Desmond Tutu Vs. Apartheid Segregation In South Africa
The Peaceful Apartheid Fighter
Desmond Tutu vs. Apartheid
Apartheid-Legal segregation has been going on in South Africa for over a hundred years. When the British conquered them in 1910, South Africa had begun their journey down a road which Desmond Tutu has compared to Nazism. A law was passed in 1909 that took away most rights from the blacks, and over the years, they lost more and more rights, similar to Jews during the Holocaust. They first were not allowed to try for the qualifications needed for many jobs. A little while later, much of their land was taken away, which was later followed by their right to vote being restricted. To make things even worse, blacks were later forced to live in terrible conditions in designated areas away from the whites. They had to carry passports and later, identification books to enter white areas. Many black people were killed during this era whenever they protested. Nelson Mandela, the leader of the African National Congress, or ANC, was sentenced to life in prison in 1964. In 1989, F.W. de Klerk replaced the old leader of South Africa and he right away began lessening the legal segregation. Nelson Mandela was released from prison after just one year of him being the leader and after two years, he had gotten rid of all apartheid laws. In 1994, South Africa held its first election in which all people, blacks …show more content…
included, could vote, and Nelson Mandela was elected president. However, traces of racism and hate are still very prominent today all throughout South Africa, and people like Desmond Tutu have not stopped fighting for equal treatment.
Early Life-Desmond Tutu was born October 7, 1931 in Klerksdorp, South Africa. The black Africans like himself were very segregated from the white ones. They could not vote and could only live in certain places. Desmond’s parents both had somewhat low-paying jobs, for his mother cooked and cleaned at a school for blind students and his father was a principal at a grade school. Despite these things, Desmond got sufficient happiness from homemade toys and reading. During the day, he went to school and received a good education from Johannesburg Bantu High School, which he graduated from in 1950. He dreamed of being a doctor and was even accepted into medical school, but he couldn’t afford the tuition. Instead, he attended Pretoria Bantu Normal College for three years to become a teacher, then graduated with a bachelor’s degree after one year at the University of South Africa in 1954. While at college, he met Leah Shenxane, whom he married in 1955.
Early Career-He became a H.S. teacher for 3 years at his own high school in Johannesburg, a town close to Klerksdorp, and in 1956 he had his first child, Trevor. The Bantu Education Act from 1953 meant that black kids were only getting sufficient education to run a household, and the government spent ten times as much money on white kids’ education. Although he had tried for a few years to educate his students the best he could, all of his classes were so huge and underfunded that it disgusted him, and he stopped being a teacher in 1957. The next year, he started studying theology, which is the study of religion, at St. Peter’s Theological College in Johannesburg. During this time, he went on to have three more children, Theresa, Naomi, and Mpho. He became a deacon in 1960 then a priest in 1961. The next year, he went to London to study theology at King’s College and got his master’s in 1966. After returning to Africa, he taught in the Federal Theological Seminary, became a minister for the University of Fort Hare, and started giving speeches in 1970 for National University of Lesotho. He went back to England two years later, where the World Council of Churches appointed him vice-director of the Theological Education Fund. After three years, he came back to Africa to become the first black Dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in Johannesburg. After all of this, he was very educated and held powerful and influential positions in the religious community. He used his position to fight against segregation. In 1986, he became the archbishop of Cape Town, and the next year, the president of the Africa Conference of Churches, which he stayed for ten years. As he moved up through the ranks, he used his power more and more to speak out against apartheid.
What he did-Desmond Tutu protested against apartheid in many non-violent ways. He led marches, wrote persuasive books, and spoke out against it, harnessing his influence as a leader in the religious community. His passport was revoked twice by the government and he was arrested in 1980 after leading a protest march. In 1983, when the government was trying to put a new constitution into place which would suppress the anti-apartheid movement, he was one of the leaders in the committee that fought these changes. He promoted boycotts and called out several political leaders all over the world for doing things to promote apartheid or other forms of segregation, such as Israel suppressing the Palestinians. He traveled all over the world and used his power and influence to stand up for what he believes in. While Nelson Mandela was in prison, Archbishop Desmond Tutu played a key role in keeping together the anti-apartheid movement. He was very similar to Martin Luther King Junior in that he rallied people, gained support, and used it to fight against what he thought was wrong in completely peaceful ways. After apartheid, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was formed to help society recover from what happened under apartheid, and Nelson Mandela selected Desmond Tutu to lead it because he played such a vital role in freeing the country of apartheid.
