Tross, J. S. Nathaniel (Joseph Samuel Nathaniel), 1889-1971.

Joseph Samuel Nathan Tross was born in Berbice, British Guiana, in Central America, in 1889. As a British citizen he was able to attend university in the UK and Oxford University, but later migrated to Canada, probably around 1913. When hostilities broke out in Europe, Tross moved again, this time to the US. He attended Harvard University. within the next few years, he moved frequently, attending several different schools, eventually earning a Ph.D. in religion at the University of Pittsburgh. He married Geneva Hopkins in 1918, and moved several more times, either serving as a minister in various Africa-Methodist-Episcopal churches, or teaching at the university level. Eventually, the Trosses settled in Charlotte, NC. There, Dr. Tross continued his ministerial duties at a number of different AME churches, and he also edited the Charlotte Post--a newspaper serving the African-American community. Dr. Tross delivered a weekly radio address for many years, and also served on many different committees, and task forces. Tross was best known for his work as a leader of the civil rights movement, and also for his criticism of the methods of Dr. Martin Luther King. Dr. Tross, who never really retired, died of a stroke in Charlotte, NC on Tuesday, March 30, 1971 at the age of 82.