Desmond Tutu Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==Early life== ===Childhood: 1931β1950=== Desmond Mpilo Tutu was born on 7 October 1931 in [[Klerksdorp]], [[Transvaal (province)|Transvaal]], South Africa.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=22|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=2|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3pp=9β10}} His mother, Allen Dorothea Mavoertsek Mathlare, was born to a [[Tswana people|Motswana]] family in [[Boksburg]].{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=22|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=10}} His father, Zachariah Zelilo Tutu, was from the [[Fengu people|amaFengu]] branch of [[Xhosa people|Xhosa]] and grew up in [[Gcuwa]], Eastern Cape.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=22|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2pp=10β11}} At home, the couple spoke the [[Xhosa language]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=11}} Having married in Boksburg,{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=14}} they moved to Klerksdorp in the late 1950s, living in the city's "native location", or black residential area, since renamed Makoeteng.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=14β15}} Zachariah worked as the principal of a [[Methodism|Methodist]] primary school and the family lived in the mud-brick schoolmaster's house in the yard of the Methodist mission.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=3|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=16}} [[File:ChurchofChristtheKing.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Church of Christ the King|The Church of Christ the King in Sophiatown, where Tutu was a server under priest Trevor Huddlestone]] The Tutus were poor;{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=28|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=3}} describing his family, Tutu later related that "although we weren't affluent, we were not destitute either".{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=21}} He had an older sister, Sylvia Funeka, who called him "Mpilo" (meaning 'life').{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1pp=22, 29|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=3|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=19}} He was his parents' second son; their firstborn boy, Sipho, had died in infancy.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=19}} Another daughter, Gloria Lindiwe, was born after him.{{sfn|Du Boulay|1988|p=22}} Tutu was sickly from birth;{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=2|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=19}} [[polio]] atrophied his right hand,{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=32|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=19}} and on one occasion he was hospitalised with serious burns.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=20}} Tutu had a close relationship with his father, although was angered at the latter's heavy drinking and violence toward his wife.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=22|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=3|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=22}} The family were initially Methodists and Tutu was [[baptism|baptised]] into the [[Methodist Church of Southern Africa|Methodist Church]] in June 1932.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=30|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=4|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=33}} They subsequently changed denominations, first to the [[African Methodist Episcopal Church]] and then to the [[Anglican Church]].{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1pp=30β31|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=4|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=33}} In 1936, the family moved to [[Tshing]], where Zachariah became principal of a Methodist school.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=20}} There, Tutu started his primary education,{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=21}} learned [[Afrikaans]],{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=23|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=4|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=21}} and became the server at St Francis Anglican Church.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=33}} He developed a love of reading, particularly enjoying comic books and European [[fairy tales]].{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=30|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=4|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=21}} In Tshing his parents had a third son, Tamsanqa, who also died in infancy.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=21}} Around 1941, Tutu's mother moved to the [[Witwatersrand]] to work as a cook at [[Ezenzeleni Blind Institute]] in Johannesburg. Tutu joined her in the city, living in [[Roodepoort|Roodepoort West]].{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=5|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=24}} In Johannesburg, he attended a Methodist primary school before transferring to the Swedish Boarding School (SBS) in the [[St. Martin's School (Rosettenville)|St Agnes Mission]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=24}} Several months later, he moved with his father to [[Ermelo, Mpumalanga|Ermelo]], [[eastern Transvaal]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=25}} After six months, the duo returned to Roodepoort West, where Tutu resumed his studies at SBS.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=25}} Aged 12, he underwent [[confirmation]] at St Mary's Church, Roodepoort.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=34}} Tutu entered the Johannesburg Bantu High School ([[Madibane High School]]) in 1945, where he excelled academically.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=25, 34β35}} Joining a school [[rugby union|rugby]] team, he developed a lifelong love of the sport.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=36}} Outside of school, he earned money selling oranges and as a [[caddie]] for white [[golfer]]s.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=27|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=7|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=37}} To avoid the expense of a daily train commute to school, he briefly lived with family nearer to Johannesburg, before moving back in with his parents when they relocated to [[Munsieville]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=36, 37β38}} He then returned to Johannesburg, moving into an Anglican hostel near the Church of Christ the King in [[Sophiatown]].