Carolyn Wheat

210-999-8406

cwheat@trinity.edu

Archbishop Desmond Tutu to Speak at Trinity University

August 25, 1999  - Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace laureate, will speak at Trinity University on Monday, September 20, at 7:30 p.m. in Laurie Auditorium.  His lecture, titled "Justice or Forgiveness?  The Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa," is free and open to the public.  It is part of the University's Distinguished Lecture Series. Tutu has been one of the leading figures in the fight against apartheid in South Africa.  He became the first black Anglican Dean in Johannesburg in 1975 before being elected to Bishop of Lesotho.  Under his leadership as General Secretary of the South African Council of Churches (a subsidiary of the World Council of Churches), a post he held from 1978 until 1985, Tutu immersed the church in the political struggle against apartheid.  He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 because of his quest for the non-violent end to racial injustice. In 1995, former South African President Nelson Mandela appointed Archbishop Tutu to head the Truth and Reconciliation Commission.  The aim of the Commission was to promote reconciliation in South Africa's divided society through truth about its dark past.  On October 29, 1998, the Commission submitted its first official report to Mandela, marking a significant step in the struggle for justice in South Africa. Tutu retired from office as Archbishop of Cape Town in June 1996 and was named Archbishop Emeritus.  He is currently working on two books and resides in Atlanta as the Robert W. Woodruff Visiting Professor at Emory University. The Distinguished Lecture Series is a community service program made possible by an endowment from Mr. and Mrs. Walter F. Brown of San Antonio.  Doors open at 6:45 p.m. and seating is on a first-come, first-seated basis.

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Last updated on November 8, 2000 by the Office of Public Relations