Sanitation Worker's Personal Struggle to Read

Memphis, Tn - As the national holiday approaches, to recognize and remember the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Junior, it's bittersweet for Leslie Moore. He remembers the young preacher's 1968 visit to Memphis.

"Police was on top of those buildings, aiming shotguns at us, tear gas...thrown in jail. You name it, all that happened."

Moore was a 21-year-old sanitation worker back then. He marched with thousands of others. He carried signs in support of the message from Dr. King.

"He had a lot of power behind every word that he was saying. He had power...he had the voice of a trumpet."

The irony though, King's words touched his heart and uplifted his broken spirit. But words unspoken, printed on paper, were impossible for Moore to understand.

"Oh, I could read some, but I couldn't read, and I'm not ashamed to tell nobody I couldn't read."

Moore only finished school through sixth grade. But, he wanted to do better.

"I prayed for the Lord to send me somebody or send me somewhere I can better myself on it."

He came to Literacy Mid-South. Twice a week, he was here for classes. It wasn't easy. His frustrations mounted.

"Lord, I can't read. You know I can't read. You're calling me to preach. I can't do this"

Moore had been dabbling around as a preacher. He says he was called on, by God, to do better. So, he prayed, and kept at it, with the same determination he discovered during his early days on the sanitation trucks.

With time, words made more sense. He was able to string together sentences, not from memory, as he had for so long, but because he learned a new skill, how to read.

"I feel proud. I can lift my head up high."

As smiles cover his face, Moore is proud. But pride is a by-product of his persistence under pressure. He keeps his razor sharp focus on what's important.

"That's why I wanted to better myself, not only (to) help myself, but help other folk."

Now, forty something years after marching down Main Street, his sights are now set on another struggle, in black and white.

"Young folk, or old people that can't read. I can tell them now. Don't give up. Hang on in there."