Desmond Tutu Totally Explained

Everything about Desmond Tutu totally explained

Desmond Mpilo Tutu (born 7 October 1931) is a South African cleric and activist who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid. Tutu was elected and ordained the first black South African Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa, and primate of the Church of the Province of Southern Africa (now the Anglican Church of Southern Africa). He received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, the Albert Schweitzer Prize for Humanitarianism, and the Magubela prize for liberty in 1986. He is committed to stopping global AIDS and has served as the honorary chairman for the Global AIDS Alliance. In February 2007 he was awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize by Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, President of India.
He was generally credited with coining the term Rainbow Nation as a metaphor for post-apartheid South Africa after 1994 under African National Congress rule. The expression has since entered mainstream consciousness to describe South Africa's ethnic diversity. Tutu is widely regarded as "South Africa's moral conscience".

Background

Desmond Mpilo Tutu was born in Klerksdorp, Transvaal on 7 October, 1931, the son of Zacheriah Zililo Tutu. Tutu's family moved to Johannesburg when he was 12 years old. Although he wanted to become a physician, his family couldn't afford the training, and he followed his father's footsteps into teaching. Tutu studied at the Pretoria Bantu Normal College from 1951 through 1953, and went on to teach at Johannesburg Bantu High School and at Munsieville High School in Pietermaritzburg. However, he resigned following the passage of the Bantu Education Act, in protest of the poor educational prospects for black South Africans. He continued his studies, this time in theology, at St Peter's Theology College in Rosettenville and in 1960 was ordained as an Anglican minister following in the footsteps of his mentor and fellow activist, Trevor Huddleston. Tutu then travelled to King's College London, (1962–1966), where he received his Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Theology. During this time he worked as a part-time curate, first at St Albans Cathedral and then at St. Mary's in Bletchingley, Surrey. He later returned to South Africa and from 1967 until 1972 used his lectures to highlight the circumstances of the African population. He wrote a letter to Prime Minister Vorster, in which he described the situation in South Africa as a "powder barrel that can explode at any time." The letter was never answered. He became chaplain at the University of Fort Hare in 1967, a hotbed of dissent and one of the few quality universities for African students in the southern part of Africa. From 1970 to 1972, Tutu lectured at the National University of Lesotho .
Tutu faced a difficult balancing act: voicing black discontent while leading a largely white parish. Alternately charming and challenging them, he appealed to their Afrikaner heritage, recalling that their forebears had endured British concentration camps. Somewhat to the bewilderment of other black leaders, he patiently courted Vorster’s successor, P. W. Botha, explaining that even Moses continued to reason with Pharaoh. But white liberals grew nervous when Tutu called for a boycott of South African products.

Personal life

He has been married to Leah Nomalizo Tutu since 2 July 1955. They have four children: Trevor Thamsanqa Tutu, Theresa Thandeka Tutu, Naomi Nontombi Tutu and Mpho Andrea Tutu, all of whom attended the Waterford Kamhlaba School in Swaziland. In 1997, Tutu was diagnosed with prostate cancer and underwent successful treatment in the United States of America. He subsequently became patron of the South African Prostate Cancer Foundation which was established in 2007.
In 1998, he was appointed as the Robert R Woodruff Visiting Professor at Emory University, Atlanta. He returned to Emory University the following year as the William R Cannon Visiting Distinguished Professor. Since 2004, he's been a Visiting Professor at King's College London.
In Spring 2007, he joined 600 college students and sailed around the world with Semester at Sea.

Political work

In 1976 protests in Soweto, also known as the Soweto Riots, against the government's use of Afrikaans as a compulsory medium of instruction in black schools became a massive uprising against apartheid. From then on Tutu supported an economic boycott of his country. He vigorously opposed the "constructive engagement" policy of the Reagan administration in the United States, which advocated "friendly persuasion."
   Desmond Tutu was Bishop of Lesotho from 1976 until 1978, when he became Secretary-General of the South African Council of Churches. From this position, he was able to continue his work against apartheid with agreement from nearly all churches. Tutu consistently advocated reconciliation between all parties involved in apartheid through his writings and lectures at home and abroad. Though he was most firm in denouncing South Africa's white-ruled government, Tutu was also harsh in his criticism of the violent tactics of some anti-apartheid groups such as the African National Congress and denounced terrorism and Communism.
   Tutu's opposition was vigorous and unequivocal, and he was outspoken both in South Africa and abroad, often comparing apartheid to Nazism and Communism. As a result the government twice revoked his passport, and he was jailed briefly in 1980 after a protest march. It was thought by many that Tutu's increasing international reputation and his rigorous advocacy of non-violence protected him from harsher penalties.
   On 16 October 1984, Tutu was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Committee cited his "role as a unifying leader figure in the campaign to resolve the problem of apartheid in South Africa."
   In 1985, Tutu was appointed the Bishop of Johannesburg before he became the first black person to lead the Anglican Church in South Africa on 7 September 1986. From 1987 to 1997 he was president of the All Africa Conference of Churches. In 1989 he was invited to Birmingham, England, United Kingdom as part of Citywide Christian Celebrations. Tutu and his wife visited a number of establishments including the Nelson Mandela School in Sparkbrook.
   In 1990, Tutu and the ex-Vice Chancellor of the University of the Western Cape Professor Jakes Gerwel founded the Desmond Tutu Educational Trust. The Trust was established to fund developmental programmes in tertiary education and provides capacity building at 17 historically disadvantaged institutions. In 2001, the Trust, with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, launched the Desmond Tutu Footprints of the Legends Awards which recognises leadership in combating prejudice, human rights, research and poverty eradication.
   Tutu's work as a mediator in order to prevent all-out racial war was evident at the funeral of South African Communist Party leader Chris Hani in 1993. Tutu spurred a crowd of 120,000 to repeat after him the chants, over and over: "We will be free!", "All of us!", "Black and white together!" and finished his speech saying:

