NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The Rev. Will Campbell, a white minister who drew acclaim for his involvement in the civil rights movement, has died at the age of 88.
John Egerton, a close friend of Campbell’s for nearly 50 years, told The Associated Press on Tuesday that Campbell died Monday night from complications following a stroke he had about two years ago. Egerton said he was contacted by Campbell’s son, who was at the minister’s bedside in Nashville when he died.
“He never really recovered from it,” Egerton said of the stroke.
Campbell was born in 1924 in Amite County, Miss.
After a stint in the military, he attended Yale, where he got a divinity degree in 1952 and then headed to Taylor, La., to preach at Taylor Southern Baptist Church.
He later came to Nashville, where he was described as a staunch leader for civil rights, and was well respected by others in the movement.

Campbell was the Nashville representative of a pro-integration operation called the National Council of Churches. Because he was white, he was allowed entry into rooms unapproachable by some of those at the forefront of the movement.
“When we had the sit-ins, Will would show up,” Bernard Lafayette, a civil rights leader in Nashville and close friend of Campbell’s, told The Tennessean.
“We knew there was somebody who cared and was concerned about what happened to us. He was reminding us that there were some white people who believed in what we were doing.”
While he supported integration, Campbell preached to those against it.
“I always say that Will became the civil rights chaplain for the Ku Klux Klan,” Lafayette said.
Campbell was known for saying: “If you’re gonna love one, you’ve got to love ’em all.”
A memorial service for Campbell is planned for later this month in Nashville.