Marshall Keeble was an African American preacher of the church of Christ, whose successful career notably bridged a racial divide in an important American religious movement prior to the Civil Rights Movement.
17 Facts About Marshall Keeble
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Keeble enjoyed an almost unrivaled position as an African-American subject of hagiographical biography by white contemporaries within the church of which Keeble was a member.
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Marshall Keeble was the son of Robert and Mittie Keeble, both of whom had been slaves.
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Marshall Keeble attended school in Nashville, but did not progress beyond the seventh grade.
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About 1920, Marshall Keeble met and became a lifelong friend of AM Burton, founder of the Life and Casualty Insurance Company of Tennessee, who provided funding for his preaching and travels.
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Yet despite many of his white brethren donating money, time, and resources to see Marshall Keeble succeed, they did not challenge the segregation of congregations.
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Marshall Keeble refrained almost entirely from speaking publicly on matters of racial inequality and thus ensured he didn't lose the support he needed from white brethren to get the message out to the African-American population.
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Marshall Keeble was known both for his great wit and for his willingness to preach the gospel with unapologetic fervor.
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Marshall Keeble was primarily responsible for the establishment of several Christian schools, of which the primary surviving example is Southwestern Christian College.
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Marshall Keeble helped establish the Silver Point Christian Institute in 1909.
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On his first journey, he and Lucien Palmer toured Israel, then proceeded on to Nigeria, where Marshall Keeble preached day and night to large audiences.
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The Christians in Nigeria pleaded with Marshall Keeble to start a hospital there, and he relayed the plea from pulpits back in America.
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In 1965, Marshall Keeble was honored by Harding University with an honorary Doctor of Law degree.
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Marshall Keeble was the first African-American so honored in Tennessee history.
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Marshall Keeble preached his last sermon on April 17,1968.
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Marshall Keeble married his second wife, Laura Catherine Johnson, on April 3,1934.
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Marshall Keeble was buried in the historic African-American Greenwood Cemetery in Nashville.