DALLAS, TEXAS – A servant of God, reared in a community often dismissed due to high crime in South Dallas, is doing his part to bring hope and a positive change to the area. At the age of youth, he carried a gun for protection, now he is carrying a paintbrush after embracing God as his protector. He understands that God is the giver of his gift of art, and he is using it to give to others. He hosts paint party events, sells art, and teaches art to children, senior citizens, and orphans. Lives are being changed and love is being spread within the community through painting.

Slideshow of Good-Lefty Paintings

Lee Morgan, a 47-year-old self-taught artist, and founder of Good-Lefty, an independent art company, who works alongside the Dallas Housing Authority, and the Police Department in the Bonton Area, is bringing hope and joy to the community through his therapeutic painting sessions. The name Good-Lefty came from him being left-handed and people telling him he is a “good guy.”

His painting sessions are positively showing the youth and the elders that they don’t have to be a statistic of the system. There is a better way to rise from their circumstances.

“Over here you are already counted out by the system. I’ve seen alot of people fall victim both young and old. I’ve seen a lot of people that I grew up with… they lost their life way too early. So I am trying to give the youth hope. There’s a way out,” said Morgan. “You don’t always have to be a ball player or a rapper to make it out of where I’m from. There are so many options. You can be a lawyer, a doctor, a pastor…an artist.”

He uses his painting sessions as an opportunity to encourage the children to give them a headstart in life. He is making sure the children within the community utilize their skills to prepare them early for a better and promising future.

“If I was doing what I was doing at age seven when I first started, can you imagine how I would be doing right now? I’m forty-seven years old..so forty years later. By those children having this talent given at an early age, once they get out of high school, they’ll be set.”

Lee Morgan

The first batch of children he worked with did not know it was going to be a paint session. They were excited to find out they would be able to paint. He began to walk around asking how it makes all of them feel. He discovered that a large percentage of them had been through something in life. As they responded to his question in various ways. Some said that it helps them relax and some said it helps show their creative side.

When working with the senior citizens, they said it makes them feel like a child again.

“It’s actually therapy to sit down and paint. It relaxes your mind and gets you off the worries of life.”

Lee Morgan

God has blessed him so much that he received a call from the police department to host a painting session for the kids. It went so well that they requested him to come back to do another painting session.

Some children who have faced trauma in life, have participated in his painting sessions, which has helped bring them joy. He has also collaborated with a doctor to help bring this method of therapy to many others. This doctor is currently helping him to get funding to reach more children and others who have been in traumatic situations.

“For instance the orphans…often times, they get looked over. So I want to take my gift to them and show them. Hey, you’re not going without being noticed and we are here for you too,” Morgan shared.

He is also partnering Destined to be Great, a non-profit organization that works with juveniles in the system who are at risk. This organization also hosts back to school drives for school supplies. During the drives, he adds his unique angle of painting.

“I show up and let the children paint, ask them what they want to be and tell them my back story. We have mechanics, teachers, and speak to let the kids know they can take these crafts while in school,” stated Morgan. “So by the time they graduate, they can get a chance of getting into college and a better paying profession.”

The Painting Session Process

The process begins with asking how big the party is, which can range from 5-50 people. He provides the painting session plans, which require the party to obtain the canvases, he provides everything else. He suggests planning three weeks in advance to give him time to pre-draw the artwork on the canvases.

On the day of the session, he sets up the canvases, paint, and provides cups of water to wash their paintbrushes. When the paint party begins, he walks them through step-by-step instructions. He shows them how to mix various paint colors to create certain colors. Relaxing music plays and he provides refreshments. This is all done to calm their minds which helps boost their creativity. Upon the completion of the session, they all take a group picture. Then they take their pictures home.

Lee Morgan’s Story as it relates to paint and his connection with God

Morgan discusses how his skills for painting began. He was brought up in the House of the Lord and loved the Lord as a child, which is the foundation of his talent.

“I had a passion for art since I was in the kindergarten,” shared Lee Morgan. “I always used to draw a lot. The teachers and the students would all gather around my desk and watch me draw. It was a talent given to me by God.”

Morgan’s connection to the Lord started in youth. He grew up without a father. His grandma would take him to church. By age eight, he got baptized at his best friend’s church, Griggs Chapel, under the leadership of the late Sr. Pastor Webb. The night before the baptism, his friend told him what to say before he got baptized. When the time finally came, it was an emotional moment. He remembered walking towards the front, people clapped, and ladies cried.