"We are the rainbow people of God! We are unstoppable! Nobody can stop us on our march to victory! No one, no guns, nothing! Nothing will stop us, for we're moving to freedom! We are moving to freedom and nobody can stop us! For God is on our side!"

In 1993, he was a patron of the Cape Town Olympic Bid Committee. In 1994 he was an appointed a patron of the World Campaign Against Military and Nuclear Collaboration with South Africa, Beacon Millennium and Action from Ireland. In 1995 he became a patron of the American Harmony Child Foundation and the Hospice Association of Southern Africa. After the fall of apartheid, he headed the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, for which he was awarded the Sydney Peace Prize in 1999. In 2000, he founded the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation to raise funds for the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre in Cape Town. In 2002, he launched the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation USA, which is designed to work with universities nationwide to create leadership academies emphasising peace, social justice and reconciliation.
In 2003, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the International Criminal Court's Trust Fund for Victims. He was named a member of the UN advisory panel on genocide prevention in 2006. Following this summit, he G8 leaders promised to increase aid to developing countries by $48bn a year by 2010. Further, they gave their word of honor that they'd do the best they could to achieve universal access to prevention and treatment for the millions and millions of people globally threatened by HIV/AIDS.
Before the 32nd G8 summit in Germany in 2007, Tutu called on the G8 to focus on poverty in the Third World. Following the United Nations Millennium Summit in 2000, it appeared that world leaders were determined as never before to set and meet specific goals regarding extreme poverty.

Zimbabwe

Tutu has been vocal in his criticism of human rights abuses in Zimbabwe as well as the South African government's policy of quiet diplomacy towards Zimbabwe. In 2007 he said the "quiet diplomacy" pursued by the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) had "not worked at all" and he called on Britain and the West to pressure SADC, including South Africa, which was chairing talks between President Mugabe's Zanu-PF party and the opposition Movement for Democratic Change, to set firm deadlines for action, with consequences if they were not met. Tutu has often criticized Robert Mugabe in the past and he once described the autocratic leader as "a cartoon figure of an archetypical African dictator".

"We Africans should hang our heads in shame. How can what is happening in Zimbabwe elicit hardly a word of concern let alone condemnation from us leaders of Africa? After the horrible things done to hapless people in Harare, has come the recent crackdown on members of the opposition ... what more has to happen before we who are leaders, religious and political, of our mother Africa are moved to cry out 'Enough is enough?."

He has often stated that all leaders in Africa should condemn Zimbabwe: "What an awful blot on our copy book. Do we really care about human rights, do we care that people of flesh and blood, fellow Africans, are being treated like rubbish, almost worse than they were ever treated by rabid racists?" Tutu called Mugabe "someone we were very proud of", as he "did a fantastic job, and it’s such a great shame, because he'd a wonderful legacy. If he'd stepped down ten or so years ago he'd be held in very, very high regard. And I still want to say we must honour him for the things that he did do, and just say what a shame."

Social psychology

Tutu has contributed to the field of social psychology. His writing appeared in Greater Good Magazine, published by the Greater Good Science Center of the University of California, Berkeley. His contributions include the interpretation of scientific research into the roots of compassion, altruism, and peaceful human relationships. His most recent article with Greater Good magazine is titled: "Why to Forgive", which examines how forgiveness isn't only personally rewarding, but also politically necessary in allowing South Africa to have a new beginning. However, Tutu states that forgiveness isn't turning a blind eye to wrongs; true reconciliation exposes the awfulness, the abuse, the pain, the hurt, the truth. It could even sometimes make things worse. It is a risky undertaking but in the end it's worthwhile, because in the end only an honest confrontation with reality can bring healing.

