This short introduction to the life of Howard Thurman contextualizes his most celebrated book, Jesus and the Disinherited, with attention to the conditions of his childhood, social placement, career, and religious life.
This chapter examines how international travel influenced a network of black Christian activists and intellectuals who developed theological and political responses to Jim Crow in the mid-1930s. Chief among them was Howard Thurman, who led a delegation of black Christians on a five-month speaking tour of India. The chapter explores how India challenged Thurman to articulate a black Christian theological perspective in light of colonialism and segregation in the United States. The chapter also investigates the importance of the YWCA for black women developing international solidarities with peoples of color. It considers lesser known thinkers who were theologically and politically astute, like Celestine Smith, Juliette Derricotte, and Sue Bailey Thurman.