mosley became chair of the religion department and also served as the first black pastor of the OC church. During that time he also conducted the "Alabama Singers," a male chorus that traveled widely on behalf of the college. He would conduct that group until the 1950s.

Mosley became a General Conference field secretary in 1951, a position he held until his retirement in 1971. Although asked in 1954 to return to OC to serve as its president, he declined. Following his retirement, Mosley taught part-time at OC until 1980.

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Sources: Lucile C. Lacy and Eurydice V. Osterman,Music at Oakwood, Adventist Heritage, March 1996, 38-43; “Oakwood’s World of Music,” 1946 yearbook,The Acorn, 50^th anniversary edition; 1950 and 1951 Acorn, The Alabama Singers and C.E. Mosley biography, respectively; blacksdahistory.org, Black SDA Obits.