On Israel and relationship with the Jewish community

Tutu has spoken of the significant role Jews played in the anti-Apartheid struggle in South Africa, has voiced support for Israel's security concerns, and has spoken against tactics of suicide bombing and incitement to hatred. He is also an active and prominent proponent of the campaign for divestment from Israel, and has likened Israel's treatment of Palestinians to the treatment of Black South Africans under apartheid. He made similar comments in 2002, speaking of "the humiliation of the Palestinians at checkpoints and roadblocks, suffering like us when young white police officers prevented us from moving about". He has drawn attention to a letter signed by several hundred prominent Jewish South Africans drawing an explicit analogy between apartheid and current Israeli policies.
   In 1988, the American Jewish Committee noted that Tutu was strongly critical of Israel's military and other connections with apartheid-era South Africa, and quoted him as saying that Zionism has "very many parallels with racism", on the grounds that it "excludes people on ethnic or other grounds over which they've no control". While the AJC was critical of some of Tutu's views, it was dismissive of "insidious rumours" that he'd made anti-Semitic statements. The precise wording of Tutu's statement has been reported differently in different sources. A subsequent Toronto Star article indicates that he described Zionism "as a policy that looks like it has many parallels with racism, the effect is the same.
   Tutu preached a message of forgiveness during a 1989 trip to Israel's Yad Vashem museum, saying "Our Lord would say that in the end the positive thing that can come is the spirit of forgiving, not forgetting, but the spirit of saying: God, this happened to us. We pray for those who made it happen, help us to forgive them and help us so that we in our turn won't make others suffer." Some found this statement offensive, with Rabbi Marvin Hier of the Simon Wiesenthal Center calling it "a gratuitous insult to Jews and victims of Nazism everywhere." Tutu was subjected to racial slurs during this visit to Israel, with vandals writing "Black Nazi pig" on the walls of the St. George's Cathedral in East Jerusalem, where he was staying. When he edited and reprinted parts of his speech in 2005, Tutu replaced the phrase "Jewish lobby" with "pro-Israel lobby".
   In 2003, Tutu accepted the role as patron of Sabeel International, a Christian liberation theology organization which supports the concerns of the Palestinian Christian community and has actively lobbied the International Christian community for divestment from Israel.
   Also in 2003, Archbishop Tutu received an International Advocate for Peace Award from the Cardozo School of Law, an affiliate of Yeshiva University, sparking scattered student protests and condemnations from representatives of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and Anti-Defamation League. A 2006 opinion piece in the Jerusalem Post newspaper described him as "a friend, albeit a misguided one, of Israel and the Jewish people". The Zionist Organization of America has led a campaign to protest Tutu's appearances at North American campuses.
   In 2007, the president of the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota cancelled a planned speech from Tutu, on the grounds that his presence might offend some members of the local Jewish community. Many faculty members opposed this decision, and with some describing Tutu as the victim of a smear campaign. The group Jewish Voice for Peace led an email campaign calling on St. Thomas to reconsider its decision, which the president did and invited Tutu to campus. Tutu declined the re-invitation, speaking instead at the Minneapolis Convention Center at an event hosted by Metro State University.
   In October 2007, Tutu visited Boston, Massachusetts where he sparked controversy after speaking at a conference entitled The Apartheid Paradigm in Palestine-Israel. Members of Boston's Jewish community criticized Tutu's comparison of Israel with Apartheid in South Africa, saying drawing such a parallel was inappropriate and unfair.

Beit Hanoun

Desmond Tutu was named to head a United Nations fact-finding mission to the Gaza Strip town of Beit Hanoun, where, in a November 2006 incident the Israel Defense Forces killed 19 civilians after troops wound up a week-long incursion aimed at curbing Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel from the town. Tutu planned to travel to the Palestinian territory to "assess the situation of victims, address the needs of survivors and make recommendations on ways and means to protect Palestinian civilians against further Israeli assaults," according to the president of the UN Human Rights Council, Luis Alfonso De Alba. Israeli officials expressed concern that the report would be biased against Israel.
Tutu cancelled the trip in mid-December, saying that Israel had refused to grant him the necessary travel clearance after more than a week of discussions. A spokesman from the Israeli foreign ministry indicated that no final decision had been made, to which Tutu responded, "At times not making a decision is making a decision. We couldn't obviously wait in limbo indefinitely." The Anti-Defamation League stated that the appointment of Tutu as head of the mission isn't appropriate on the grounds that he'd be a prepossessed observer, and criticized the mission for having not "address[ed] the continuing barrage of Kassam rockets fired into Israel by Palestinian terrorists in Gaza, killing and maiming Israeli citizens...Tutu has already publicly expressed his anti-Israel views and his opinions regarding what happened in Beit Hanoun, and combined with the one-sided anti-Israel mandate provided by the resolution, the results of the mission are all-but preordained".

War on Terror

In January 2003, Tutu attacked British Prime Minister Tony Blair's stance in supporting American President George W. Bush over Iraq. The alliance of Britain and the United States of America led to the outbreak of the Iraq War later that year. Tutu asked why Iraq was being singled out when Europe, India and Pakistan also had weapons of mass destruction. Tutu demanded:

"When does compassion, when does morality, when does caring come in? I just hope that one day that people will realise that peace is a far better path to follow. Many, many of us are deeply saddened to see a great country such as the United States aided and abetted extraordinarily by Britain. I've a great deal of time for your prime minister but I'm shocked to see a powerful country use its power frequently, unilaterally. The United States says you do this to the world, if you don't do it we'll do it - that's sad."

