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The people’s archbishop remembered - 17th January 2022
South Africa's Christian leader Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who helped bring an end to its racist system of apartheid, has passed away at the age of 90. Tributes were made around the world following his death on 26th December 2021. The Nelson Mandela Foundation remarked that Tutu was "an extraordinary human being. A thinker, A leader. A shepherd."
Born in South Africa in 1931 in a small gold-mining town, Tutu initially followed in his father's footsteps and became a teacher. In 1953, the white government passed the Bantu Education Act, introducing racial segregation in schools, and Tutu resigned in protest.
He retrained as a priest in the Anglican church and began to speak out against racial injustice. Ending post-war South Africa's racist apartheid system, which segregated the lives of Black and white people, became his mission. 'Apartheid', which means 'separateness' or 'apartness', affected every part of South African people's lives.
Tutu's efforts saw him awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, and in 1986 he became Archbishop of Cape Town and leader of the Anglican church in South Africa. His anti-apartheid campaign and refusal "to be treated as a doormat" put him at risk of imprisonment by the apartheid government. He was also in a church which was attacked with tear gas by police and arrested at a banned political rally.
Even beyond Nelson Mandela's historic election as South Africa's president, Archbishop Tutu's work for his vision of a "rainbow nation" continued. This desire for all to live in peace together never faded.
Planning his own funeral, Tutu had chosen to be placed in the cheapest coffin, which lay in state for two days for mourners to pay their respects. Archbishop Tutu will be remembered for using charm and courage to fight for a peaceful South Africa where everyone was respected.
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