Thurman references colorful allegories and metaphors in this recording to remind us that focusing on the past can prevent one’s self from achieving fulfillment and helping those yet-to-come. His most powerful reference is to the “new and old wood” of an apple tree. He states clearly that fruit is only born on the new wood, and that the function of old wood is to bear that new wood. He connects this metaphor to the book of Hebrew to explain that without the past, the present has no meaning, and without the present, the past remains unfulfilled.

Part of the Collection, NBC Broadcasts (1952-1954)

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Description by Anthony Fiddes

Recorded in WHDH-TV, Boston, Massachusetts

Citation: Thurman, Howard, “[Past and Present], 1953,” The Howard Thurman Digital Archive, accessed July 9, 2024, https://thurman.pitts.emory.edu/items/show/161.