Clathan M Ross

Clathan McClain Ross, a journalist, scholar, and public servant of extraordinary talent and reputation passed away on February 4, 2026, at his home in Ashton, Maryland following notable careers in government and the private sector. His ardor for writing and his charismatic nature developed into a career of journalism and diplomacy. Early in his career as a journalist, working at the Carolina Times, he covered the dismantling of racial segregation in the South. His service with the United States Information Agency (USIA) took him to three geographic areas, over the course of thirty-two years in the United States Foreign Service. A son of Durham, North Carolina he was born to Isaiah and Bessie Ross and the younger brother of Lloyd and Lennon Ross. Known to friends as Clay, he attended Hillside High school and received a bachelor’s degree from North Carolina College (now North Carolina Central University) where he was an assistant news director for the campus newspaper, The Campus Echo. After receiving his bachelor’s degree, he pursued a master’s degree in English language and literature at the college. This was interrupted, however, in 1953 when he was inducted into the U.S. Army, where he served for two years. Upon his discharge, the economic burdens of his family’s modest household would require him to set aside his studies in order to assist his family. He worked as a “stringer,” contributing articles to various news agencies, including the New York Times. In 1955 he joined the Carolina Times newspaper as a reporter and later became a managing editor. He covered the important issues of the persecution of African Americans, racial violence, segregation, desegregation, and the struggle for civil rights. As a reporter, Clay was deeply moved by the unjustified gas chamber execution of Raleigh Speller and Clyde Brown which he eye-witnessed. He used his platform as a journalist to offer solidarity to freedom fighters, such as Patrica Stephens Due, who was imprisoned over the Tallahassee Woolworth sit-ins of 1960. In 1962 he married Genie O. Moore of Nashville, Tennessee, a medical technologist, who worked under the aegis of the State Department. It was an enduring union built on a common faith in God, a measured approach to life, and fondness for ballroom dancing. They had two daughters, Kathryn and Felicia. In the early 1960s, Clay joined the USIA, launching a career of service that that would take him away from the American South to distant places around the world. His service began in Calcutta, India, followed by tours in Vietnam, and several assignments in East, West, and Central Africa. The family spent nearly two decades in Africa. He served briefly in the Middle East. His tour of service ended in Congo-Brazzaville. Abroad, Clay worked as a journalist and press officer, exhibiting media skills as well as management ability in the handling of press operations often involving visiting journalists and correspondents. Additionally, as a public affairs officer he coordinated and cultivated educational and cultural programs and directed U.S. public diplomacy at posts. Throughout his service in the diplomatic field, he was commended for his understanding of local perspectives and shifting currents. His charismatic and mild yet confident demeanor helped him cultivate networks necessary to achieve mission objectives. Clay and Genie were recognized for their hosted formal and informal engagements which facilitated connections between Americans and the host community. On many occasions, such as Secretary of State Henry Kissinger’s visit to Zambia in 1976, Clay was specifically seconded to Lusaka from his own assignment to coordinate the visit by American correspondents. This combination of journalistic talent and press agency skill combined to stamp Clay as a public affairs officer of the finest rank. It was this reputation which Clay carried with him in joining the public relations and university advancement staffs at Howard University upon his retirement from government in 1995. It was an ideal evolution for a scholar-diplomat who enjoyed the company of intellectual professionals. His work included strengthening the bond between alumni and Howard through public liaison, media relations, developing proposals, and furthering contacts with broad and relevant audiences. For a time, he extended these same services to Coppin State University in Baltimore, Maryland. In retirement, he continued to shepherd his children, conduct research, and write and edit papers and speeches. Disciplined in his habits he took daily walks in his forested neighborhood, tended his vegetable garden, and engaged in lengthy conversations with friends about politics and society. He found sanctuary in listening to classical music, playing instruments, and reflecting in his garden on what he described as this “stubborn, beautiful world.” A final silence fell over Clathan M. Ross, at the age of ninety-five, on the evening of February 4, 2026 while enfolded by his adored and adoring family at his home in Ashton, Maryland. He is survived by his wife of sixty-four years, Genie M. Ross; daughters Kathyrn Ross and Felicia Ross, niece Maura Lynne Ross, nephew Arnold Ross, and other relatives and friends.

Tributes

Clathan M Ross

May 17, 1930 - February 4, 2026