How he is remembered-Desmond Tutu is remembered by everyone in the anti-apartheid cause as a supporter who was always honest, fair, and kind; he didn’t stoop to the level of his enemies by promoting violence.
The rest of the world knows him as someone who stood up for what they believed in through non-violent, peaceful, and righteous ways, and as someone who made life better for millions of black Africans. Without Desmond Tutu, the anti-apartheid movement may not have gotten as much attention or support and probably would not have made as much progress as it has. He played a huge role in this struggle against
oppression.
Awards and Recognition-He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, which brought attention to his causes across the whole world. He also was chosen to present Nelson Mandela as the new president, showing that he had a huge, important role in this movement and represented a new beginning for this country. He was awarded the Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award and the Archbishop of Canterbury's Award for Outstanding Service to the Anglican Communion, which was, in a way, created just for him, because he won it the first year it went out. In 2008, he won both the Wallenberg Medal in honor of his fight for human rights and the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding. He is clearly recognized throughout the whole world as an incredible person and a strong fighter against all discrimination and injustice.
Other things he has fought for-After he retired from being the leader of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he continued to be a strong voice in many of the world’s battles, including diseases such as tuberculosis and AIDS, poverty, and many kinds of discrimination such as racism, sexism, and homophobia. He actually called out his own church on having an “obsession with homosexuality” and criticised that they put it before things like ending world poverty. Although he is clearly very religious and a fierce supporter of his church, he puts fighting for what’s right before everything else.
Fun facts-In 1997, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He had to go to the U.S. for a treatment, and luckily, it was successful. Also, he is a famous author of 7 different collections of writings. Many of what he writes about relates to his religion, which is an Anglican Christian.
Desmond Tutu vs. Apartheid
Apartheid-Legal segregation has been going on in South Africa for over a hundred years. When the British conquered them in 1910, South Africa had begun their journey down a road which Desmond Tutu has compared to Nazism. A law was passed in 1909 that took away most rights from the blacks, and over the years, they lost more and more rights, similar to Jews during the Holocaust. They first were not allowed to try for the qualifications needed for many jobs. A little while later, much of their land was taken away, which was later followed by their right to vote being restricted. To make things even worse, blacks were later forced to live in terrible conditions in designated areas away from the whites. They had to carry passports and later, identification books to enter white areas. Many black people were killed during this era whenever they protested. Nelson Mandela, the leader of the African National Congress, or ANC, was sentenced to life in prison in 1964. In 1989, F.W. de Klerk replaced the old leader of South Africa and he right away began lessening the legal segregation. Nelson Mandela was released from prison after just one year of him being the leader and after two years, he had gotten rid of all apartheid laws. In 1994, South Africa held its first election in which all people, blacks …show more content…
included, could vote, and Nelson Mandela was elected president. However, traces of racism and hate are still very prominent today all throughout South Africa, and people like Desmond Tutu have not stopped fighting for equal treatment.
Early Life-Desmond Tutu was born October 7, 1931 in Klerksdorp, South Africa. The black Africans like himself were very segregated from the white ones. They could not vote and could only live in certain places. Desmond’s parents both had somewhat low-paying jobs, for his mother cooked and cleaned at a school for blind students and his father was a principal at a grade school. Despite these things, Desmond got sufficient happiness from homemade toys and reading. During the day, he went to school and received a good education from Johannesburg Bantu High School, which he graduated from in 1950. He dreamed of being a doctor and was even accepted into medical school, but he couldn’t afford the tuition. Instead, he attended Pretoria Bantu Normal College for three years to become a teacher, then graduated with a bachelor’s degree after one year at the University of South Africa in 1954. While at college, he met Leah Shenxane, whom he married in 1955.