In October 2004, Tutu appeared in a play at Off Broadway, New York called Guantanamo - Honour-bound to Defend Freedom. This play was highly critical of the US handling of detainees at Guantanamo Bay. Tutu played Lord Justice Steyn, a judge who questions the legal justification of the detention regime.
In January 2005, Tutu added his voice to the growing dissent over terrorist suspects held at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, referring to detentions without trial as "utterly unacceptable." Tutu said:

"The rule of law is in order to ensure that those who have power don't use their power arbitrarily and every person retains their human rights until you've proven conclusively that so-and-so is in fact guilty. Whilst we're saying thank you that these have been released, what is happening to those left behind? We in South Africa used to have a dispensation that detained people without trial and the world quite rightly condemned that as unacceptable. Now if it was unacceptable then how come it can be acceptable to Britain and the United States. It is so, so deeply distressing. I'm opposed to any arbitrary detention that's happening, even in Britain."

In February 2006, Tutu repeated these statements after a UN report was published which called for the closure of the camp. Tutu stated that the Guantanamo Bay camp was a stain on the character of the United States, while the legislation in Britain which gave a 28 day detention period for terror suspects was "excessive" and "untenable". Tutu pointed out that similar arguments were being made in Britain and the United States which the South African apartheid regime had used. "It is disgraceful and one can't find strong enough words to condemn what Britain and the United States and some of their allies have accepted," said Tutu. Tutu also attacked Tony Blair's failed attempt to hold terrorist suspects in Britain for up to 90 days without charge. "Ninety days for a South African is an awful deja-vu because we'd in South Africa in the bad old days a 90-day detention law," he said. Under apartheid, as at Guantanamo Bay, people were held for "unconscionably long periods" and then released, he said. Tutu stated:

"Are you able to restore to those people the time when their freedom was denied them? If you've evidence for goodness sake produce it in a court of law. People with power have an incredible capacity for wanting to be able to retain that power and don't like scrutiny."

In 2007, Tutu stated that the global "war on terror" couldn't be won if people were living in desperate conditions. Tutu said that the global disparity between rich and people creates instability.

"You can never win a war against terror as long as there are conditions in the world that make people desperate - poverty, disease, ignorance, et cetera. I think people are beginning to realize that you can't have pockets of prosperity in one part of the world and huge deserts of poverty and deprivation and think that you can have a stable and secure world."

HIV/AIDS and TB

Tutu has been a tireless campaigner for health and human rights, and has been particularly vocal in support of controlling TB and HIV. In 2003 the Desmond Tutu HIV Centre was founded in Cape Town, while the Desmond Tutu TB Centre was founded in 2003 at Stellenbosch University. Tutu suffered from TB in his youth and has been active in assisting those afflicted, especially as TB and HIV/Aids deaths have become intrinsicly linked in South Africa. “Those of you who work to care for people suffering from AIDS and TB are wiping a tear from God’s eye,” Archbishop Tutu said.
In 2007, statistics were released that indicated HIV and AIDS numbers were lower than previously thought in South Africa. However, Tutu named these statistics "cold comfort" as it was unacceptable that 600 people died of AIDS in South Africa everyday. Tutu also rebuked the government for wasting time by discussing what caused HIV/Aids, which particularly attacks Mbeki and Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang for their denialist stance.

On the Church

In 2002, Tutu called for a reform of the Anglican Church in regard to how its leader, the Archbishop of Canterbury is chosen. The ultimate appointment is made by the British Prime Minister and thus Tutu said that the selection process will only be properly democratic and representative when the link between church and state is broken. In 1990, Tutu was considered as Archbishop of Canterbury, however George Carey was chosen in his stead. Tutu has commented that he's "glad" that he wasn't chosen as once installed in Lambeth Palace, he'd have been homesick for South Africa, unhappy to be away from home during a critical time in the country's history.
In 2003 he became the patron of Sabeel Ecumenical Liberation Theology Center located in Jerusalem.
In February 2006 Tutu took part in the 9th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, held in Porto Alegre, Brazil. There he manifested his commitment to ecumenism and praised the efforts of Christian churches to promote dialogue to diminish their differences. For Desmond, "a united church is no optional extra."

On homosexuality

In the debate about Anglican views of homosexuality he's opposed Christian discrimination against homosexuals. Commenting days after the 5 August 2003 election of Gene Robinson, an openly gay man to be a bishop in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Desmond Tutu said, "In our Church here in South Africa, that doesn't make a difference. We just say that at the moment, we believe that they should remain celibate and we don't see what the fuss is about."

"Isn't it sad, that in a time when we face so many devastating problems – poverty, HIV/AIDS, war and conflict – that in our Communion we should be investing so much time and energy on disagreement about sexual orientation?" [TheCommunion, which] "used to be known for embodying the attribute of comprehensiveness, of inclusiveness, where we were meant to accommodate all and diverse views, saying we may differ in our theology but we belong together as sisters and brothers" now seems "hell-bent on excommunicating one another. God must look on and God must weep."

Since then Tutu has increased his criticism of conservative attitudes to homosexuality within his own church, equating homophobia with racism. Stating at a conference in Nairobi that he's "deeply disturbed that in the face of some of the most horrendous problems facing Africa, we concentrate on 'what do I do in bed with whom'".
In an interview with BBC Radio 4 on 18 November 2007, Archbishop Desmond Tutu accused the church of being obsessed with homosexuality and declared: "If God, as they say, is homophobic, I wouldn't worship that God."

