Marshall Keeble (December 7, 1878 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee – April 20, 1968 in Nashville, Tennessee) 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.
When he tried to secure a meeting place to preach in Oak Grove, Tennessee, near Henderson, he was unable to get cooperation from Baptist and Methodist congregations in the area.
Hardeman, the president and namesake of Freed-Hardeman College (now Freed-Hardemen University), helped him find space at a nearby school so that the group could assemble.
[6] About 1920, Keeble met and became a lifelong friend of A. M. Burton, founder of the Life and Casualty Insurance Company of Tennessee, who provided funding for his preaching and travels.
Yet despite many of his white brethren donating money, time, and resources to see Keeble succeed, they also did not challenge the segregation of congregations.
For his part, Keeble maintained an air of humility and gratitude that covered any bitterness he may have felt about preaching in the Jim Crow South.
He 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.
On his first journey (October 1960),[10] he and Lucien Palmer toured Israel, then proceeded on to Nigeria, where Keeble preached day and night to large audiences.
Their first stop was Nigeria, where Keeble engaged in training preachers and preparing for the construction of the Nigerian Christian Secondary School in Ukpom.
The Christians in Nigeria also pleaded with Keeble to start a hospital there, and he relayed the plea from pulpits back in America.