Authenticity. Balance. And a little moxie. As the intro states, that is exactly what listeners get when they tune in to Thee Morris Code.
Thee Morris Code is one of the newest talk shows to hit the WSOY airwaves. It is co-hosted by Dr. Juanita Morris, coordinator of the Jerry J. Dawson Civic Leadership Institute, and her husband, Dr. Jeremy Morris, Vice President of finance and administration at Richland Community College.
Hosting a 5 pm talk show in Decatur, IL, was never the plan for Dr. Juanita Morris. But then again, neither was being a leader for entrepreneurship for underserved communities in Decatur.
Dr. Juanita Morris did not envision herself being back in her hometown, but when her mother starting dealing with some health issues, she realized she needed to return home.
She and her husband left the life they had created, and moved their children back to Illinois. The family had a tough transition as their children were in schools in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Illinois. If you know Dr. Juanita Morris, and her husband, you know that family comes before anything else, so they knew they had to give their children a sense of stability and security. They did this by assuring their children that they would be staying in Decatur until they finished high school.
Aside from that, there was no timeline for how long they would live in Decatur. The driving force was to figure out how to take care of their family without a job. There was one caveat to not having a timeline. The Morris family gave themselves a five-year plan to figure it out.
“For me, it was how do we make a life and a sustainable living for us and our kids on our own,” Dr. Juanita Morris said. “Because if I can figure out that, it doesn’t matter where I am in this world, today. The five years was that I knew I had kids that I needed to support if they went to college. I know I have kids and a husband, that we need health insurance. We need life insurance. That was the business aspect of living. If we have not figured out some of those core things in five years, then it is time to do something else.”
For those wondering, those five years are up. The Morris family hit their five year mark last December. While it was not always smooth sailing, the life change did pay off and the five year plan was a success. Some of that success can definitely be attributed to faith instilled in Dr. Juanita Morris by her mother, Gussie Reed, who is her biggest inspiration.
“She was the one who said to start your own business,” Dr. Juanita Morris said. “Figure it out. She was the one who said we have done this. You all have whatever it is you need to start your own business. Let me know how I can support you. We lived with her for five years. There’s not much of this that can happen without support and she is it for me.”
Dr. Juanita Morris and her husband have started several businesses, one of which includes a lawn care business that started it all. While they have multiple for-profit businesses that they operate outside of J. Morris Enterprises (click here for more information on the services offered by J Morris Enterprises), such as Packed School Supplies and The Box, education is at the forefront of what they do. When it comes to titles for Dr. Juanita Morris, you can start with mom, wife, daughter, followed by educator.
“I would like to say I am an educator,” Dr. Juanita Morris said. I taught my first class at 23 at Richland Community College. I taught math. That kind of encompasses for me all of it. I believe in our community. I believe that access for opportunity and education has the ability to change the lives of people. Everything else falls under that.”
Dr. Juanita Morris created the DCLI, where she is in year two of being project coordinator. The intent was to “expose students to careers that were civic related and then provide scholarship dollars to Richland so they could receive an associate’s degree or take college courses at no cost.” This is done through five pillars that are vital to the growth and success of this community. Law enforcement, healthcare, education, entrepreneurship, and local governance. These five pillars were identified through conversations with the community.
In addition to the DCLI, Dr. Juanita Morris is heavily involved in the Minority Mentor Protege Program. The program was pioneered by Reverend Courtney Carson, Vice President of External Affairs at RCC, and is one of the most successful programs at RCC, as it has led to the creation of around 50 businesses in two years. The MMPP serves as an opportunity to “assist and support low-income and minority adults in the Decatur Macon County Community who are interested in becoming entrepreneurs.”
For Dr. Juanita Morris, the most rewarding aspect of being a mentor for the MMPP, was seeing the growth of the participants and how it shifted their personal lives.
“If someone had told me that you will see a shift in people in five weeks and two hours a week, I would be like you aren’t telling the truth,” Dr. Juanita Morris said.” It’s not possible. I guarantee you I would have argued. So the most rewarding piece has been seeing the shift in people.”
Dr. Juanita Morris is all about serving her community. Not just some of the community, but all of the community. So, when Brian Byers, of Neuhoff Media, approached her with the opportunity of hosting her own talk show, in an effort to represent the entire community as a whole, she jumped on it.
“Brian said that he had been thinking about some things for a while, for a little more than a year,” Dr. Juanita Morris said. “What he realized was that all the voices were not represented at the organization and reflective of the community.”
Besides serving as a support system that provides some guidance, Byers did not give any direction to Dr. Juanita Morris on how to present her show. He left the content up to her. That of course made Dr. Juanita Morris a bit nervous. She was nervous because presenting oneself to the public creates a level of vulnerability.
“I was nervous because it is a different level of vulnerability,” Dr. Juanita Morris said. “Because when people give you the opportunity to do something you want to make sure it is worth the opportunity. I was nervous because I had never done this before. I was nervous because I did not want to mess this up because it goes out to the atmosphere.”
While she was nervous, she is starting to develop of a level of comfortability. Some of which can be attributed to her co-host, who is her husband. He has provided her with a sense of support as she navigates this unfamiliar adventure. With a month under their belt, Dr. Jeremy Morris will start to transition into more of a guest role, as he served his main purpose, which was to provide support for his wife.
“Originally, the show was me, because I was too scared to do it by myself,” Dr. Juanita Morris said. “He was with me to kind of shield me and protect me, and give me a little bit of you can do that. Last week was a little bit of a turning point for me even walking into the show. I felt different about heading into the studio last week for the very first time because I am like I feel like I have a little more clarity. I feel like I am able to lean in because I was grappling with making sure it was what we wanted it to be. The show itself. I think I am in a different space now. So he will come and go. It will definitely be different but his assignment was to make sure I was good.”
For those tuning in, they will be subjected to an authentic conversation on family, community, and education.
“The show for me is an opportunity to continue to understand who I am, what I do, and what I believe,” Dr. Juanita Morris said. “It creates the space for me to practice that level of authenticity that is not easy. I think the show is also family, community, and education. Those are the three areas that I am spending a good bit of time on, only because that is who I am.”
It is who they are. What they do. And what they believe. That’s the code. Thee Morris Code.
“The code, Thee Morris Code, is to really tap into those pieces for people to allow them to say it is ok to look and feel inside,” Dr. Juanita Morris said. “To say this is great but it’s not for me. Or I really want to do this, bring me joy, and makes my heart sing. That makes my heart sing so that is what I am gonna do. I want them (listeners) to walk away with thinking about self. I did or said this thing, and it wasn’t in alignment with who I am and what I believe, so maybe I can choose to do something else. We condemn ourselves and we shouldn’t. We should say tomorrow is coming and I am gonna try again tomorrow. We have more life going forward.”
Tune into WSOY 1340 AM/ 103.3 FM & Streaming Live on NowDecatur.com to listen to Thee Morris Code, with Dr. Juanita Morris. Every Wednesday, 5 pm- 6pm.
To listen to past podcasts, click here.
Check out the photo gallery below.
