Desmond Tutu
 | Official support statement "We were supported wonderfully by the International Community when we struggled against the vicious policy of apartheid. Today the people of Haiti, struck twice by the earthquake, are in a worse predicament than we were. As South Africans, we especially cannot but want to do our bit to alleviate the immense suffering of our sisters and brothers in Haiti. I welcome the initiative by Graça Machel and others. It deserves our wholehearted and very generous support." Biography Desmond Tutu was born on 7 October 1931 in Klerksdorp in the South African state of Transvaal. His family moved to Johannesburg when he was 12, where he attended Johannesburg Bantu High School. Although he had hoped to become a physician, his parents could not afford to send him to medical school. Instead, like his father, Tutu studied to become a teacher at Pretoria Bantu Normal College and graduated from the University of South Africa in 1954. When the government ordered a deliberately inferior system of education for black students, Tutu refused to cooperate. He could no longer work as a teacher, but was determined to do something to improve the life of his disenfranchised people. On the advice of his bishop, he began to study for the Anglican priesthood and was ordained in 1960. At the same time, the South African government began a program of forced relocation of black Africans and Asians from newly designated "white" areas. Millions were deported to the "homelands," and only permitted to return as "guest workers." Tutu lived in England from 1962 to 1966, where he earned a master's degree in theology. He taught theology in South Africa for the next five years, and returned to England to serve as an assistant director of the World Council of Churches. In 1975, he became the first black African to serve as Dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in Johannesburg, and from 1976 to 1978 he served as Bishop of Lesotho. In 1978, he became the first black General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches. From this national platform, Tutu denounced the apartheid system as "evil and unchristian." He called for equal rights for all South Africans and a system of common education and he demanded the repeal of the oppressive pass laws and an end to forced relocation. Tutu encouraged nonviolent resistance to the apartheid regime and advocated an economic boycott of the country. When the government revoked his passport to prevent him from traveling abroad, his case soon drew the attention of the world. In the face of international public outcry, the government was forced to restore his passport. In 1984, he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his role as a unifying leader figure in the campaign to resolve the problem of apartheid in South Africa. In 1986 he was elected Archbishop of Cape Town, the first black African to serve in this position, which placed him at the head of the Anglican Church in South Africa. In December 1995, President Mandela appointed Archbishop Tutu to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, investigating the human rights violations during the apartheid era. The Archbishop guided the nation in the process of choosing forgiveness over revenge and set a historic international precedent. In 1996, he retired as Archbishop of Cape Town and was named Archbishop Emeritus. He continues to speak out for human rights, equality, and social justice in South Africa and throughout the world. In August 2009, he was presented by President Barak Obama with the Medal of Freedom, the United States’ highest civilian honor. Desmond Tutu is recognized around the world as a moral leader committed to the human rights of all people. Today he is chairman of The Elders, a group of world leaders who contribute their integrity and leadership in dealing with some of the world’s most pressing problems. His published writings include God Has a Dream, No Future Without Forgiveness, Crying in the Wilderness, Hope and Suffering, and The Rainbow People of God. << Back to Patrons |