When faith meets activism, what legacies endure?
The Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground hosted on Sept. 24 the first installment of “The Howard and Sue Bailey Thurman Series,” a continuing series to educate students and faculty on the Thurmans’ lives, legacies and philosophies.
Howard Thurman, who served as the dean of Marsh Chapel from 1953 to 1965, and Sue Bailey Thurman, Thurman’s wife and organization leader, are renowned for their contributions to civil rights activism and interfaith dialogue.
The series began with an hour-long reception and was followed by a panel discussion reflecting on the Thurmans’ writings, lectures and teachings.
BU Associate Professor of New Testament Shively T.J. Smith said the series helps facilitate conversation about Thurman and his ideas of pluralism, democracy and the American imagination.
“It creates space for us to talk to each other, to hear Thurman’s voice in the concurrent moment and to see the opportunities available to us,” Smith said.
Though Howard Thurman’s name is more widely recognized on BU’s campus, HTC Director Nick Bates emphasized that Sue Bailey Thurman’s influence is just as enduring.
“It’s safe to say there is no Howard Thurman without Sue Bailey Thurman,” Bates said during the panel. “I thought she needed to be uplifted and respected. I wanted to make sure we did that.”
The series was initially conceptualized by Bates in partnership with the HTC, BU School of Theology and BU Libraries.
The “Howard and Sue Bailey Thurman: Cultivating Experiences of Unity” exhibition, which was on display during the reception, featured reproductions of book and sermon drafts, articles, correspondence and photographs from the couple’s archives.
Additionally, a cloth gifted to Thurman by Indian activist and ethicist Mohandas Gandhi was pulled directly from archives at the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center for display.
Originally set to take place in April, the panel was rescheduled due to outside circumstances. However, Bates said he didn’t mind the delay, as the panel’s themes are ultimately more relevant in today’s social climate.
“I’ve been really excited to do this for a long time,” Bates said. “I believe that sometimes in waiting, you have found the moment where this is most needed.”
Speakers highlighted pluralism, defined by panelist Emelie M. Townes as the act of “welcoming each one of us into a conversation and a relationship,” as a means of facilitating an open space for people with differing perspectives.
Joel Hostetler, a first-year graduate student, came to the series after having a discussion about pluralism in one of his classes.
“Because we’re humans and we’re fallible, there’s always going to be things that make tension,” Hostetler said. “Being able to openly discuss how we better exist with one another is always a conversation worth having.”
The event was the first time Dimitri Bawole, a second-year master’s student from Indonesia, heard about Howard Thurman.
Through learning about the Thurmans’ lives, like when the two met Gandhi on a “Pilgrimage of Friendship,” Bawole said he could connect with the discussion’s ideas.
“The discussion, for me, is more personal because Thurman teaches me to be a person,” Bawole said. “Even though it’s in an African American context, I feel included.”
Bates said he aimed to help broaden students’ view of Thurman with the series and create a space for thoughtful discussion.
“There was no way the Howard Thurman Center for Common Ground should exist in current concept without inviting these folks into this conversation as we interpret together,” Bates said.
