Gwen Marshall was born on September 11, 1948, in Jackson, Mississippi. The South at the time was still segregated, and Marshall says her whole life was segregated. She went to Black schools, and all the restaurants and other businesses in her neighborhood were Black-owned.

She was the only child born in the union of Mae and Robert Lockett, and her parents divorced after 10 years. After her parents split up, Marshall lived with her mother and maternal grandparents on a big farm in Mississippi, which she cites as some of her most cherished childhood memories.

Marshall came to Springfield to attend Missouri State University with her best friend, Claudia, after the two graduated high school. During her second year in college, she met her would-be husband, Mike Marshall. The two were married for around 27 years until they divorced. They raised four children: Elisa, Chris, Michael and Octavia.

Marshall said her life’s mission has been to spread the gospel, and she has been invested in her faith all her life. She also aspired to teach and has worked as a teacher’s assistant.

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Music is Bach Cello Suite no. 3 by Colin Carr from the Free Music Archive.

Episodes are edited, recorded, mixed, and published by Diana Dudenhoeffer.