Black History Month Alumni Spotlight: Zach Moo Young ’17

For former Oberlin College men’s basketball player Zach Moo-Young ’17, diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) have been areas of interest since a young age. As a child, Moo-Young grew up in Cincinnati, Ohio, but he and his family were often on the move, changing locations eight times since he was in grade school.  

After switching high schools just 30 minutes away, Moo-Young quickly noticed the disparities between the student-body at his previous school and was shocked at the differences.

A four-year letterman on the hardwood, Moo-Young played in 88 games for the Yeomen before graduating with a degree in psychology in 2017. It was an opportunity he almost didn’t take.

 “I actually visited Oberlin only to make sure I didn’t like it—so I wouldn’t have any regrets about going somewhere else. When I finally visited as a part of the Multicultural Visit Program, I fell in love with it.”

While his contributions on the court were certainly valued by his teammates and coaches, Moo-Young’s impact on the program and the athletics department would go well beyond the points he scored and the rebounds he corralled. 

During his time on campus, Moo-Young was well aware of the ongoing and developing issues of social unrest within the country and wanted to make a difference. As a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, he conducted an independent research project investigating the relationship between race, sport, higher education, and upward mobility. He interviewed over 20 former college athletes, contextualized original research within existing literature and archives, and presented the findings to a diverse array of audiences from local community members to the Oberlin College Board of Trustees.

Moo-Young and his teammates also made a statement during their senior season, deciding to don pregame warm-up shirts with the website UnderstandingPrejudice.org on the front to hopefully spark the curiosity of fans to visit the site and learn.

 “Our record that season wasn’t what we had hoped for but I will always remember it for those shirts and the positive impact we made.”

Since graduating, the mission for Moo-Young remains strong through his work with the Aspen Institute Business & Society Program and Coaching for Civic Leadership initiative.

“I have made it a point to coach where I felt I was most needed. Dealing with kids who are experiencing systemic racism and societal barriers to help give them a chance.”

As a program coordinator at the Aspen Institute, he is charged with working with business executives and scholars to align business decisions and investments with a more equitable, inclusive, and sustainable economy. Additionally, he was appointed to the internal task force on diversity and inclusion to advise the senior leadership team on their DEI strategy.

“Our goal is to determine the role big business can play in order to create a more equitable society. We look at everything from what a company is paying its employees compared to its CEOs and examine workers rights. We also analyze what is being taught in business school classrooms.”

Moo-Young, who was a North Coast Athletic Conference Branch Rickey mentee, confirmed with himself he was working at the place when he found out past Oberlin College presidents William Edwards Stevenson (1946-60) and Fredrick Starr (1983-94) were also Aspen Institute presidents.

However, the intersection of sports and society is never far from his mind and recent events around the world have led to many looking at their sports heroes for support. “When you see the NBA players striking for a day or two and other sports following suit over these injustices, it makes you ask yourself, what are you doing?”

 What he is doing is what Oberlin taught him to do – stand up for what you believe and make the world a better place.