Levi Kennedy was born December 29, 1899 in a rural home in Hickman County, Tennnessee.  He was the third son of eleven children born to ex-slaves.  His father, Levi Albert Kennedy had been taught to read and write, mostly from the Bible, by his former owners.  His father farmed and preached in black churches of Christ and was well respected in his Middle Tennessee community.  This guidance was a legacy placed in his son Levi. (Boyd, 143).

Levi met and married Evangeline Delk on November 10, 1921.  He was baptized in 1921 by Alonzo Jones.  Seeking a better fortune, he left Middle Tennessee and migrated north to work in Wheeling, West Virginia.  He secured work in a factory and started a church meeting in his living room.  He preached his first sermon before this group in 1923.  The next year, however the factory shut down and Kennedy moved to Gary, Indiana for employment.  In Chicago, he met with a small group of black disciples meeting at the Lake Street Church of Christ.  He was encouraged to preach by Marshall Keeble, R. N. Hogan, and G.P. Bowser.  He assisted R.N. Hogan in establishing a black congregation on the South Side of the city of Chicago and slowly worked into doing more preaching.

When visiting Fort Smith, Arkansas, Kennedy made such an impression that G. P. Bowser said, "Well, well, well.  I didn't know you could do that well.  If you go back to Chicago and get on that truck and don't get out and help us do this missionary work, you're going to die and go to hell." (Robinson, 80).  This frank adominshment stirred Kennedy into devoting himself more to the cause of Christ.  His preaching helped develop the Michigan Avenue Church of Christ (now the Sheldon Heights Church of Christ).  He also helped in the growth and establishment of several congregations in the Midwest. Kennedy preached extensively across the nation and even had a preaching tour in Africa.  As a result of his preaching, many thousands were baptized.

G. P. Bowser called Kennedy one of the "Big Four" along with G. E. Steward, J. S. Winston, and R. N. Hogan who continued Bowser's legacy of preaching, ministry, and education among blacks.  Kennedy was a co-founder of Southwestern Christian College in Terrell, Texas and a charter member of its board of trustees.  This interest in education and the training of black men to preach has continued in the Levi Kennedy Memorial Scholarship Organization.  This financial assistance continues Kennedy's legacy of educating and training black men for ministry.  This foundation awarded a scholarship in 2023 to Drephis Tremont, a student at the Florida School of Preaching in Lakeland, Fl.

Levi Kennedy passed away in 1970 at the age of 71.  His body awaits the great day of resurrection at the Burr Oaks Cemetery, Alsip, Illinois.

Sources

Vernon Boyd. Gospel Advocate March 4, 1971: 143.

Brian Kenyon, "Thank You Levi Kennedy Memorial Scholarship Organization," The Harvester October 2023: 3.

Edward J. Robinson. Hard Fighting Soldiers - A History of African American Churches of Christ. Knoxville: The University of Tennessee Press, 2019.