CLEVELAND — Otis Moss III isn’t just carrying on his father’s name, but his story as well. His father knew Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
“As we lift up the legacy of Dr. King, we must realize it was not just Dr. King working alone,” Moss III said.
His father Otis Moss Jr. was a leader in Cleveland during the civil rights movement, who worked with Dr. King. Now the younger Moss wants his children to carry on with his family’s story.
“I pass on to my children that you are called in this moment, in this time to serve this present age and you pass the baton to the next generation who’s called to serve in this moment in this time to serve their present age,” Moss III said.
Otis Moss Jr. is preserving his story at the Maltz Museum of Jewish Heritage in Beachwood, through an artificial intelligence version of himself. Guests can ask him questions about his life.
“I am Otis Moss Jr,” Moss said in taped responses. “An eternal fighter for Justice, human rights, civil rights and the right to be a human being.”
“You have a wealth of information that now can be received from generations that are not yet born,” Moss III said.
Moss said Having his father’s presence here at the museum helps pass on his teachings, long after he is gone.
“It’s important that we canonize and hold the stories and share them with this generation and the next generation to know that transformation is possible,” Moss III said.
