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Howard Thurman Facts & Worksheets

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Howard Thurman led the black intellectual community in the 20th century and was an inspiration to the civil rights movement. He was an American Baptist preacher and theologian, the first African-American dean of chapel at a traditionally white American university, and a founder of the first interracial interfaith congregation in the United States.

See the fact file below for more interesting Howard Thurman facts or alternatively, you can download our comprehensive worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment. 

Early Life & Education:

  • Howard Thurman was born in Daytona, Florida, on November 18, 1899.
  • His parents were Saul Solomon, a railroad worker, and Alice Thurman.
  • When Thurman was seven years old, his father died of pneumonia and his mother took on a job as a domestic worker.
  • He was the grandson of former slaves who stressed education as a means of overcoming racial discrimination.
  • Howard graduated valedictorian from Morehouse College, a predominantly black school with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics.
  • He also graduated Bachelor of Divinity in 1926 at Rochester Theological.
  • He subsequently served as pastor of a Baptist church in Oberlin, Ohio, and pursued graduate studies in theology at Oberlin College.

Life Work:

  • Thurman wrote 21 books and hundreds of sermons and articles about the connection between spiritual renewal and social change, the unity of all creation, the building of community and the search for common ground.
  • In 1935, during the Great Depression, and while a professor at Howard University in Washington, D.C., Thurman and his wife, Sue Bailey Thurman, led a pilgrimage of African-Americans to Ceylon, Burma, and India and met with Mahatma Gandhi.
  • Thurman returned to the United States and began reflecting on how the life and teachings of Jesus specifically applied to those facing suffering and oppression. In 1949, he formalised that thinking in one of his best-known books, Jesus and the Disinherited.
  • He formulated a love-ethic, non-violent approach to social change in America.
  • Jesus and the Disinherited influenced Martin Luther King, Jr. and other leaders of the Civil Rights Movement.

Civil Rights Movement:

  • During the Civil Rights Movement, Thurman acted as an advisor, counsellor, and mentor to movement leaders.
  • Despite criticism, Thurman was committed to addressing the inner battles of congregates rather than participating in protest marches and demonstrations.
  • He believed that personal spiritual renewal was important to the liberation process and that inward liberation was a prerequisite for social transformation.

Final Years:

  • After his retirement in 1965, and until his death in 1981, he directed the Howard Thurman Educational Trust in San Francisco.
  • It provided scholarships to needy students and served as a base for his continued ministries and counsel.
  • Thurman left a tremendous library of readings, meditations and tapes that are actively used and continue to inspire new generations worldwide.

Howard Thurman Worksheets

This bundle includes 11 ready-to-use Howard Thurman worksheets that are perfect for students to learn about Howard Thurman who led the black intellectual community in the 20th century and was an inspiration to the civil rights movement. He was an American Baptist preacher and theologian, the first African-American dean of chapel at a traditionally white American university, and a founder of the first interracial interfaith congregation in the United States

This download includes the following worksheets:

  • Howard Thurman Facts
  • Knowing Howard
  • Words of Wisdom
  • Encounter
  • Education
  • Influence
  • Civil Rights Movement
  • Belief
  • Word Jumble
  • Matching Type
  • Howard’s Legacy

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Link will appear as Howard Thurman Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, December 19, 2017

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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