Morrie Turner, a native
of Oakland, California, was the youngest of
four children. His father, a pullman porter,
and mother, a devout Christian, instilled in
him the faith: faith in himself, faith in
others, faith in his ability to be a comic
strip artist. He began drawing cartoons in
the fifth grade.
As a young man, he served a stint in the
service during World War II, where he drew
strips for military newspapers. Following
his discharge, he juggled his comic strips
with legal publications and work as a police
clerk. Finally, in 1964, he wholeheartedly
pursued his cartoon aspirations full-time,
once again, relying on his faith. One
life-changing honor was during the Vietnam
War when he was one of six cartoonist asked
by the National Cartoonist Society to go
Vietnam. Morrie spent 27 days on the front
lines and in hospitals drawing more than
3,000 caricatures of service people.
It had taken him 11 years to get a printing
press and begin his journey with his "pals."
In 1965 he created the WEE PALS comic
strip. It was Morrie's intention to portray
a world without prejudice, a world in which
people's differences -- race, religion,
gender and physical and mental ability --
are cherished, not scorned.
 When
WEE PALS was first created, bringing
black characters to the comics’ pages was by
no means an easy task. In 1965, only five
major newspapers published the strip. It was
not until 1968 and the tragic assassination
of Martin Luther King Jr. that WEE PALS
achieved nationwide acceptance. Within three
months of Dr. King's death, WEE PALS
was appearing in over 100 newspapers
nationwide.
Despite all the things that could have
embittered him, he is not; instead he still
remains focused.
In addition to the "One"
program, Morrie has contributed his time and
talent to The American Library Association,
American Lung Association, B'Nai Brith of
Philadelphia & Pittsburgh, The California
Police Activities League, Charles Houston
Bar Association, City of Oakland, Contra
Costa Literacy Alliance, East Oakland Youth
Development Center, East Oakland Youth
Development Center, March of Dimes, NAACP,
Oakland A's Literary Program, Oakland Boys'
Club, Oakland Police Activities League,
Oakland Police Department, Oakland Rotary
Club, Oakland St. Patrick's Day Parade,
Oakland Symphony Orchestra, Oakland/Berkley
Summer Library program, St Augustan
Episcopal Church, Sutter Health Volunteer
Service Book, United Nations Day, Alameda
County Committee, West Berkeley Health
Center, to name a few.
Morrie's life is a journey of faith and
determination against the odds of his time.
How did a quiet black child survive and
flourish through the hardships of the Great
Depression, service in World War II, and the
racial discrimination of the pre-Civil
Rights Movement in the U.S. to become an
award-winning cartoonist and philanthropist,
whose contemporaries and mentors were some
of the most recognizable artists of their
time? … Through
FAITH.
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