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The Luminous Darkness
The Luminous Darkness is a commentary on what segregation does to the human soul. First published in the 1960s, Howard Thruman's insights apply today as we still try to heal the wound of those days. Thurmna bares the evil of segregation and points to the ground of hope which an bring all humanity together.
128 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1965
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About the author
Howard Thurman
68 books346 followersHoward Washington Thurman was an author, philosopher, theologian, educator, and civil rights leader. As a prominent religious figure, he played a leading role in many social justice movements and organizations of the twentieth century.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 11, 2021
Howard Thurman's Luminous Darkness
Howard Thurman's famous book "Jesus and the Disinherited" (1949) helped to inspire the Civil Rights movement that soon followed in its wake. In 1965, near the end of the movement, Thurman wrote this book, "The Luminous Darkness: A Personal Interpretation of the Anatomy of Segregation and the Ground of Hope." In it, Thurman offered his own understanding of the nature of segregation and its impact. Thurman ultimately grounds his understanding of the evils of segregation in mysticism and religious philosophy. In the book's "Foreword", Thurman noted the deeply personal character of this essay. He wrote about what he saw as the crucial insight he learned from his experience of segregation in his own life:
"[A} strange necessity has been laid upon me to devote my life to the central concern that transcends the walls that divide and would achieve in literal fact what is experienced as literal truth: human life is one and all men are members of one another. And this insight is spiritual and it is the hard core of religious experience."
Thurman took great inspiration from the vitality of his upbringing and from what he termed the "Negro idiom". He wrote: "A man must be at home somewhere before he can feel at home everywhere." He also believed that the sense of separateness resulting from segregation and divisions among people needed to be overcome, "even as it sustains and supports." Thurman wrote: "This is the crucial paradox in the achievement of an integrated personality as of an integrated society. To work as if the walls did not exist, to be nourished by the strength of one's ethnic idiom, and at the same time to be victimized by the walls is as exhilarating as it is hazardous. There is no waking moment or sleeping interval when one may expect respite from the desolation and despair of segregation."
The book is not a historical account of the Civil Rights Movement but is instead personal, reflective, and philosophical. Thurman describes many incidents in his life beginning with his childhood in heavily segregated Jacksonville, Florida which show how he came to understand the pernicious effects of segregation upon his own life and on his family and community. He discusses how segregation harmed both blacks and whites by creating a "wall" between them and an atmosphere of fear and hatred. Much of the book explores the effect of segregation on both blacks and whites in terms of loss of dignity, self-esteem, and moral understanding of one's fellows.
Thurman's discussion gradually expands and broadens in scope to describe how the two world wars changed life in the United States to the ultimate demise of segregation. He also explains how the American Civil Rights Movement was part of a broader movement of downtrodden people, influenced deeply by Gandhi, for autonomy and respect. Thurman suggests but does not elaborate upon the need for long-term remedial action to counter the impact of segregation following the Civil Rights Legislation of 1963 and 1964. He discusses the role of organized Christianity and explains why institutional religion had seemed to lag behind in speaking out against the evil of segregation.
The book takes flight in its final sections. Thurman discusses how segregation had the effect of making people see one another in terms of whiteness or blackness rather than in terms of a shared or common humanity. He describes the breadth of ethics and spirituality as transcending any particular religion and as showing the continuity of all existence. The book moves from the individual and particular through the community through the universality of human experience to the transcendent and all-encompassing. With his deep commitment to civil rights and understanding of the African American experience, Thurman remains a mystical thinker. He writes:
"Just as scattered through the earliest accounts of man's journey on this planet are flashes and shafts of light illuminating the meaning of man and his fellows, so in our times we find the widest variety of experiments pointing in the same direction and making manifest the same goals. Men are made for one another. In this grand discovery, there is a disclosure of another dimension: this experience of one another is not enough. There is a meaning in life greater than, but informing, all the immediate meanings -- and the name given to this meaning is religion, because it embodies, however faintly, a sense of the ultimate and the divine."
Thurman offers a message of hope. He shows how darkness can indeed be "luminous" in pointing the way to a better future. Thurman's book is valuable for its discussions of the particulars of segregation and its evil. But it is profound in the way it ties this discussion into a suggestion of the broadest reaches of reality, mind, and spirit.
Robin Friedman
Howard Thurman's famous book "Jesus and the Disinherited" (1949) helped to inspire the Civil Rights movement that soon followed in its wake. In 1965, near the end of the movement, Thurman wrote this book, "The Luminous Darkness: A Personal Interpretation of the Anatomy of Segregation and the Ground of Hope." In it, Thurman offered his own understanding of the nature of segregation and its impact. Thurman ultimately grounds his understanding of the evils of segregation in mysticism and religious philosophy. In the book's "Foreword", Thurman noted the deeply personal character of this essay. He wrote about what he saw as the crucial insight he learned from his experience of segregation in his own life:
"[A} strange necessity has been laid upon me to devote my life to the central concern that transcends the walls that divide and would achieve in literal fact what is experienced as literal truth: human life is one and all men are members of one another. And this insight is spiritual and it is the hard core of religious experience."
