Living Legend Alice Morgan
Suppose you needed one word to describe Living Legend Alice P. Morgan. There are many choices: groundbreaker, activist, dedicated, nurturer, and unstoppable are among the words available.
But perhaps the most all-encompassing word is inclusive. For example, when Morgan chaired the annual Martin Luther King Day celebrations, she found a way to include anyone who showed an interest, even children.
“Youngsters were never too young to help, even if all they did was hand out programs, they could be involved,” she explained. “Some of those young volunteers returned each year to contribute to the celebrations. It gave them their first chance to volunteer.” Morgan initiated Alexandria’s Martin Luther King Memorial Service in 1973, before the holiday was officially recognized by the Commonwealth of Virginia or the United States Congress. She went on to volunteer as chair of these activities for 34 of the next 35 years before finally retiring in 2008, leaving a well-established legacy.
Perhaps, it is the pioneering side of Morgan (another good word) that motivates her to undertake challenges no one like her has attempted. It is partly why she was selected in 2010 by the Alexandria Commission on Women for the Marguerite Payez Lifetime Achievement Award. Her nomination cited that Morgan was the first woman and the first African American woman to be appointed to the Alexandria Planning Commission (on which she served two terms). In 1979, she was the first African American woman to run for City Council and, although not elected, her candidacy was an encouragement for other African American women.
Born into a closely-knit family of two brothers and a sister in Richmond, she graduated from Virginia Union University with an eye toward being an Army nurse. A dislike of needles and blood ended that. Morgan’s professional career was as a social worker focusing on mental health. She earned a Master’s Degree in Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University. In 1980, Morgan was one of 25 people selected nationwide to participate in an Intergovernmental Management Program sponsored by the Department of Health and Human Services. Her field placement was the Bureau of Medical Services as Program Analyst while taking accelerated classes that led to a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from the University of Southern California Washington Center. Now retired, she was a Social Work Administrator in various positions in such organizations as Hopkins House, an educational facility in Alexandria, and St. Elizabeth’s Hospital which began as a Federal Government hospital now serving the city of Washington, D.C.
Morgan moved here in 1967 and her community involvement focused primarily on affordable housing, senior citizen advocacy and affordable health care. Among her earliest volunteer activities were the Alexandria Boys Club and the Legal Aid Society. She served on the Police Community Relations Task Force, the Board of the Alexandria Mental Health Association, and the local chapter of the National Conference of Christians and Jews. From 2010 to 2013, she served on the Board of Living Legends of Alexandria. Since 2007, she has served on the Board of Agenda:Alexandria, a nonprofit organization that takes a look at issues affecting Alexandria without taking sides.
In 2012, she was the recipient of the President’s Volunteer Service Award for Community Service in Alexandria. It was accompanied by a letter of congratulations from President Barack Obama.
She has been married to Wilson Miles Morgan since 1966. Morgan’s children, Weldon “Donnie” Morgan and Arvette Morgan Reid, graduated from Alexandria’s T.C. Williams High School. She is the proud grandmother of W. Miles Morgan, Alexandra “Zan” Morgan, Jarren M. Reid, and Sovay A. Reid.