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FORT WORTH, TEXAS: Duggar family members are probably the controversy's favorite children as, more often than not, they find themselves at the doorstep of a scandal. Nevertheless, this time, Anna Duggar's father, Mike Keller, a preacher by profession, received heavy backlash for passing comments on the sensitive topic of slavery. Most know Anna for being the wife of Josh Duggar, who is currently serving a 151-month-long prison term in federal prison after being convicted of child pornography charges in 2021.
Recently, during a sermon at Fort Worth in Texas, Keller allegedly called the plantation owners "good people" who helped Black people to turn away from their "wicked" ways. Keller's version of Black history didn't sit well with the netizens who showed their outrage through social media platforms.
Who is Mike Keller, and what did he do?
Keller is Anna's father, who recently went to give a sermon as a guest preacher at Fairpark Baptist Church in Fort Worth, Texas, on Sunday, June 25. After being introduced by Pastor David Weller, Keller took the pulpit to deliver a speech that was laced with inaccuracies. Amalgamating religion with politics, the pastor compared the enslaved Black people with the protesters participating in the United States Capitol attack on January 6, 2021.
He went on to preach his version of history where the "wicked" slaves were taught to read the Bible by the "good people" of the plantation. Keller was found saying, "One hundred and fifty years ago, or 200 years ago, when the Blacks were slaves, did they ever go to Washington, DC and have a rally - 200 years ago - to protest against slavery? Did they?" To which he himself replied with a firm "No," before elaborating, "What did they do? Well, a lot of good people in the plantations would say, 'Hey, it's wintertime. Let us help build a church for you, dear folks.' And they loved them and taught them how to read so they can read the Bible." Keller continued with his racist sermon, saying, "And here's what the Blacks did about 150 years ago: They humbled themselves. They prayed. They saw God's face, and they turn[ed] from their wicked ways, and God made slavery illegal through several white presidents, right? It worked, didn't it? They didn't protest. Maybe there's a place for protests. I don't know."
'This is so disturbing'
Host of the podcast 'Without A Crystal Ball', Katie Joy, who often shares updates about the Duggar family, shared a clip of Keller's June 25 sermon. She also attached a lengthy note with the clip, writing, "Michael also hates going to large cities because of all the "wicked" people. He referred to multiple cities in Florida he detests that have large populations of African Americans. He particularly hates Gainesville, which coincidentally has 21.3% of the population being African American."
Furthermore, Joy opined, "This is so disturbing - but completely representative of many of the people within the IBLP and their views on anyone that isn't white," before adding, "We should also note he preaches about politics from the pulpit which is actually supposed to be not allowed. ?pastors are not supposed to preach politically nor promote any political candidates under the law. Michael Keller spent a large majority of the sermon promoting Florida Governor Ron DeSantis" As a special note, she added in her caption, "Slaves were not free to go where they pleased & they couldn't just up and leave to go to Washington to protest. Slavery was not abolished because slaves turned away from their wicked ways…."
'None of what Mike Keller is saying is true'
Naturally, the racist sermon given by Keller went viral on the Internet, and people wasted no time pointing out the fallacies in his claims. Journalist David Heath wrote, "In a stunning sermon, a minister says enslaved people never rallied in DC to protest slavery. Rather, they relied on plantations' "good people" to teach them to read the Bible so they could repent and end slavery. Mike Keller is Anna Duggar's father." One person who identified herself as a "white woman" wrote, "None of what Mike Keller is saying is true. Slaves lived in horrible conditions and they had no freedom. They were NOT FREE to go to a 'Protest' to protest slavery. Is he totally nuts?! I am a white woman with southern roots, and I am ashamed of slavery. This guy is a fool." Quoting Keller, another enraged netizen, made a cause for the inclusion of Black history in school, ""Black people turned away from their wicked ways?" What kind of wicked ways did my people have when we were getting beaten, kidnapped, raped, and brutalized while enslaved? No protest? There was a whole a** war about ending slavery. This is why we need Black History in school."
Another user criticized the "false sermon" by saying, "Utterly amazing that he actually believes what he is saying. How? Where did he get his info? Clearly he missed the history lesson where the enslaved were forbidden to learn how to read. WTH?!?! #falsesermon101." Someone else remarked, "Some people see only stars and unicorns in history and blind themselves to the brutal, horrible truths." "This man is #MikeKeller, the father-in-law of #JoshDuggar. He begged the sentencing judge in his son-in-law's child porn case to show mercy to the admitted adulterer, sibling molester and child porn possessor," wrote an angry user giving a mock introduction to Keller, attaching a video of the sermon.
