Leonard Pleasant Morrow, known to his Street Sense community of two decades as L. Morrow, Slim, and The Morrow, died on April 3. He was 79 years old.
Born to Preston and Alice Thomas Morrow on Sept. 28, 1947, Morrow was raised in a lively household with many family members on L Street in Southwest D.C.
Morrow’s family and their history were central to his life. In 2023, he wrote a piece for Street Sense about his grandfather’s long journey from a plantation in Farmville, Virginia, to Washington, D.C., “where all Blacks would find joy.” The home his grandfather and great-uncle purchased in the Southwest neighborhood would become the “family house for all,” including Morrow.
Eric Falquero, former Street Sense editor-in-chief, remembered the profound impact Morrow’s mother, Alice, had on him. Falquero described how, at his mother’s funeral, Morrow turned a poem about her into a set of handcrafted bookmarks he distributed to the attendees.
Morrow’s family bestowed him with his first moniker, “mumbles,” inspired by the slight stutter he had as a young child, according to his cousin, Elder Twanna Way.
Despite what the nickname suggests, Morrow was an exuberant presence wherever he went. At his memorial service, Way described him as “larger than life,” both literally — in height — and in personality. “He just took over the room. If it wasn’t loud, it wasn’t him,” she said.
Morrow had a good-humoured and uplifting attitude, as his childhood friend Elois Perry recalled in the remembrance section of Morrow’s obituary, which his family shared with Street Sense, “[Morrow’s] laughter, kindness, and wisdom filled my life with joy.”
An avid dancer and roller-skater, Morrow took pride in his appearance and enjoyed dressing “like a model,” as his family joked in his obituary. He regularly appeared on WOOK-TV and Teenarama in the late 1960s as a dancer.
Jacqueline Turner, a Street Sense artist and vendor, recalled a date she went on with Morrow in the 1970s. She befriended Morrow when he came to pick her up after work in a green Cadillac.
“When he came to pick me up and take me home, all my girlfriends came running down like ‘Look at that guy!’ ‘Look at that guy!’” Turner said. “He bought me nice clothes, and we would dance. He would be excited about it more than I would!”
Morrow graduated from Coolidge Senior High School and obtained a bachelor’s degree in business administration with a minor in sociology from Federal City College (now the University of the District of Columbia), according to his obituary.
Morrow applied his education towards a variety of causes aiding underserved communities across the country. In D.C., Morrow operated free lunch and after-school outreach programs for the Peoples Involvement Corporation.
After his grandmother, Mariah Morrow, died, Morrow left D.C. and would not return for decades. Morrow’s obituary outlined his work in multiple states. In Boston, he worked as a tenant coordinator, organizing developmental programs in the community. In Chicago, he worked at a daycare center for children of low-income families.
Morrow experienced the extremes of wealth disparity in his work with others and in his own life. As Morrow told Falquero for his Street Sense vendor profile, “‘I’ve had millions, and I’ve been broke.’” His experiences informed his resolve to advocate for change in D.C. and beyond.
Despite his difficulties securing housing upon his return to D.C., Morrow told Falquero he lived by the motto, “Homelessness is a state of mind. I’ve slept in a bus stop before, but I’ve never been homeless.”
Morrow first arrived at Street Sense in 2007 and worked as an artist and vendor for 19 years. His bright
and outgoing personality helped him to become one of the top-selling vendors across his career, according to his vendor profile.
At his memorial service, Street Sense artist and vendor Queenie Featherstone spoke about Morrow on
behalf of the organization.
“He was almost like a family member of the newspaper, and a fine man he was,” she said. Featherstone
noted that despite not knowing Morrow well, she — like many vendors — was touched by Morrow’s presence.
During his high-selling days, anyone who wanted to catch up with Morrow could find him at the intersection of L Street and Connecticut Avenue NW, giving an unexpected sales pitch. He
asked passersby not for their money, but for their time; if they couldn’t give that time, he asked simply for a smile, Falquero observed in the vendor profile.
Despite his outgoing personality, Morrow’s quieter side showed in the thoughtful written work he authored for Street Sense, often on the topic of economic injustice.
His writing was conversational as he implored readers to confront the difficult realities of their neighbors’
lives, exemplified in his poem“Why Me? Why All of Us?”
Morrow’s work reflected a deep care for the well-being of future generations, including in the final piece Morrow published in Street Sense in 2023 about preventing violence among youth.
A memorial service for Morrow was held at Pennsylvania Avenue Baptist Church on June 12. The service opened and closed with prayer and praise, a fitting ceremony for Morrow, who was outspoken about his faith and often wrote about his relationship with religion.
“With these hands, in our society, why can’t we do what Jesus did?” Morrow wrote in a 2013 Street Sense article. “Bread, faith, charity, hope and passion. That soul that you walk by every day, every morning, evening, that soul that is cold, hot, sick or even hungry at times.”
During the memorial service, Bishop Al Way asked the large number of mourners gathered, “If you knew [Morrow] and he impacted your life in a positive way, shout Hallelujah!” A chorus rose from the crowd.
Like Morrow once did at his mother’s service, Morrow’s sister, Sandra Thomas-Swann, wrote and shared a tribute dedicated to Morrow. “Leonard’s smile, good heart, and memory shall never fall,” she wrote.
According to the family obituary, Morrow was preceded in death by his parents Alice and Preston Thomas; his daughter Monique Morrow; his grandson Lovel Harrison; his sister Sheila Morrow; his niece Carshia Crawley; and his brother-in-law Jerry L. Swann.
Morrow is survived by his daughters LaKema Gray and Myneek Harrison; his grandchildren Saqiyna Gray, Nyasia Gray, and Amir Gerald; his siblings Vincent Morrow, Sandra Thomas-Swann, Preston T. Thomas, Michael A. Thomas Sr., and Ronald Thomas; and his nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
Leonard Morrow is survived by his daughters LaKema Gray and Myneek Harrison; his grandchildren Saqiyna Gray, Nyasia Gray, and Amir Gerald; his siblings Vincent Morrow, Sandra Thomas-Swann, Preston T. Thomas, Michael A. Thomas Sr., and Ronald Thomas; and his nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends.
This article originally appeared in Street Sense’s July 29, 2026 edition.
