Howard Thurman’s Great Hope

Howard learned the joy of reading from his father, which made Papa very proud. Often Papa would brag to his friends, “My boy has read all the books in the state of Florida. My boy’s going to be a college man!”

Sometimes Howard’s longing for Papa felt like a terrible ache. Even though his father was gone, Howard still wanted to make him proud. Howard dreamed of becoming a college man just like Papa said. With an education, Howard could determine his own destiny.

Howard’s dream would not be achieved easily. The year was 1914, a time of racial inequality in the United States. African Americans were called Negroes then, and they did not have the same rights as white people. In Daytona, Florida, where Howard lived, there was just one public school for Negroes. The school only went up to the seventh grade, and Howard was in it. Before he could go to high school and on to college, Howard would have to find a way to go to the eighth grade and finish his elementary education.

Every morning before school, Howard’s job was to haul the basket of laundry that Grandma Nancy had washed and ironed over to a beach hotel. Daytona was full of fancy hotels, but they were for whites. Negroes could only work in them butlers, maids, cooks, or shoe shine boys.

Walking quickly up the road with the heavy basket, Howard passed his neighbors’ houses. Although most people in Howard’s community were poor, they took pride in their homes, and they shared what they could when someone was in need. When Papa had died, many neighbors had come to visit the family, bringing them money and food.
After walking for almost an hour, Howard finally saw the beach in the distance. Ignoring the ache in his shoulder, he ran the rest of the way to the hotel.
Howard was the best student in his class, and he hated to miss even one minute of school. Most days he arrived at the tiny schoolhouse just before Principal R. H. rang the morning bell.

From that first bell to the last, each day Howard spent at school was magical. With every new idea he learned, the world opened wider. Howard loved finding solutions to problems and the way each bit of knowledge fit together, like a never-ending puzzle.
After school let out, Howard returned to the hotel to pick up the dirty laundry and carry it home. As Grandma Nancy began the washing, Howard told her everything he’d learned that day. Listening to her grandson talk about his school day, Grandma Nancy’s face would light up.

Like others who had grown up in slavery, Grandma Nancy had never gone to school or learned to read and write. But she believed that education was power. With an education, Howard wouldn’t have to work in a hotel. He could become a teacher, a minister, a doctor, or a businessman. He could be a leader of his people.

Each night after Howard was asleep and she had finished the washing, Grandma Nancy prayed for a way for Howard to continue his education. “Make a way, dear Lord. Make a way.”