 She studied racism and the effects of prejudice on various people throughout the world, making two round-the-world trips in her lifetime.She wrote books and newspaper articles to preserve black heritage, and initiated the publishing efforts of the National Council of Negro Women (NCNW) by founding the "Aframerican Women's Journal".In addition to writing the second ever history of black Californians, in 1958 Thurman published a cookbook laced with historical information about black professional women at a time when African Americans had few civil rights.