Morris Sanders, a Selma native who never finished high school, is an unlikely candidate for representing himself before the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS), but that’s exactly what he’s doing as he pursues a case against his former employer, Walmart.

With a satchel full of court documents, filings and rulings and petitions, Sanders, who walks slowly on a cane as a result of injuries suffered while working at Selma’s Walmart, is able to detail every twist and turn in his years-long fight for relief.

“I’m a godly person and the fight I’ve had exceeds my education,” Sanders said. “It’s been a hard fight and there was a lot of times I wanted to give up. But I just continue the fight.”

Sanders started working at Walmart in the 90s and, aside from a few stints elsewhere, spent the better part of two decades working for the corporate retailer.

In 2013, Sanders suffered an injury while on the job that resulted in sustained back problems that continue to plague him today – not long after the initial injury, Sanders suffered a second injury while at home.

Though Sanders eventually received a worker’s compensation settlement from the company for the first injury, Walmart has fought continually to deny Sanders additional compensation for the second injury, which he contends is the result of the first.

Compensation aside, Sanders said he faced harassment and discrimination at the hands of Walmart managers who wanted him to quit after he returned to work after roughly six months of medical leave.

“I felt like I was labeled as a troublemaker because I always spoke up,” Sanders said.

That’s where his current lawsuit comes from, in which he is pursuing compensation for damages caused by wrongful termination, as well as harassment and discrimination.

“At first, it wasn’t about money, I just wanted my job back,” Sanders said. “But if you’re going through what I’m going through, you want everybody to know what they do to people.”

After exhausting any internal pursuits for relief, Sanders filed complaints with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) and eventually received a notice from the commission that he could pursue a lawsuit against the company.

Sanders soon took his case before the District Court in Montgomery, which ruled in Walmart’s favor, and then to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals, which also ruled against him, and is now on the docket for a SCOTUS ruling.

Throughout all of this, Sanders has represented himself, using online information to guide him on how to file petitions and complaints, which has sometimes proven detrimental, as attorneys for Walmart have alleged that missteps in his suit warrant having the case thrown out.

But Sanders is not deterred.

“I’m excited,” Sanders said of having his case come before the SCOTUS. “I’m hurting now and I’m going to constantly be in pain for the rest of my life. That’s what motivates me.”

Sanders has sought and found assistance in some instances, mostly in the form of advice from lawyers and help drafting the countless court documents needed to pursue the case, but the majority of the work has been done independently.

One of the agencies Sanders contacted was the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

According to Lawrence Wofford, President of the Selma-Dallas County chapter of the NAACP, the organization couldn’t afford to help Sanders with attorney fees, but it has offered him “encouragement” and “moral support.”

“This is an issue that he has labored very hard for to get some support,” Wofford said. “I think the fact that he has been willing to spend the time over the years to get that case before the Supreme Court is commendable.”

For now, Sanders can do little more than wait – his case is scheduled to be taken up in a SCOTUS conference in early October.