In 1934, before Meetin’ House hit the airwaves, Moss penned what may have been the first and only African-American radio mystery. Details, as with so many of his other works, are sparse. It aired on WMCA, September 15, 1934, as part of an Americana program. Rose McClendon, Frank Wilson, and Richard Huey, all familiar names from prior Moss productions, were the featured cast. Regular musical talent the Southernaires did not participate, however; instead music was provided by Alson Burleight’s choir. A Baltimore Afro-American critic indicated a lukewarm reception: “Some say ‘twas good in spots, still others say that the ‘spots’ were few and far between. Twas middlin, but promising in several respects.”

Other one-time assignments during 1934 and 1935 include a sketch for NBC that presented a look at the history of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority as well as his first commissioned work for the YMCA. For this October 1935, broadcast Moss wrote “Negro Achievement,” a half-hour presentation hosted by James S. Watson, New York City’s first African American judge. This YMCA Founder’s Day broadcast “depict[ed] the high spot in the lives of five outstanding Negroes.” Frank Wilson, a familiar voice from earlier Moss work, appeared in the show.

Three years later Moss was again called on to recognize the YMCA. He penned a dramatized tribute celebrating the fiftieth anniversary “of YMCA’s serving the colored youth . . . The play will depict the growth and present needs of the Y’s work with colored youths.” This tribute was broadcast over WOR (New York) and the Mutual Broadcasting System on November 6, 1938. Entitled “Into the Light,” the production featured Rex Ingraham and, once again, Frank Wilson.

Sources connect Moss to at least two other radio efforts during his years in New York, neither of which are corroborated elsewhere. Estelle Edmerson, in her review of African Americans in radio, relates that Moss told her of radio work he did for WMCA in New York. Unfortunately he did not provide any details of this work other than the material was dramatic in nature and featured “a concentration of Negro performers and materials on the Negro.” Unlike his earlier work, white performers were also used. Is it possible Moss was referring to his dramatic works featured on WEAF and WJZ? It wouldn’t be the only error Moss made in recalling his radio days with Edmerson. He also related to her that be began in radio in 1931 when in fact it was early 1930.

One final radio credit comes from media historian William Barlow, who makes mention of The Negro Hour and credits its production to Moss sometime in 1928. It’s unlikely this refers to the All Negro Hour (aired from Chicago) as there’s no evidence Moss visited that city for professional radio work. Possibly it refers to the Courier Hour or WABC’s Negro Achievement Hour but it does not appear that either series was still on the air in by 1930 when his first confirmed radio works were written. No mention of a Moss connection to any of the three pioneering shows discussed above in 1928 or at any other time has been discovered in the African-American press of the time, casting doubts on Barlow’s claim.

By 1943 Moss had relocated to Los Angeles. Though his career turned to film, he had a handful of radio ventures left ahead of him. In 1944 he penned two war-related stories. The first was “The Negro Soldier from Bunker Hill to Guadalcanal,” a patriotic drama for CBS which aired in February. This was followed in March by a dramatization of black soldier Private Marsh who was a Silver Star recipient for rescuing twelve men behind enemy lines. The following year, 1945, he hosted a fifteen-minute show dubbed Carlton Moss Reports that brought “listeners news not usually heard elsewhere – adequate and objective coverage on all minority activities.” Sponsored by sportswear apparel maker Louis Tabak, Carlton Moss Reports initially aired Sunday afternoons at 1:30, beginning September 29, 1945 on KFWB. It ran for at least one year. After this final community-oriented series, it seems that Moss finally put radio behind him and focused entirely on film. He spent the latter half of his life making films and teaching at two universities, Fisk University and University of California-Irvine.

Until more primary documents concerning Moss’ radio work turn up, modern scholars can only infer the political and philosophical approaches represented in these radio works. A meager two firsthand accounts left by Moss concerning radio have so far been uncovered. The earliest is his comments on the theme of Folks From Dixie, discussed above. The second, and perhaps more encompassing, was recorded by Edmerson. In response to her questioning, Moss gave three reasons for getting out of radio. First, he was “disheartened by the ridiculous manner in which radio presented the Negro.” Second, his programs never found sponsorship, which he attributed to prejudice against African Americans. Third, he wanted his work to be more than just amusement: “All art does something. My concentration has been to do material to inspire Negro people. There is much of it in the realm of entertainment. Probably in the last ten years, I could have made myself some money in radio but I can’t kid myself into thinking radio is just entertainment. All American radio takes it [sic] cue from the official government. We are automatically under a jim crow set-up.”