[1] His work was inspired by a radical version of Christianity called the Social Gospel, influenced by Reinhold Niebuhr among others, as well as a Marxist critique of the Southern economy.
Howard "Buck" Kester was born in 1904 and spent the first twelve years of his life living in the outskirts of Martinsville, Virginia.
Under the partnership and influence of Alva Taylor, Kester and other Christian socialists, developed what historian Anthony Dunbar calls a "radical gospel" that sought to improve economic conditions in the South.
As the Great Depression took effect, they wanted to help the South's dispossessed sharecroppers, textile and mine workers, and unemployed among both blacks and whites.
In October 1934, Kester represented the NAACP in investigating the murder of Lola Cannady in Marianna, Florida, for which Claude Neal, a young African-American man, had been arrested.