Voting Station

Howard Thurman

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Religious Figure

The Resume

    (November 18, 1899-April 10, 1981)
    Born in Daytona Beach, Florida
    Middle name was Washington
    Author of 'Jesus and the Disinherited (1949)'
    Husband of Sue Bailey Thurman
    Dean of Rankin Chapel at Howard University (1932 - 44)
    Mentor to Martin Luther King Jr.
    Met with Mahatma Gandhi
    Other works include 'Deep River (1945),' 'Meditations of the Heart (1953),' 'The Creative Encounter (1954),' 'The Inward Journey (1961),' 'Disciplines of the Spirit (1963),' and 'With Head and Heart: The Autobiography of Howard Thurman (1979)'
    Baptist minister and theologian

Why he might be annoying:

    He wrote an autobiography.
    He was accused of nepotism.
    He patronized Dr. King and other Civil Rights leaders on several occasions.
    His wife was arguably more proactive and had the more fascinating career of the two.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was raised by his grandmother, who had been born a slave.
    He worked as a janitor to pay for his education.
    He and his wife were the first African Americans to be granted an audience with Gandhi.
    He is credited with carrying over the non-violent teachings of Gandhi to the American Civil Rights movement.
    He had a profound influence over Martin Luther King, and had been a classmate and friend of King's father.
    He helped establish the first interracial, non-denominational church in the United States (the Church for the Fellowship of All Peoples in San Francisco).
    He was the first black dean of a chapel at a majority-white university or college (Boston University) in the United States, from 1951 to 1965.
    He started the Howard Thurman Educational Trust, which gave aid to disadvantaged students and student organizations.
    In 1953, Life rated him among the twelve most important religious leaders in the United States.

Credit: BoyWiththeGreenHair


Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 8 Votes: 62.50% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 16 Votes: 31.25% Annoying