Howard Thurman was arguably the most important 20th century African American religious leader before Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and is universally acclaimed as the moral anchor to the modern civil rights movement. This minicourse introduces participants to Thurman in the contexts of African American religious and cultural activism. It will explore his relationships with pivotal 20th century actors including Mahatma Gandhi, Reinhold Neibhur, Abraham Heschel, Olive Schreiner, Rufus Jones, Paul Robeson, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Mary McCloud Bethune, demonstrating Thurman as connector and convener, who engineered spiritual reform and an inward journey towards common ground and interfaith work in America.