{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=29|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=8|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=42}} He became a server at the church and came under the influence of its priest, [[Trevor Huddleston]];{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=10|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2pp=43β45}} later biographer [[Shirley du Boulay]] suggested that Huddleston was "the greatest single influence" in Tutu's life.{{sfn|Du Boulay|1988|p=31}} In 1947, Tutu contracted [[tuberculosis]] and was hospitalised in [[Rietfontein]] for 18 months, during which he was regularly visited by Huddleston.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1pp=29β30|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=9|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3pp=45β46}} In the hospital, he underwent [[circumcision]] to mark his transition to manhood.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=47}} He returned to school in 1949 and took his national exams in late 1950, gaining a second-class pass.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=47β48}} ===College and teaching career: 1951β1955=== Although Tutu secured admission to study medicine at the [[University of the Witwatersrand]], his parents could not afford the tuition fees.{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=47β48}} Instead, he turned toward teaching, gaining a government scholarship for a course at [[University of Pretoria|Pretoria Bantu Normal College]], a teacher training institution, in 1951.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=12|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=48}} There, he served as treasurer of the Student Representative Council, helped to organise the Literacy and Dramatic Society, and chaired the Cultural and Debating Society.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=48}} During one debating event he met the lawyerβand future president of South Africaβ[[Nelson Mandela]]; they would not encounter each other again until 1990.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=17|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2pp=48β49}} At the college, Tutu attained his Transvaal Bantu Teachers Diploma, having gained advice about taking exams from the activist [[Robert Sobukwe]].{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=37|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=18|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=50}} He had also taken five correspondence courses provided by the [[University of South Africa]] (UNISA), graduating in the same class as future Zimbabwean leader [[Robert Mugabe]].{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=37|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=18|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3pp=49β50}} In 1954, Tutu began teaching English at Madibane High School; the following year, he transferred to the Krugersdorp High School, where he taught English and history.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=37|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2pp=17, 18|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3pp=50β51}} He began courting Nomalizo Leah Shenxane, a friend of his sister Gloria who was studying to become a primary school teacher.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=18|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=51}} They were legally married at Krugersdorp Native Commissioner's Court in June 1955, before undergoing a [[Roman Catholicism|Roman Catholic]] wedding ceremony at the Church of Mary Queen of Apostles; although an Anglican, Tutu agreed to the ceremony due to Leah's Roman Catholic faith.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=38|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2pp=51β52}} The newlyweds lived at Tutu's parental home before renting their own six months later.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=52}} Their first child, Trevor, was born in April 1956;{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=22|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=53}} a daughter, Thandeka, appeared 16 months later.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=53}} The couple worshipped at St Paul's Church, where Tutu volunteered as a Sunday school teacher, assistant choirmaster, church councillor, lay preacher, and sub-deacon;{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=53}} he also volunteered as a football administrator for a local team.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=52}} ===Joining the clergy: 1956β1966=== [[File:St Albans, Golders Green-2.jpg|thumb|right|Tutu first ministered to a white congregation at the Church of St Alban the Martyr in Golders Green, living with his family in the curate's flat]] In 1953, the white-minority [[National Party (South Africa)|National Party]] government introduced the [[Bantu Education Act, 1953|Bantu Education Act]] to further their [[apartheid]] system of racial segregation and white domination. Disliking the Act, Tutu and his wife left the teaching profession.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1pp=41β45|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2pp=20β21|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3pp=60β61}} With Huddleston's support, Tutu chose to become an Anglican priest.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=23|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=61}} In January 1956, his request to join the Ordinands Guild was turned down due to his debts; these were then paid off by the wealthy industrialist [[Harry Oppenheimer]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=61β62}} Tutu was admitted to [[Federal Theological Seminary of Southern Africa|St Peter's Theological College]] in [[Rosettenville, Gauteng|Rosettenville]], Johannesburg, which was run by the Anglican [[Community of the Resurrection]].{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=46|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=25|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3pp=63β64}} The college was residential, and Tutu lived there while his wife trained as a nurse in [[Sekhukhuneland]]; their children lived with Tutu's parents in [[Munsieville]].{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=26|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=64}} In August 1960, his wife gave birth to another daughter, Naomi.