On Sunday, February 26, 2023, Fairmount welcomed The Rev. Dr. Otis Moss, Jr., Pastor Emeritus of Olivet Institutional Baptist Church
Born in rural Georgia and orphaned at 16, Moss attended Morehouse College in Atlanta, where he earned his bachelor’s degree and a Master of Divinity degree. He absorbed the nonviolent civil rights message at Morehouse and befriended the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Moss helped lead sit-ins at lunch counters and public buildings, pushing for desegregation.
He marched with Dr. King in Selma and Washington, and in 1971 took a break from Mount Zion to co-pastor Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church with the Rev. Martin Luther King Sr. In 1974, Moss moved to Olivet Institutional Baptist Church, then Ohio’s largest black church, with a membership roster of community leaders.
Well connected to preachers and politicians, Moss continues to be a sought-after speaker and influential figure in social justice movements: he was an advisor to President Jimmy Carter, befriended such figures as Bill Clinton and Barack Obama. Moss has repeatedly been named one of America’s most influential black preachers by Ebony Magazine.