Sad news, as Archbishop Desmond Tutu has died. He was 90 years old.
Tutu was instrumental in drawing world attention to the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa back in the eighties. Along with Nelson Mandela, Tutu worked towards a peaceful change in the country, which eventually came when there was a multiracial election in 1994, resulting in Mandela winning the presidency, and the first black majority government (run by the African National Congress, or ANC) in April of 1994.
At the time, Tutu was the leader of the Anglican Church in South Africa. He often gave speeches at funerals at the time, and led the struggle against white minority rule in the country, which became one of the few major political activist movements that gained traction all around the world back in the largely apolitical eighties.
For his efforts, Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize back in 1984, which added not only to his own prestige and moral authority, but also shed more light into the struggle against apartheid, which became a worldwide movement.
Later, he became the head of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which worked to try and shed the truth of the brutalities of the era of apartheid in South Africa. Later still, he became a member of the group known as The Elders.
He was best known for his activism, his humanity, and his tremendous wit.
Rest in Peace, Desmond Tutu.
Desmond Tutu, South Africa’s moral conscience, dies at 90 By ANDREW MELDRUMDecember 26, 2021
https://apnews.com/article/desmond-tutu-dead-a0cec6cddaa5cf2a996df8550a72479c
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