Thurman took great inspiration from the vitality of his upbringing and from what he termed the "Negro idiom". He wrote: "A man must be at home somewhere before he can feel at home everywhere." He also believed that the sense of separateness resulting from segregation and divisions among people needed to be overcome, "even as it sustains and supports." Thurman wrote: "This is the crucial paradox in the achievement of an integrated personality as of an integrated society. To work as if the walls did not exist, to be nourished by the strength of one's ethnic idiom, and at the same time to be victimized by the walls is as exhilarating as it is hazardous. There is no waking moment or sleeping interval when one may expect respite from the desolation and despair of segregation."
The book is not a historical account of the Civil Rights Movement but is instead personal, reflective, and philosophical. Thurman describes many incidents in his life beginning with his childhood in heavily segregated Jacksonville, Florida which show how he came to understand the pernicious effects of segregation upon his own life and on his family and community. He discusses how segregation harmed both blacks and whites by creating a "wall" between them and an atmosphere of fear and hatred. Much of the book explores the effect of segregation on both blacks and whites in terms of loss of dignity, self-esteem, and moral understanding of one's fellows.
Thurman's discussion gradually expands and broadens in scope to describe how the two world wars changed life in the United States to the ultimate demise of segregation. He also explains how the American Civil Rights Movement was part of a broader movement of downtrodden people, influenced deeply by Gandhi, for autonomy and respect. Thurman suggests but does not elaborate upon the need for long-term remedial action to counter the impact of segregation following the Civil Rights Legislation of 1963 and 1964. He discusses the role of organized Christianity and explains why institutional religion had seemed to lag behind in speaking out against the evil of segregation.
The book takes flight in its final sections. Thurman discusses how segregation had the effect of making people see one another in terms of whiteness or blackness rather than in terms of a shared or common humanity. He describes the breadth of ethics and spirituality as transcending any particular religion and as showing the continuity of all existence. The book moves from the individual and particular through the community through the universality of human experience to the transcendent and all-encompassing. With his deep commitment to civil rights and understanding of the African American experience, Thurman remains a mystical thinker. He writes:
"Just as scattered through the earliest accounts of man's journey on this planet are flashes and shafts of light illuminating the meaning of man and his fellows, so in our times we find the widest variety of experiments pointing in the same direction and making manifest the same goals. Men are made for one another. In this grand discovery, there is a disclosure of another dimension: this experience of one another is not enough. There is a meaning in life greater than, but informing, all the immediate meanings -- and the name given to this meaning is religion, because it embodies, however faintly, a sense of the ultimate and the divine."
Thurman offers a message of hope. He shows how darkness can indeed be "luminous" in pointing the way to a better future. Thurman's book is valuable for its discussions of the particulars of segregation and its evil. But it is profound in the way it ties this discussion into a suggestion of the broadest reaches of reality, mind, and spirit.
Robin Friedman
August 19, 2018
First Review (2010)Howard Thurman who grew up in the segregated South born in the early 1990's. He writes about the impact of segregation on the victims of it, not only materially, but also emotionally and spiritually. In the course of reading of the impact of segregation, I found much of what he said could apply to the urban poor, as well as Muslims and immigrants who currently being vilified by the dominant white culture. While written over 50 years ago, it has the ring of truth in our own day. Thurman is one those rare writers who can seamlessly discuss social issues and spirituality. His credibility as a scholar is mixed with his deep faith and personal reflection.
Second Review (2018) - In light of the emergence of white supremacy, the Alt-Right and police violence, though this book was written in 1965, it speaks clearly to the issues of today. While Thurman's focus in 1965 was segregation, today his words speak to the realities of systemic racism at all levels of society. Thurman talks about the psychological, spiritual and social implications of racism for both black and white. While he did not have current terms, in contemporary language he talks about internalized racism, historical racial trauma, white privilege, dehumanization, white fear and the spiritual hypocrisy of the Christian Church. While his focus in the book is on the relationship between blacks and whites, his words are equally applicable to the experiences of undocumented immigrants, the Latinx community, and American Muslims.
Racism - in all its forms - is a soul destroying cancer for its victims, its perpetrators and for those who standby, see and do nothing. Thurman shows us just how deep that cancer has spread.
Second Review (2018) - In light of the emergence of white supremacy, the Alt-Right and police violence, though this book was written in 1965, it speaks clearly to the issues of today. While Thurman's focus in 1965 was segregation, today his words speak to the realities of systemic racism at all levels of society. Thurman talks about the psychological, spiritual and social implications of racism for both black and white. While he did not have current terms, in contemporary language he talks about internalized racism, historical racial trauma, white privilege, dehumanization, white fear and the spiritual hypocrisy of the Christian Church. While his focus in the book is on the relationship between blacks and whites, his words are equally applicable to the experiences of undocumented immigrants, the Latinx community, and American Muslims.
Racism - in all its forms - is a soul destroying cancer for its victims, its perpetrators and for those who standby, see and do nothing. Thurman shows us just how deep that cancer has spread.
July 20, 2022
Howard Thurman's writing has influenced generations of those who strive for racial justice, and even today, his works resonate and are pertinent. I read this book in a group, and I really think that's the best way to do it. Readers of any age will benefit, but for those of a certain age, who may get discouraged by how long change takes, this is a reminder that societal change does happen, but one has to work at it.
September 26, 2018
Howard Thurman never fails to educate, convict, and inspire.
November 21, 2025
great book to consider reading if you are interested in anti-racist practices and pedagogy. or if you are interested in understanding why white society performs the way it does.
August 17, 2015
This now dated book has amazing insights about race, many of which are still relevant.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews