From the Archives: Archbishop Desmond Tutu

This week, we present an archival City Arts & Lectures program recorded in 2010 with the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu and his daughter, the Reverend Mpho Tutu, in conversation with Roy Eisenhardt.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Desmond Tutu dedicated his life to fighting for basic civil and human rights for all. Born a teacher’s son in South Africa, Tutu followed his father’s path and taught for several years before studying theology.  From there, he became the first Black general secretary of the South African Council of Churches, and then the Archbishop of Cape Town.  In 1997, Nelson Mandela asked him to chair the Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the abolition of apartheid.  

Archbishop Tutu presided over the ordination of his daughter Mpho Tutu into the Anglican priesthood in 2004.  This program, recorded at Davies Symphony Hall on March 17, 2010, was just after the publication of a book they wrote together, “Made for Goodness, And Why This Makes All the Difference”.   Desmond Tutu died on December 26, 2021, at the age of 90.