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! ===TEF Africa director: 1972β1975=== {{Quote box | quote = Black theology seeks to make sense of the life experience of the black man, which is largely black suffering at the hands of rampant white racism, and to understand this in the light of what God has said about himself, about man, and about the world in his very definite Word... Black theology has to do with whether it is possible to be black and continue to be Christian; it is to ask on whose side is God; it is to be concerned about the humanisation of man, because those who ravage our humanity dehumanise themselves in the process; [it says] that the liberation of the black man is the other side of the liberation of the white manβso it is concerned with human liberation. | source=β Desmond Tutu, in a conference paper presented at the Union Theological Seminary, 1973{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=138β39}} | align = right | width = 25em }} Tutu accepted TEF's offer of a job as their director for Africa, a position based in England. South Africa's government initially refused permission, regarding him with suspicion since the Fort Hare protests, but relented after Tutu argued that his taking the role would be good publicity for South Africa.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=88|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2pp=49, 51|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3pp=119β120}} In March 1972, he returned to Britain. The TEF's headquarters were in [[Bromley]], with the Tutu family settling in nearby [[Grove Park, Lewisham|Grove Park]], where Tutu became honorary curate of St Augustine's Church.{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1pp=88, 92|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2pp=51β53|3a1=Allen|3y=2006|3pp=123, 143β144}} Tutu's job entailed assessing grants to theological training institutions and students.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=53|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=123}} This required his touring Africa in the early 1970s, and he wrote accounts of his experiences.{{sfnm|1a1=Gish|1y=2004|1p=53|2a1=Allen|2y=2006|2p=124}} In [[Zaire]], he for instance lamented the widespread corruption and poverty and complained that [[Mobutu Sese Seko]]'s "military regime... is extremely galling to a black from South Africa."{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=125β127}} In Nigeria, he expressed concern at [[Igbo people|Igbo]] resentment following the crushing of their [[Biafra|Republic of Biafra]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=128}} In 1972 he travelled around East Africa, where he was impressed by [[Jomo Kenyatta]]'s Kenyan government and witnessed [[Idi Amin]]'s [[Expulsion of Asians from Uganda|expulsion of Ugandan Asians]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|pp=129β130}} During the early 1970s, Tutu's theology changed due to his experiences in Africa and his discovery of [[liberation theology]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=135}} He was also attracted to [[black theology]],{{sfnm|1a1=Du Boulay|1y=1988|1p=85|2a1=Gish|2y=2004|2p=46}} attending a 1973 conference on the subject at New York City's [[Union Theological Seminary (New York City)|Union Theological Seminary]].{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=137}} There, he presented a paper in which he stated that "black theology is an engaged not an academic, detached theology. It is a gut level theology, relating to the real concerns, the life and death issues of the black man."{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=138}} He stated that his paper was not an attempt to demonstrate the academic respectability of black theology but rather to make "a straightforward, perhaps shrill, statement about an existent. Black theology is. No permission is being requested for it to come into being... Frankly the time has passed when we will wait for the white man to give us permission to do our thing. Whether or not he accepts the intellectual respectability of our activity is largely irrelevant. We will proceed regardless."{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=139}} Seeking to fuse the African-American derived black theology with [[African theology]], Tutu's approach contrasted with that of those African theologians, like [[John Mbiti]], who regarded black theology as a foreign import irrelevant to Africa.{{sfn|Allen|2006|p=137}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page