Haiti

In 2004, Tutu spoke critically of South Africa's acceptance of ousted Haitian President Jean-Bertrande Aristide for political asylum.

Archbishop Tutu said: "I would have hoped that he'd gone anywhere but South Africa. But if it's a case of us preventing him from being killed I suppose that it's okay, but if there are charges that he should face, I think he should face those charges, if there's a guarantee that he'd have safe passage and a proper trial. It's unlikely. However each of us has the capacity to become a saint, even the worst dictator."

2008 Olympics

Tutu has been vocal in his condemnation of Chinese crackdowns on Tibetan activists. Tutu spoke at a candle-lit vigil on the eve of the San Francisco relay. Tutu doesn't support a full boycott of the Olympic Games, but he's called on the heads of States worldwide to not attend the Opening Ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

"For God's sake, for the sake of our children, for the sake of their children, for the sake of the beautiful people of Tibet - don't go. Tell your counterparts in Beijing you wanted to come but looked at your schedule and realised you've something else to do."

Chairman of The Elders

On July 18, 2007 in Johannesburg, South Africa, Nelson Mandela, Graça Machel, and Desmond Tutu convened "The Elders, a group of world leaders to contribute their wisdom, leadership and integrity to tackle some of the world's toughest problems. Mandela announced its formation in a speech on his 89th birthday. Archbishop Tutu is to serve as its Chair. Other founding members include Kofi Annan, Ela Bhatt, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Jimmy Carter, Li Zhaoxing, Mary Robinson, Muhammad Yunus and Aung San Suu Kyi, whose chair was left symbolically empty due to her confinement as a political prisoner in Burma.
   “This group can speak freely and boldly, working both publicly and behind the scenes on whatever actions need to be taken,” Mandela commented. “Together we'll work to support courage where there's fear, foster agreement where there's conflict, and inspire hope where there's despair.”
   The Elders will be independently funded by a group of Founders, including Richard Branson, Peter Gabriel, Ray Chambers, Michael Chambers, Bridgeway Foundation, Pam Omidyar, Humanity United, Amy Robbins, Shashi Ruia, Dick Tarlow and the United Nations Foundation.
   The Elders' first mission was to travel to Sudan in September-October 2007 to foster peace in the Darfur crisis. "Our hope is that we can keep Darfur in the spotlight and spur on governments to help keep peace in the region," said Tutu.

Controversies

Nelson Mandela Foundation Lecture

After a decade of freedom for South Africa, Archbishop Tutu was honored with the invitation to deliver the annual Nelson Mandela Foundation Lecture. On November 23, 2004 Tutu was given the address entitled, "Look to the Rock from Which You Were Hewn." This lecture, critical of the ANC-controlled government, stirred a pot of controversy between Tutu and Thabo Mbeki, calling into question "the right to criticise." He made a stinging attack against South Africa's political elite, saying the country was "sitting on a powder keg" because of its failure to alleviate poverty a decade after apartheid's end. Tutu also said that attempts to boost black economic ownership were only benefiting an elite minority, while political "kowtowing" within the ruling ANC was hampering democracy. Tutu asked, "What is black empowerment when it seems to benefit not the vast majority but an elite that tends to be recycled?"

Tutu's relationship with ANC

Tutu warned of corruption shortly after the reelection of the African National Congress government of South Africa, saying that they "stopped the gravy train just long enough to get on themselves." In August 2006 Archbishop Tutu publicly urged Jacob Zuma, the South African politician who had been accused of sexual crimes and corruption, to drop out of the ANC's presidential succession race. He said in a public lecture that he wouldn't be able to hold his "head high" if Zuma became leader after being accused both of rape and corruption. In September 2006, Tutu repeated his opposition to Zuma's candidacy as ANC leader due to Zuma's "moral failings"
The head of the Congress of South African Students condemned Tutu as a "loose cannon" and a "scandalous man" — a reaction which prompted an angry Mbeki to side with Tutu. Zuma's personal advisor responded by accusing Tutu of having double standards and "selective amnesia" (as well as being old). Elias Khumalo claims the archbishop "had found it so easy to accept the apology from the apartheid government that committed unspeakable atrocities against millions of South Africans", yet now "cannot find it in his heart to accept the apology from this humble man who has erred". Tutu and Zuma’s public criticism of each other are reflections of a turbulent time in South African politics.