About five to six people were getting baptized along with him. When his turn came to speak, his natural shyness and nerves kicked in, which caused him to break away from the script given to him by his friend. Surprisingly, what he said was 100% better than what was given to him the night before. He said what was on his heart, which is what matters: “I want to be baptized, so I can praise the Lord.” His relationship with the Lord helped keep him on a narrow path. God preserved and protected him from getting drawn into the deep pull of street life that many others faced.

Hardship Due to the Streets and Gang Violence in South Dallas

In the South Dallas – Fair Park area, with a population of 18,145, where Morgan lives, there is a high rate of violent crimes and property crimes. According to Niche for Violent Crimes, current statistics show, “there is a high assault rate of 475, compared to the national average is 282.7. A low rape rate of 0, compared to the national average of 40.7. A high murder rate of 26.4 compared to the national average of 6.1, a high robbery rate of 991.4, compared to the national rate of 135.5. In Property Crimes, there is a high burglary rate of 1,066.8, compared to the national average of 500.1, a low theft rate of 1,285.4, compared to the national average of 2,042.8, and a high motor vehicle theft rate of 452.4, compared to the national average of 284.“

Morgan witnessed crimes like these first-hand since childhood. In 1988, he experienced loss at the age of 12. His friend was killed due to gang violence and the streets. He continued to see many more lives lost because of this.

“There were times that I got shot at while I was hanging out with my boys. Someone would just come through shooting at us. We’d have to hit the ground and you can feel the bullets going right over your head, and I said I don’t want to be a part of that.”

Although he wanted to avoid street life, he was still somewhat connected to it. In the 9th-12th grade, he would bring his gun to school and even to church to stay protected. He was thankful that he never had to use it. He knows that it was because of God’s grace that kept him. He mentioned that guys in his area choose the streets to raise them, because a father is not present in the home. So they seek a father figure in the wrong places. This causes the older guys within the streets, to teach them how to be a man in the sense that they know. Morgan didn’t want this type of living. Positively, God had a plan that would bring him hope, which happened in his 20’s.

Lee Morgan’s Victory Through Worship

In 2003/2004, he was led to go to True Worshipers Global Worship Center, in Carrollton, TX, under the leadership of Apostle Margelee Hylton-Benjamin. Here he learned how to worship, and have face-to-face encounters with the Lord, which caused him to have a closer relationship with God. This began the true journey of Morgan serving the Lord with all his heart, causing him to break free from his dependency on things relating to the streets. In 2024, he is still faithfully serving the Lord! This all connects back to his God-given gift to help others through art.

From Drawing to Painting

About two and a half years ago, he converted from drawing to painting. The community joined with him. His conversion started when he saw random artists popping up on his Instagram page doing paint parties with interesting artwork. This struck his curiosity and inspired him to duplicate his first drawing into a painting. From that point, he became “addicted to painting” as Morgan so aptly stated.

He has also created biblical paintings that incorporate the Word of God or a message that conveys God, which has been proven to be a success!

“I’ve actually done a lot of spiritual pieces,” said Morgan. “You can imagine they go as soon as I finish them.”

He plans to do more spiritual paintings, so his consumers can have a scripture on a painting for their wall to help spread a positive message. He hopes to remind them of God’s powerful Word through his art pieces. He realizes that his skills to paint come from God, and he uses this gift to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ.

His biggest goal is to obtain a 501c3 to get fully funded so Good-Lefty can expand its reach. This will help spread joy, hope, love, and most of all, JESUS CHRIST to many more souls…both young and old.

“We’re just going to go all over the city and paint the city with love. We’re going to go to schools, orphanages, churches, senior living homes, and wherever we’re needed, we’re gonna be there.”

Lee Morgan

To book a paint party, or order his paintings, contact Lee Morgan at Good-Lefty. Phone: 214-444-0941. Email: leejizzle21@gmail.com. Additional contact details can be found in the HOH Global Directory.

This is Sharlene, reporting from Horns of Heaven Global News, letting the power of Jesus be known, by Sounding the Trumpet of News from God’s People to God’s People. It’s all about the Kingdom of God and connecting the believers of Christ through clear communication and real-life stories told around the world! ADONAI ECHAD! ANACHNU AM ECHAD! Hebrew for THE LORD IS ONE. WE ARE ONE PEOPLE!

Reference:

“South Dallas – Fair Park.” Niche. Accessed 7/15/2024. https://www.niche.com/places-to-live/n/south-dallas—fair-park-dallas-tx/