Early Career-He became a H.S. teacher for 3 years at his own high school in Johannesburg, a town close to Klerksdorp, and in 1956 he had his first child, Trevor. The Bantu Education Act from 1953 meant that black kids were only getting sufficient education to run a household, and the government spent ten times as much money on white kids’ education. Although he had tried for a few years to educate his students the best he could, all of his classes were so huge and underfunded that it disgusted him, and he stopped being a teacher in 1957. The next year, he started studying theology, which is the study of religion, at St. Peter’s Theological College in Johannesburg. During this time, he went on to have three more children, Theresa, Naomi, and Mpho. He became a deacon in 1960 then a priest in 1961. The next year, he went to London to study theology at King’s College and got his master’s in 1966. After returning to Africa, he taught in the Federal Theological Seminary, became a minister for the University of Fort Hare, and started giving speeches in 1970 for National University of Lesotho. He went back to England two years later, where the World Council of Churches appointed him vice-director of the Theological Education Fund. After three years, he came back to Africa to become the first black Dean of St. Mary's Cathedral in Johannesburg. After all of this, he was very educated and held powerful and influential positions in the religious community. He used his position to fight against segregation. In 1986, he became the archbishop of Cape Town, and the next year, the president of the Africa Conference of Churches, which he stayed for ten years. As he moved up through the ranks, he used his power more and more to speak out against apartheid.
What he did-Desmond Tutu protested against apartheid in many non-violent ways. He led marches, wrote persuasive books, and spoke out against it, harnessing his influence as a leader in the religious community. His passport was revoked twice by the government and he was arrested in 1980 after leading a protest march. In 1983, when the government was trying to put a new constitution into place which would suppress the anti-apartheid movement, he was one of the leaders in the committee that fought these changes. He promoted boycotts and called out several political leaders all over the world for doing things to promote apartheid or other forms of segregation, such as Israel suppressing the Palestinians. He traveled all over the world and used his power and influence to stand up for what he believes in. While Nelson Mandela was in prison, Archbishop Desmond Tutu played a key role in keeping together the anti-apartheid movement. He was very similar to Martin Luther King Junior in that he rallied people, gained support, and used it to fight against what he thought was wrong in completely peaceful ways. After apartheid, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission was formed to help society recover from what happened under apartheid, and Nelson Mandela selected Desmond Tutu to lead it because he played such a vital role in freeing the country of apartheid.
How he is remembered-Desmond Tutu is remembered by everyone in the anti-apartheid cause as a supporter who was always honest, fair, and kind; he didn’t stoop to the level of his enemies by promoting violence.
The rest of the world knows him as someone who stood up for what they believed in through non-violent, peaceful, and righteous ways, and as someone who made life better for millions of black Africans. Without Desmond Tutu, the anti-apartheid movement may not have gotten as much attention or support and probably would not have made as much progress as it has. He played a huge role in this struggle against
oppression.
Awards and Recognition-He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, which brought attention to his causes across the whole world. He also was chosen to present Nelson Mandela as the new president, showing that he had a huge, important role in this movement and represented a new beginning for this country. He was awarded the Bishop John T. Walker Distinguished Humanitarian Service Award and the Archbishop of Canterbury's Award for Outstanding Service to the Anglican Communion, which was, in a way, created just for him, because he won it the first year it went out. In 2008, he won both the Wallenberg Medal in honor of his fight for human rights and the J. William Fulbright Prize for International Understanding. He is clearly recognized throughout the whole world as an incredible person and a strong fighter against all discrimination and injustice.
Other things he has fought for-After he retired from being the leader of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, he continued to be a strong voice in many of the world’s battles, including diseases such as tuberculosis and AIDS, poverty, and many kinds of discrimination such as racism, sexism, and homophobia. He actually called out his own church on having an “obsession with homosexuality” and criticised that they put it before things like ending world poverty. Although he is clearly very religious and a fierce supporter of his church, he puts fighting for what’s right before everything else.
Fun facts-In 1997, Archbishop Desmond Tutu was diagnosed with prostate cancer. He had to go to the U.S. for a treatment, and luckily, it was successful. Also, he is a famous author of 7 different collections of writings. Many of what he writes about relates to his religion, which is an Anglican Christian.