Backs Against the Wall: The Howard Thurman Story

Thurman flyer image

Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones
Boston College

Martin Doblmeier
Filmmaker and President of Journey Films

Date: February 7, 2019

Co-sponsored with The Institute for the Liberal Arts.

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Abstract

Backs Against the Wall: The Howard Thurman Story won the regional EMMY Award for best Historical Documentary film in June, 2019.

The documentary Backs Against The Wall: The Howard Thurman Story chronicles the extraordinary life of theologian Howard Thurman, a poet and “mystic” who used religious expression to help ignite sweeping social change. Thurman was born the grandson of slaves in segregated Daytona, Florida. Despite the circumstances of his upbringing, he went on to become one of the great spiritual and religious pioneers of the 20th century, whose words and influence continue to echo today. His landmark book, Jesus and the Disinherited, was the first to state that Jesus Christ — who was born in poverty as part of a powerless minority — lived a life that spoke directly to black Americans. In his own time, Thurman was a celebrated religious figure with profiles in major magazines such as LOOK, Ebony and others. His efforts at the height of World War II to create the nation’s first interfaith, interracial church stands as a precursor for many contemporary faith communities. And for millions today who consider themselves “spiritual but not religious,” Thurman’s poetry, meditations, sermons and prayers continue to be wildly popular.

Speaker Bios

Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones

Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones is an Assistant Professor of Theology and African and Africa Diaspora studies at Boston College. She specializes in Mariology, theological anthropology, and womanist and black feminist thought. She is currently working on a monograph entitled Made Flesh: Mary and the Christian Tradition of Trafficking Sex.

Martin Doblmeier

Martin Doblmeier is a filmaker who has produced or directed over 30 films, mainly on the topics of religion, faith, and spirtuality. He holds degrees in Broadcast Journalism and Religious Studies, and is the founder and president of Journey Films, a television and film company dedicated to those same topics. Journey Film's has produced films for national broadcast and theatrical release, and recieved numerous awards including six Gabriel Awards and a regional Emmy. His latest work is this film, Backs Against the Wall: The Howard Thurman Story, and his next film, set for release this fall, will focus on the life of Dorothy Day.

Event Photos

Boisi Center event

Filmmaker Martin Doblmeier (far right) articulates a claim, joined by Mark Massa, S.J. (far left), director of the Boisi Center, and Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones (center), professor of theology at Boston College.

Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones gestures at Mark Massa, S.J.

Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones gestures at Mark Massa, S.J.

Filmmaker Martin Doblmeier
A member of the audience poses a question to the panelists.

Photos by MTS Photography

Event Recap

Howard Thurman is a figure who refuses to be neatly categorized. That was one main takeaway from the screening and discussion of the documentary, Backs Against the Wall: The Howard Thurman Story, hosted by the Boisi Center on February 7, 2019. An influential theologian, teacher, and mystic, Thurman also served as theological and ideological inspiration for the non-violent protests of the Civil Rights Movement, notably those of the Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. Defying categorization further, Thurman held a great interest in mystic theology, as well as mysticism’s role in political and social movements. His seminal text, Jesus and the Disinherited, focuses on the ways Jesus spoke truth to the power of the authorities of his time, showing how Jesus can be identified closely with those disinherited by society. In addition to profiling Thurman, the film included interviews with many civil rights leaders, including the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr., Congressman John Lewis, and Vernon E Jordan, Jr.  Following the screening, the film’s director, Martin Doblmeier, and Boston College assistant professor of theology, Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones, discussed the making of the documentary. Moderated by Boisi Center director Mark Massa, S.J., the discussion opened with Doblmeier remarking that he found Thurman to be one of the most important public faith figures of the 20th century, and thought Thurman fit well alongside other religious figures he has profiled on film, including Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Reinhold Niebuhr. Adkins-Jones shared that she often teaches Jesus and the Disinherited, discussing how she sees Thurman as a inspirational figure. Both Doblmeier and Adkins-Jones discussed Thurman's unconventional role in the civil rights movement: Thurman stayed absent from the front lines of physical protests, something he often caught criticism for. Instead of focusing on his absence, Doblmeier and Adkins-Jones argued, we should seek to understand why Thurman’s intellectual and religious inspiration had such a forceful impact, albeit in an understated way. A question and answer session followed, with audience members asking the panelists to contextualize Thurman within the wider landscape of his historical moment, as well as for ideas on how to persist in the midst of oppressive and racist events on Boston College’s campus.  

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BOOKS

Thurman, Howard. Jesus and the Disinherited. Richmond, Ind.: Friends United Press, 1981.

Thurman, Howard. A Strange Freedom: The Best of Howard Thurman on Religious Experience and Public Life. Edited by Walter E. Fluker and Catherine Tumber. Boston: Beacon Press, 1998. 

Smith, Luther E. Howard Thurman: The Mystic as Prophet. Washington D.C.: University Press of America, 1981. 

ARTICLES

Dorrien, Gary. "True Religion, Mystical Unity, and the Disinherited: Howard Thurman and the Black Social Gospel." American Journal of Theology & Philosophy 39, no. 1 (January 2018): 74-99. DOI: 10.5406/amerjtheophil.39.1.0074

Fluker, Walter E. "Howard Thurman: Intercultural and Interreligious Leader" in Religious Leadership: A Reference Handbook. Edited by Sharon Henderson Callahan. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications, Inc, 571-78. DOI: http://dx.doi.org.proxy.bc.edu/10.4135/9781452276137.n78

Giles, Mark S. "Howard Thurman, Black Spirituality, and Critical Race Theory in Higher Education." Journal of Negro Education 79, no. 3 (2010): 354-365. 

Walker, Corey D. B. "Love, blackness, imagination: Howard Thurman's vision of communitas." The South Atlantic Quarterly, 112, no. 4 (Fall 2013): 641-655. DOI: https://doi-org.proxy.bc.edu/10.1215/00382876-2345216

OTHER RESOURCES

The Howard Thurman Papers Project at Boston University: http://www.bu.edu/htpp/.

In the News

This review of Martin Doblmeier's new documentary, Backs Against the Wall: The Howard Thurman Story, from Religion News Services, declares "Thurman helped King realize that nonviolence was not just a tactic, but a lifestyle." Another RNS article argues that Thurman offers a model for bipartisan cooperation on addressing the plight of the disadvantaged and the marginalized. On February 7, filmmaker Martin Doblmeier will screen his documentary on Thurman and discuss the film alongside BC theologian Amey Victoria Adkins-Jones.