Websites : Desmond Tutu's 1984 Nobel Prize lecture, The Desmond Tutu Peace Centre
Desmond Tutu received the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1984 for his role in the opposition to apartheid in South Africa. He became South Africa's first black Anglican bishop in 1985, and he retired as archbishop of Cape Town in 1996 and became archbishop emeritus. In 2010 he effectively withdrew from public life and continued his work with the Elders, a group of international leaders he cofounded in 2007 for the promotion of conflict resolution and problem solving throughout the world.
In addition to the Nobel Prize, Tutu received numerous honours, including the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom (2009), an award from the Mo Ibrahim Foundation that recognized his lifelong commitment to “speaking truth to power” (2012), and the Templeton Prize (2013). He was also a prolific author.
photograph: Benny Gool—Oryx Media/Desmond Tutu Peace Centre
In this essential collection of Desmond Tutu’s most historic and controversial speeches and writings, we witness his unique career of provoking the powerful and confronting the world in order to protect the oppressed, the poor, and other victims of injustice.
Renowned first for his courageous opposition to apartheid in South Africa, he and his ministry soon took on international dimensions. Rooted in his faith and in the values embodied in the African spirit of ubuntu, Tutu’s uncompromising...
