A Strange Freedom

A spiritual advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr.; the first black dean at a white university; cofounder of the first interracially pastored, intercultural church in the United States, Howard Thurman offered a transcendent vision of our world. This lyrical collection of select published and unpublished works traces his struggle with the particular manifestations of violence and hatred that mark the twentieth century. His words remind us all that out of religious faith emerges social responsibility and the power to transform lives.

A spiritual advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr.; the first black dean at a white university; cofounder of the first interracially pastored, intercultural church in the United States, Howard Thurman offered a transcendent vision of our world. This lyrical collection of select published and unpublished works traces his struggle with the particular manifestations of violence and hatred that mark the twentieth century. His words remind us all that out of religious faith emerges social responsibility and the power to transform lives.

"This book [should] be in every household in the world in search of a spiritual foundation."
-the Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.

"Fortunate reader, if you have picked up this book, you have found, as the Bible says, a 'pearl of great price.' Take it home, read it, treasure it, and pass it on to a youth who needs its wisdom."
-Marian Wright Edelman, president, the Children's Defense Fund

"An important collection. . . . Howard Thurman speaks in this work on leadership, commitment, identity, dreams, peace-topics that are as apt to today's readers as they were to readers of years past. It is a fitting tribute."
-Ebony

"This fine anthology makes available to a new generation the thought of one of the great theologians of the twentieth century. I strongly recommend it."
-James H. Cone, Briggs Distinguished Professor, Union Theological Seminary

Walter Earl Fluker is professor of philosophy and religion and executive director of the Leadership Center at Morehouse College and founder of VisionQuest Association, Inc. Catherine Tumber is a fellow of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African-American Research at Harvard University, and has taught history at the University of Rochester, St. Lawrence University, and Syracuse University.

Library Journal

This collection of writings, selected from The Sound of the Genuine: The Papers of Howard Thurman (a three-volume documentary edition forthcoming from South Carolina University Press), presents Thurman (1899-1981) as the spiritual adviser to Martin Luther King Jr., the first black dean of Boston University's Chapel, and an influential public intellectual in his own right. Thurman's challenges, regarding such themes as America's search for its soul, the potential of a democratic community, and the impact of self-disciplined love for the world, illuminate the common ground he strove passionately to create. Some 154 notes provide excellent historical context. Recommended for all public libraries and specialized collections in American history, religious development, and civil rights.--Leroy Hommerding, Citrus Cty Lib. System, Inverness, FL

Walter Earl Fluker is professor of philosophy and religion and executive director of the Leadership Center at Morehouse College and founder of VisionQuest Association, Inc. Catherine Tumber is a fellow of the W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for African-American Research at Harvard University, and has taught history at the University of Rochester, St. Lawrence University, and Syracuse University.