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When it comes to advocating for world peace perhaps no one was more vigilant than Howard Thurman.
The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. often quoted him in his speeches. President Barack Obama is quick to point out that he has copies of Thurman’s book accessibly placed in his library.
So, on the ninth anniversary of the Sept 11, 2001 attacks, the Philadelphia area Thurman Group decided to hold its one-day conference on “The Legacy of Howard Thurman” at the Palmer Theological Seminary, 6 E. Lancaster Ave. in Wynnewood.
Thurman Group members and others came from Northwest, West and North Philadelphia as well as Montgomery County to the event.
The event was organized by Dr. Mary Wade of Northwest Philadelphia. Panelists included radio show host and family therapist Dr. Lucille Ijoy of Mount Airy, Afrocentric author Dr. Molefi Asante of West Oak Lane and others. Among the guest speakers was the Rev. Robert Lovett Sr., pastor of Wayland Temple Baptist Church in North Philadelphia.
“This has been a great event,” said Ron Payne of Mount Airy, who was among the Thurman Group panelists. “I had never seen the videos before so they were enlightening. I think that this forum presented a broad spectrum of Dr. Thurman’s life and work. I enjoyed Rev. Lovett’s presentation about where Dr. Thurman came from and why he went on the peace (journey).”
The program opened with two workshops. The “Racial Reconciliation and Howard Thurman” session was facilitated by James Emrich. He showed video footage from two Thurman projects which included Obama’s spontaneous remarks about the Thurman’s peace legacy.
“When Obama was asked if he would participate in the video and heard it was on Howard Thurman,” Emrich said. “He said, ‘Roll the cameras’ so those are his (remarks) [without] any teleprompting and done in one take.”
Another workshop presented by Wade was entitled “The Religion and Spirituality of Howard Thurman.” Dr. Wade pointed out that while Thurman held some traditional and orthodox Christian values, he also had an ecumenical spirit. This, she said, was enhanced when he went to India and spent time with Mahatma Gandhi learning about the strength and empowerment of non-violence, she said.
“This is an important conference because Dr. Howard Thurman is the most gifted African American thinker in understanding our spirituality,” said Asante during the break between workshops. “He devoted his life to peace. He was also superior in his contemplation before he shared what he understood.”
John Brice was among the younger seminary students who came from Morehouse College. He said that while in the Philadelphia area he is currently serving as an intern under the tutelage of the Rev. Alyn Waller, pastor of Enon Tabernacle Baptist Church which has campuses in Mount Airy and Lower Germantown.
“One of my professors at Morehouse, Dr. Walter Fluker, called me and said that he knew I had to go to this event,” said 21-year-old Brice. “We had studied the importance of Dr. Thurman’s leadership in the area of non-violence. I think it is important to study someone like Dr. Thurman who influenced most of the leaders in our community today. There is no need to reinvent the wheel when the wheels have been spinning all this time. We should want to tap into the wisdom of those who came before us because they give us something to learn and to teach.”
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