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=68}} At the college, Tutu studied the Bible, Anglican doctrine, church history, and Christian ethics,{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=47|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2pp=64β65}} earning a [[Licentiate of Theology]] degree,{{sfn|Du Boulay|1988|p=47}} and winning the archbishop's annual essay prize.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1pp=62β63|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=35|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=72}} The college's principal, Godfrey Pawson, wrote that Tutu "has exceptional knowledge and intelligence and is very industrious. At the same time, he shows no arrogance, mixes in well, and is popular ... He has obvious gifts of leadership."{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=67}} During his years at the college, there had been an intensification in anti-apartheid activism as well as a crackdown against it, including the [[Sharpeville massacre]] of 1960.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=26|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2pp=68β69}} Tutu and the other trainees did not engage in anti-apartheid campaigns;{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=49|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=70}} he later noted that they were "in some ways a very apolitical bunch".{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=70}} In December 1960, [[Edward Paget (bishop)|Edward Paget]] ordained Tutu as an Anglican priest at [[St Mary's Cathedral, Johannesburg|St Mary's Cathedral]].{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=54|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=28|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=74}} Tutu was then appointed assistant curate in St Alban's Parish, [[Benoni, Gauteng|Benoni]], where he was reunited with his wife and children,{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1pp=54β55|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=28|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=74}} and earned two-thirds of what his white counterparts were given.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=75}} In 1962, Tutu was transferred to St Philip's Church in [[Thokoza]], where he was placed in charge of the congregation and developed a passion for pastoral ministry.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1pp=55|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=28|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=76}} Many in South Africa's white-dominated Anglican establishment felt the need for more black Africans in positions of ecclesiastical authority; to assist in this, Aelfred Stubbs proposed that Tutu train as a theology teacher at [[King's College London]] (KCL).{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=57|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=31|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=77}} Funding was secured from the [[International Missionary Council]]'s Theological Education Fund (TEF),{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=81}} and the government agreed to give the Tutus permission to move to Britain.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=31|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2pp=79β81}} They duly did so in September 1962.{{sfn|Du Boulay|1988|p=57}} [[File:Bletchingley Church in September 2010.jpg|thumb|left|During his master's degree, Tutu worked as assistant curate at St Mary's Church in Bletchingley, Surrey]] At KCL, Tutu studied under theologians like [[Dennis Nineham]], [[Christopher Evans (theologian)|Christopher Evans]], [[Sydney Evans (priest)|Sydney Evans]], [[Geoffrey Parrinder]], and [[Eric Mascall]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=86}} In London, the Tutus felt liberated experiencing a life free from South Africa's apartheid and [[pass laws]];{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=58|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=32|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=87}} he later noted that "there is racism in England, but we were not exposed to it".{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=87}} He was also impressed by the [[freedom of speech]] in the country, especially at [[Speakers' Corner]] in London's [[Hyde Park, London|Hyde Park]].{{sfn|Du Boulay|1988|p=59}} The family moved into the curate's flat behind the Church of St Alban the Martyr in [[Golders Green]], where Tutu assisted Sunday services, the first time that he had ministered to a white congregation.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1pp=57β58, 63|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2pp=31, 33|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3pp=84, 87}} It was in the flat that a daughter, [[Mpho Andrea Tutu]], was born in 1963.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=34|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=88}} Tutu was academically successful and his tutors suggested that he convert to an [[honours degree]], which entailed his also studying [[Hebrew]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=89β90}} He received his degree from [[Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother]] in a ceremony held at the [[Royal Albert Hall]].{{sfn|Du Boulay|1988|p=61}} Tutu then secured a TEF grant to study for a master's degree,{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1pp=61β62|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=92}} doing so from October 1965 until September 1966, completing his dissertation on [[Islam]] in West Africa.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=35|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2pp=92, 95}} During this period, the family moved to [[Bletchingley]] in Surrey, where Tutu worked as the assistant curate of St Mary's Church.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=63|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=35|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3p=93}} In the village, he encouraged cooperation between his Anglican parishioners and the local Roman Catholic and Methodist communities.{{sfn|Gish|2004|p=35}} Tutu's time in London helped him to jettison any bitterness to whites and feelings of racial inferiority; he overcame his habit of automatically deferring to whites.{{sfn|Gish|2004|p=34}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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