Morris Brown was placed in a slow learning class in grade school. "I began to get farther and farther behind. It was very frustrating for me. I kept a chip on my shoulder, and I fought with everyone. I was just unhappy in my life." After high school, Morris got a job at a chain seafood restaurant. "I was busing tables and washing dishes, and I really didn’t like it. I wanted something more out of life. One day I was listening to the car radio and I heard about the Memphis, Tennessee Literacy Council."

"My tutor was a wonderful man," Morris said."He was a highly educated man. He had built paper mills all around theworld, and to me, his life was fascinating. "We often talked about his life and about his having lived in fifty-two different countries. We had just started a brand-new book when he died."

By then, Morrisfelt comfortable enough to continue learning on his own. In fact, he started teaching a creative writing class at the Council. "I started trying to bring other people into the program, because I understood the problems they face. I was glad to no longer be a part of the problem, too, because I just wanted to be a part of the solution."