Honours

Year	Award	Place
1978	Honorary Doctorate of Divinity	General Theological Seminary, United States of America
	Fellow of King's College London	London, England
	Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law	University of Kent, England
1979	Honorary Doctorate of Laws	Harvard University, United States of America
1980	Prix d'Athene	Onassis Foundation, Greece
1981	Honorary Doctorate of Theology	Ruhr University, Bochum, West Germany
	Honorary Doctorate of Divinity	University of Aberdeen, Scotland
	Newsmaker of the year	Southern African Society of Journalists, South Africa
1982	Honorary Doctorate of Sacred Theology	Columbia University, United States of America
1983	Family of Man Gold Medal Award
1984	Martin Luther King Junior Humanitarian Award	United States of America
	Nobel Peace Prize	Oslo, Norway
	Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters	Saint Paul's College, Virginia, United States of America
	Honorary Doctorate of Laws	Claremont Graduate University, United States of America
	Honorary Doctorate of Sacred Theology	Dickinson College, United States of America
	Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters	Howard University, United States of America
1985	Freedom of The City	Florence, Italy
1986	Freedom of The City	Merthyr Tydfil, Wales
1986	Magubela prize for liberty
1987	Freedom of The City	Durham, England
	Pacem in Terris Award	United States of America
	Honorary Doctorate of Laws	University of the West Indies, West Indies
1988	Chancellor of the University of the Western Cape	Cape Town, South Africa
1989	Third World Prize (jointly)
1990	Freedom of The City	Lewisham, England
	Freedom of The City	Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
	Honorary Degree	Oxford University, England
1991	Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences	Nairobi, Kenya
1992	Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award
1996	Order for Meritorious Service Award (Gold)	South Africa
1996	Award for Outstanding Service to the Anglican Communion	England
1997	Humanitarian Award	African Times, New York, United States of America
	Bill of Rights Award	American Civil Liberation Union Fund, United States of America
	ROBIE award	Jackie Robinson Foundation, New York, United States of America
1998	Grand Officer of the Légion d'honneur	France
1998	Roosevelt Freedom Award	Middelburg, The Netherlands
1999	Albert Schweitzer Humanitarian Award	United States of America
	Order of Merit Grand Cross	Germany
	Dedicatee of the Annual Survey of American Law	New York University School of Law, United States of America
	Order of Meritorious Service (Gold)	South Africa
	Sydney Peace Prize	Sydney, Australia
	Freedom of the City	Kingston upon Hull, England
	Honorary Doctorate of Divinity	University of Cambridge, England
	Honorary Doctorate	Florida International University, United States of America
	Honorary Doctorate	University of Hull, England
	Wilberforce Medal	England
2000	Delta Prize for Global Understanding	Atlanta, United States of America
	Honorary Doctorate of Laws	University of Toronto, Canada
	Honorary Degree	Yale University, United States of America
	Honorary Doctorate of Divinity	University of Trinity College, Canada
	Honorary Doctorate of Laws	University of Alberta, Canada
	Honorary Doctorate of Humanities	Seattle University, United States of America
	Honorary Doctorate	Pompeu Fabra University, Spain
	Honorary Doctorate of Laws	Osgoode Hall Law School, Canada
	Honorary Degree	University of Oklahoma, United States of America
	Athenagoras Prize for Human Rights	Chicago, United States of America
2001	One room named for Desmond Tutu at Southwark Cathedral	London, England
2001	Honorary Degree	Fort Hare University, South Africa
2002	Honorary Doctorate	Vaal University of Technology, South Africa
	Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters	University of Washington, United States of America
	Honorary Doctorate	Potchefstroom University, South Africa
	Honorary Doctorate of Theology	University of Pretoria, South Africa
	Dr. Jean Mayer Global Citizenship Award	Tufts University, Medford, Massachusetts, United States of America
2003	International Advocate for Peace Award	Cardozo School of Law, United States of America
	Honorary Doctorate of Laws	Rhodes University, South Africa
	Golden Plate Award	Academy of Achievement, United States of America
	Honorary Doctorate of Divinity	Willamette University, United States of America
	Père Marquette Discovery Award	Marquette University, United States of America
2004	Desmond Tutu HIV Centre founded	Cape Town, South Africa
	Honorary Doctorate	Warsaw University, Poland
	Desmond Tutu Centre for War and Peace founded	Liverpool Hope University, England
	Honorary Doctorate of Laws	University of British Columbia, Canada
2005	Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters	Berea College, United States of America
	Gandhi Peace Prize	India
	Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters	University of North Florida, United States of America
	Desmond Tutu TB Centre founded	Stellenbosch University, South Africa
	Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters	Fordham University, United States of America
	Desmond Tutu Education Center founded	General Theological Seminary, United States of America
	Chartered Institute of Public Relations' President's Medal	Harrogate, England
	Honorary Doctorate	Ghent University, Belgium
2006	Union Medal	Union Theological Seminary, United States of America
	Light of Truth Award from the International Campaign for Tibet	Brussels, Belgium
	Desmond Tutu Centre for the ARROW Project founded	Plymouth, England
	Honorary Doctorate in Public Service	The College of William & Mary, United States of America
	Gandhi King Ikeda Community Builder’s Prize	Morehouse College, United States of America
	King Hussein Prize	New York, United States of America
2007	Honorary Doctorate in Education	Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, South Africa
	Alumnus of the Year	King's College London, England
	Mahatma Gandhi Global Nonviolence Award	James Madison University, United States of America
	Honorary Doctorate of Laws	University of Ulster, Northern Ireland
	Profiles in Courage Award	Danish Kennedy Society, Denmark
	Honorary Fellowship	Guild of Church Musicians, London, England
	Tutu Foundation UK launched	London, England
	Marion Doenhoff Prize for International Reconciliation and Understanding	Germany
	Washington National Cathedral Prize for Advancement in Religious Understanding	Washington, United States of America
	Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters	University of Pittsburgh, United States of America
	Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters	Carnegie Mellon University, United States of America
	Honorary Doctorate	Wheelock College, United States of America
	Honorary Doctorate of Humanities	James Madison University, United States of America
	Honorary Doctorate	Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland
2008	OUTSPOKEN Award	International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, San Francisco, United States of America
2008	Lincoln Leadership Prize	Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library Foundation, Chicago, United States of America

