Duggar in-law of ‘19 Kids and Counting’ under fire over slavery comments in Texas sermon

Mike Keller, father of Anna Duggar of the TLC reality show “19 Kids and Counting,” is under fire for comments he made about slavery during a sermon as a guest preacher at a Tarrant County church over the weekend.

Keller told congregants at Fairpark Baptist Church in Edgecliff Village that “God made slavery illegal” after Black people “turned from their wicked ways,” according to The Daily Beast. Video of the sermon excerpt have gone viral on social media.

“A hundred and fifty years ago, or 200 years ago, when the Blacks were slaves, did they ever go to Washington, D.C. and have a rally 200 years ago to protest slavery?” Keller said. “Did they? No. 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 and so they can read the Bible.”

Keller continued, “And here’s what the Blacks did about 150 years ago. They humbled themselves. They prayed. They sought God’s face and they turned from their wicked ways and God made slavery illegal through several white presidents, right? It worked, didn’t it? They didn’t protest.”

Nearly all Southern states passed laws prohibiting teaching reading and writing to enslaved people out of fear of rebellions. Slavery was outlawed in the United States with the passage of the 13th Amendment in 1865.

Comments on the video shared on Twitter expressed outrage. The video had 1.8 million views as of Monday morning.

“‘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?” one user wrote, before adding that this is why children needed to be taught Black history in schools.

“Utterly amazing that he actually believes what he is saying,” another use wrote. “How? Where did he get his info? Clearly he missed the history lesson where the enslaved were forbidden to learn how to read. WTH?!?!”

The Duggar family, originally from Arkansas, rose to fame from their reality TV show on TLC.

The show was canceled after it was revealed that Josh Duggar, the family’s oldest child and Anna Duggar’s husband, was accused of sexually assaulting his sisters when they were young.

Josh Duggar is currently in prison in Seagoville on child pornography charges.

Representatives from Fairpark Baptist Church hadn’t return a call for comment as of Monday morning.