Florence moved to New York and left Motley to be raised by his grandparents. Despite this, Motley had a steady family life, full of strong role models. His grandfather, Archibald Motley, Sr., worked as a Pullman porter on a train running between New York City and Chicago and his grandmother, Mary (Mae), was a housewife who imbued him with a strong social consciousness. His uncle, Archibald J. Motley, Jr, whom he thought of as a brother, was a famous painter. Seeing the success of his uncle in the arts led the way for Motley to pursue a career in writing.
At age 13, Motley's writing career took off when the Chicago Defender published a short story he had submitted. As a result, Motley began writing a weekly column in the children's section of the newspaper called "Bud Says." He took the pen name of "Bud Billiken" and had his own byline and photograph. For the next two years, he wrote on topics ranging from pure entertainment to social issues such as poverty. In high school, Motley wrote for the school newspaper and worked on the yearbook as well as participating in several sports.
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