Media/film appearances

For the Bible Tells Me So (2007)
Virgin Radio (2007) - Tutu contacted Virgin Radio on October 15 2007 in the "Who's Calling Christian" phone in where famous people ring in to raise a substantial amount of money for charity.
The Foolishness of God: Desmond Tutu and Forgiveness (2007) (post-production) .... Himself
Our Story Our Voice (2007) (completed) .... Himself
2006 Trumpet Awards (2006) (TV) .... Himself
De skrev historie .... Himself (1 episode, 2005)
The Shot That Shook the World (2005) (TV) .... Himself
The Peace! DVD (2005) (V) .... Himself
The Charlie Rose Show .... Himself (1 episode, 2005)
Out of Africa: Heroes and Icons (2005) (TV) .... Himself
Big Ideas That Changed the World (2005) (mini) TV Series .... Himself
Breakfast with Frost .... Himself (3 episodes, 2004-2005)
Tavis Smiley .... Himself (1 episode, 2005)
The South Bank Show .... Himself (1 episode, 2005)
Wall Street: A Wondering Trip (2004) (TV) .... Himself
The Daily Show .... Himself (1 episode, 2004)
Bonhoeffer (2003) .... Himself
Long Night's Journey Into Day (2000) (as Archbishop Desmond Tutu) .... Himself
Epidemic Africa (1999) .... Host
Cape Divided (1999) .... Himself
A Force More Powerful (1999) .... Himself

Popular culture

The British lower second-class honours undergraduate degree, a "2:2" (pronounced "two-two"), is colloquially known as a "Desmond" in his honour – see British undergraduate degree classification.

The pub at King's College London is known as Tutu's in his honour.

In 1986, Miles Davis released a jazz album called Tutu in honour of Archbishop Tutu.

In 1988, Enja Records founded a minor jazz label called Tutu Records.

The music video for Michael Jackson's number-one hit Man in the Mirror (1988) features Tutu in the section focusing on hope and peace.

Quotes by Tutu

"When the missionaries came to Africa they'd the Bible and we'd the land. They said, 'Let us pray.' We closed our eyes. When we opened them we'd the Bible and they'd the land."

"My heart aches. I say why are our memories so short. Have our Jewish sisters and brothers forgotten their humiliation? Have they forgotten the collective punishment, the home demolitions, in their own history so soon? Have they turned their backs on their profound and chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you're neutral, the mouse won't appreciate your neutrality."

"Good is stronger than evil; love is stronger than hate; light is stronger than darkness; life is stronger than death. Victory is ours, through him who loves us."

"If God, as they say, is homophobic, I wouldn’t worship that God."

"A person is a person because he recognizes others as persons."

"Be nice to whites, they need you to rediscover their humanity."

"Children are a wonderful gift. They have an extraordinary capacity to see into the heart of things and to expose sham and humbug for what they are."

"Do your little bit of good where you are; its those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world."

"For goodness sake, will they hear, will white people hear what we're trying to say? Please, all we're asking you to do is to recognize that we're humans, too."

"I am a leader by default, only because nature doesn't allow a vacuum."

"I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of human rights."

"If you're neutral in situations of injustice, you've chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you're neutral, the mouse won't appreciate your neutrality."

"I am fifty-two years of age. I'm a bishop in the Anglican Church, and a few people might be constrained to say that I was reasonably responsible. In the land of my birth I can't vote, whereas a young person of eighteen can vote. And why? Because he or she possesses that wonderful biological attribute -- a white skin."

"My humanity is bound up in yours, for we can only be human together."

"Niger isn't an isolated island of desperation. It lies within a sea of problems across Africa - particularly the 'forgotten emergencies' in poor countries or regions with little strategic or material appeal."

"Those who invest in South Africa shouldn't think they're doing us a favor; they're here for what they get out of our cheap and abundant labor, and they should know that they're buttressing one of the most vicious systems."

"We may be surprised at the people we find in heaven. God has a soft spot for sinners. His standards are quite low."

"We would like to see you departing peacefully."

"What is black empowerment when it seems to benefit not the vast majority but an elite that tends to be recycled?"

"When a pile of cups is tottering on the edge of the table and you warn that that'll crash to the ground, in South Africa you're blamed when that happens."

"Without forgiveness, there's no future."

"You don't choose your family. They are God's gift to you, as you're to them."

"You must show the world that you abhor fighting."

"History, like beauty, depends largely on the beholder, so when you read that, for example, David Livingstone discovered the Victoria Falls, you might be forgiven for thinking that there was nobody around the Falls until Livingstone arrived on the scene."

"Freedom and liberty lose out by default because good people are not vigilant."

"At home in South Africa I've sometimes said in big meetings where you've black and white together: 'Raise your hands!' Then I've said: 'Move your hands,' and I've said 'Look at your hands - different colors representing different people. You are the Rainbow People of God.'"

