One day, Beverly informed Morris that in 6 months she was going to
move to Germany because her father was being transferred. In merely
a few months, Morris and Beverly had fallen in love. Instead of letting
a transfer tear their love apart, they decide to get married. They were
going to elope. Many teenagers then eloped then because of irresponsibility.
On April 15, 1955, Morris and Beverly drove over to Meridian Mississippi
to get married. There, they didn't care what age you were. The next
day, Sunday, Morris dropped Beverly off and he went to a hog judging
contest. The married couple returned to school on Monday as though nothing
had happened.
They kept their marriage a secret, from friends and family. Morris
hid the marriage certificate. One day, he decided to tell his mother
on the condition that she wouldn't tell his father. However, one day
she broke the news to Morris Sr.
Reality
Morris Sr. was infuriated. He knew that many boys at the time had eloped
secretly because they thought they were in love or irresponsibly fathered
children. These young people had made a mistake with serious consequences
and he did not want the same for his son. The dream life as a lawyer
he was building for his son in his mind came crashing down like a house
of cards.
"Bubba, you have ruined your life. You are just like all the other
white boys around here who ran off and married. You are going to be
broke. I thought you was going off to college."
"I'm going to farm," I said. (75)
Morris was going to farm. Later, his father had cooled down and his
parents would support him and Beverly as they would finish school. The
very next day, Morris drove over to Tuscaloosa to apply for University
of Alabama's School and Commerce.
That year, his father was still $30,000 in debt. Morris himself only
had about $5000 in the bank, which was not enough to pay for college.
After his father calmed down, he said he would still support his son
through school.
