WonderSoma IslesEntangled ValeUnder the Ginkgo Tree
Field notes written Thursday 3 April 2025
2 | Tracing the Black Mystical Tradition from Tubman to Thurman, with Jordan Jones
Jordan Jones reflects on how Harriet Tubman and Howard Thurman illuminate Black mysticism as a radical practice of inner freedom, ancestral memory, and ecological reverence.
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In this episode, Jordan Jones shares the wisdom of both Harriet Tubman and Howard Thurman.
After escaping slavery, Tubman went on to save over 70 enslaved people on her "trips of mercy.” A leader and a mentor in the civil rights movement, Thurman was a visionary theologian, author, minister, and professor.
Jordan considers both Tubman and Thurman to be mystics, and reflects on their crucial contributions to the movement for Black liberation.
We also discuss the ways that both figures had an intimate relationship with the land, and we ponder how their witness can guide us in our current reality of ecological catastrophe.
In each episode, co-hosts Jim Robinson and Liam Myers facilitate reflection on our place in the wider web of life through conversations with guest speakers, embodied spiritual practices, and by identifying a particular plant on campus. Join us, Under the Ginkgo Tree!
About the Guest
Jordan Jones is a minister, theologian, and community organizer. After he completes his Masters of Divinity from Union Theological Seminary this spring, he will continue his faith based organizing and his ministry at Metro Hope Church, a congregation in East Harlem.
Links and Resources
Howard Thurman
Howard Thurman
Tiya Miles
Interactive Transcript
Note: This transcript was generated by machine and may contain errors. It’s shared here in an interactive, searchable format to make the conversation easier to explore and revisit.
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