Desmond Tutu

Desmond Tutu received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his leadership in efforts to find a nonviolent solution to the South African policy of apartheid, or segregation.

From 1948–94, descendants of white European settlers in South Africa established a rigid policy of segregation, separating the majority of the black Africans from whites. For more than 50 years, opposition to the apartheid system by the black majority was suppressed by imprisonments, relocation camps and executions.

By 1975, Tutu had risen up through the ecclesiastical ranks of the Anglican Church until he was appointed dean of St. Mary’s Cathedral in Johannesburg, South Africa. As the first black to hold that position, he became internationally visible as an anti-apartheid spokesperson.

While his country was torn with violent clashes between the white ruling class and the black citizens, Tutu called for black South Africans to resist nonviolently. He also attracted worldwide attention by calling for economic sanctions against the white-only regime.

Tutu established the Desmond Tutu Peace Centre, from which leadership programs for high school students and women have emerged. Participants in these programs learn the skills to become leaders in non-violent efforts to address complex world challenges.

--Brenda Goates