Harold Moss, the first African American mayor of Tacoma, received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from the University of Puget Sound during Sunday’s commencement ceremony for graduates.

Moss, a lifelong leader in the civil rights movement, was also the first to serve on the Tacoma City Council and Pierce County Council. Moss served as president of the local branch of the NAACP and on Tacoma’s first Human Rights Commission. In 1968, he helped create the Tacoma Urban League. Moss taught at Puget Sound in the business administration and social science departments from 1969 to 1971.