Prophet Without Honor

The story of Bethel University's first Black graduate

One sunny morning in September 1943, a young Minnesotan named LeRoy Gardner got off a St. Paul streetcar and walked into Bethel College and Seminary. “My spirit was high as I anticipated a new adventure,” recalled Gardner, who had overcome the death of both parents and an unjust jail sentence to graduate from high school. After being paroled, Gardner wo…