Laura B. Morris was born on New Year's Eve, 1921 in Washington DC. As a young African American woman growing in the pre-Civil Rights era, Laura pursued family traditions of education and community service which led her to a career in social work that spans over 60 years.

The National Urban League (N.U.L.) was a significant part of Laura's personal and professional growth. Laura’s involvement with N.U.L. began in 1942 when she received a fellowship to pursue graduate studies in social work at the New York School of Social Work,( now Columbia University School of Social Work). She worked for the Brooklyn and New York Urban Leagues, the Research Bureau of the N.U.L. and contributed to Executive Director Lester Granger's public presentations while in New York in the early1940's. After graduation, Laura worked full time for the Providence Urban League (1946-1947) and subsequently came to Boston in 1948 to work for the Boston Urban League. She was one of the oldest living professional staffers of the Boston Urban League from that period.