Howard University School of Law
James Morris was born on October 15, 1890, in Covington, Georgia, United States. As a young boy, he moved to Atlanta with his parents, William and Salemma Morris, both of whom had been born into slavery. William left the family shortly after the move, so Morris grew up with his mother and two brothers, Bill and Clyde.
In 1912 James Morris Sr. graduated from Hampton Institute (now Hampton University) and in 1915 the Howard University School of Law.
Inspired by Senator William E. Borah’s speech about the opportunities for black attorneys out West, James Morris Sr. started working his way west on the railroad after graduation. George H. Woodson, a Virginia native, 25th Infantry veteran, and Des Moines attorney, invited Morris to join him, which James Morris Sr. did in 1916.
A year later he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the black officers' Fort Des Moines Officer Training Camp and earned a commission as a second lieutenant. After training African American enlisted men at Camp Dodge and marrying his Howard sweetheart, Georgine Crowe, James Morris Sr. went to France in 1918 with the Third Battalion, 92nd Division, 366th Infantry. He suffered a bad leg wound at Metz, which delayed his return to the United States until July 1919. Woodson and S. Joe Brown welcomed James Morris Sr. back to their law firm. Three years later he seized the opportunity to purchase the Iowa Bystander. He fulfilled its motto, "Fear God, tell the truth, and make money," until he sold the paper in 1972.
Morris's editorial voice from the state capital reached into black communities across the state. The militant voice of attorney Charles P. Howard Sr. (a fellow graduate of the Fort Des Moines Officer Training Camp) attracted readers with his column, "The Observer." In 1937, at the depth of the Great Depression, James Morris Sr. sold the paper, but a year later it was back in his hands, and, with the support of Des Moines Register editor Harvey Ingham, he launched a successful effort to revive it.
James Morris Sr. was able to sustain "The Observer" for another 35 years, overcoming rivals such as Howard’s Observer (1939-1949). Despite his lifelong allegiance to the Republican Party, his success continued even after African Americans began to gravitate to the Democratic Party in the 1930s. In 1940 he was a co-founder of the National Newspaper Publishers Association, the first national black media network.
James Morris Sr. also built a successful legal practice. In 1925 he was one of the co-founders of the National Bar Association in Des Moines, which was formed because the American Bar Association excluded blacks. He passed on his practice to his son.
Active in the church - Corinthian Baptist, then St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal, and finally St. Paul’s Episcopal.
James Morris Sr. was active in the Iowa Republican Party, which he co-chaired and served as a delegate to the national convention in 1964.
James Morris’s success in journalism and law came from his ambition and activism.
Physical Characteristics: James Morris Sr. suffered a bad leg wound at Metz.
James Morris Sr. was married and had a son and a daughter.
William Morris was born into slavery. He left the family shortly after the move to Atlanta.
Salemma Morris was born into slavery. In Atlanta Morris grew up with his mother and two brothers.
Both James Morris and Georgine were active in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and they were instrumental in establishing the state conference in 1940. Both were also active in their church.
James Brad Morris Jr. graduated from the State University of Iowa College of Law.