"It was relatively easy, we now realize, to categorize countries and nations. You knew who your enemies were and whom you could count on as collaborators and friends. And even more importantly, you'd ready-made scapegoats to take the blame when things were going wrong."

"There are different kinds of justice. Retributive justice is largely Western. The African understanding is far more restorative - not so much to punish as to redress or restore a balance that has been knocked askew."

"Resentment and anger are bad for your blood pressure and your digestion."

"Without forgiveness there can be no future for a relationship between individuals or within and between nations."

"We refuse to be treated as the doormat for the government to wipe its jackboots on."

"Fundamental rights belong to the human being just because you're a human being."

"I will never tell anyone to pick up a gun. But I'll pray for the man who picks up a gun, pray that he'll be less cruel than he might otherwise have been...."

"The reprisal against the suicide bomber doesn't bring peace. There is a suicide bomber, a reprisal and then a counter-reprisal. And it just goes on and on."

"Reconciliation is a long process. We don't have the kind of race clashes that we thought would happen. What we've is xenophobia, and it's very distressing. But maybe you ought to be lenient with us. We've been free for just 12 years."

"Ubuntu is very difficult to render into a Western language... It is to say, 'My humanity is caught up, is inextricably bound up, in what is yours.'"

Bibliography

Primary

Tutu is the author of seven collections of sermons and other writings:

Crying in the Wilderness, 1982.

Hope and Suffering: Sermons and Speeches, 1983.

The Words of Desmond Tutu, 1989.

Worshipping Church in Africa, 1995.

The Essential Desmond Tutu, 1997.

No Future without Forgiveness, Doubleday, 1999. ISBN 978-0-385-49689-6

An African Prayerbook, Doubleday, 2000. ISBN 978-0385-47730-7

God Has a Dream: A Vision of Hope for Our Time, Doubleday, 2004. ISBN 978-0385-47784-0

The Rainbow People of God: The Making of a Peaceful Revolution, Doubleday, 1994. ISBN 978-0-385-47546-4 Tutu has also co authored numerous books:

"Bounty in Bondage: Anglican Church in Southern Africa - Essays in Honour of Edward King, Dean of Cape Town" with Frank England, Torguil Paterson, and Torquil Paterson (1989)

"Resistance Art in South Africa" with Sue Williamson (1990)

The Rainbow People of God with John Allen (1994)

"Freedom from Fear: And Other Writings" with Vaclav Havel and Aung San Suu Kyi (1995)

"Reconciliation: The Ubuntu Theology of Desmond Tutu" with and Michael Jesse Battle (1997)

"Exploring Forgiveness" with Robert D. Enright and Joanna North (1998)

"Love in Chaos: Spiritual Growth and the Search for Peace in Northern Ireland" with Mary McAleese (1999)

"Race and Reconciliation in South Africa (Global Encounters: Studies in Comparative Political Theory)" with William Vugt and G. Daan Cloete (2000)

"South Africa: A Modern History" with T.R.H. Davenport and Christopher Saunders (2000)

"At the Side of Torture Survivors: Treating a Terrible Assault on Human Dignity" with Bahman Nirumand, Sepp Graessner and Norbert Gurris (2001)

"Place of Compassion" with Kenneth E. Luckman (2001)

"Passion for Peace: Exercising Power Creatively" with Stuart Rees (2002)

"Out of Bounds (New Windmills)" with Beverley Naidoo (2003)

"Fly, Eagle, Fly!" with Christopher Gregorowski and Niki Daly (2003)

"Sex, Love and Homophobia: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Lives" with Amnesty International, Vanessa Baird and Grayson Perry (2004)

"Toward a Jewish Theology of Liberation" with Gustavo Gutierrez and Marc H. Ellis (2004)

"Radical Compassion: The Life and Times of Archbishop Ted Scott" with Hugh McCullum (2004)

"Third World Health: Hostage to First World Wealth" with Theodore MacDonald (2005)

"Where God Happens: Discovering Christ in One Another and Other Lessons from the Desert Fathers" with Rowan Williams (2005)

"Health, Trade and Human Rights" with Mogobe Ramose and Theodore H. MacDonald (2006)

"The Soul of a New Cuisine: A Discovery of the Foods and Flavors of Africa" with Marcus Samuelsson, Heidi Sacko Walters and Gediyon Kifle (2006)

"The Gospel According to Judas WMA: By Benjamin Iscariot" with Jeffrey Archer, Frank Moloney (2007)

Secondary

Shirley du Boulay, Tutu: Voice of the Voiceless (Eerdmans, 1988).

Michael J. Battle, Reconciliation: The Ubuntu Theology of Desmond Tutu (Pilgrim Press, 1997).

Steven D. Gish, Desmond Tutu: A Biography (Greenwood, 2004).

David Hein, "Bishop Tutu's Christology." Cross Currents 34 (1984): 492-99.

David Hein, "Religion and Politics in South Africa." Modern Age 31 (1987): 21-30.

John Allen, Rabble-Rouser for Peace: The Authorised Biography of Desmond Tutu (Rider Books, 2007).

References and notes

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