Desmond Tutu essays

Desmond Tutu essays Archbishop Desmond Tutu was a well known and respected black church leader. He lived in South Africa. The government made it illegal for anyone to oppose it. So Archbishop Tutu called all the religious leaders in South Africa to his cathedral in Cape Town on February 29, 1988. There they linked arms and marched to government offices with the intent to deliver a letter to the Prime Minister. Met by armed riot police Archbishop Desmond Tutu was arrested and thrown in jail. Desmond Mpilo Tutu was born on October 7, 1931. He lived in Klerksdorp, a poor black township near Johannesburg. His home didnt have electricity, running water, or indoor toilets. This was a common place for black people to live in because black people were not allowed to live in the city unless they were servants. His father, Zachariah, was a respected school teacher but the Tutus still had to obey South Africas harsh unfair laws. His mother, Aletha, was a servant in a white home. Despite these conditions Desmonds home was a happy one. He was smart and did well in school which he rode to in a train where he played cards with other passengers, often cheating to get extra cash. When he was fourteen Desmond caught tuberculosis, almost died, and had to stay in the hospital for two years. While in the hospital Desmond met a white priest named Father Trevor Huddleston. Father Huddleston became very influential in Desmonds life. Father Huddleston brought many books for to the hospital for him to read. Desmond graduated from high school with honors and became one of the few blacks allowed to attend a university. Desmond Tutu wanted to be a doctor, but lacked the funds to pursue this goal. Instead, he studied to be a school teacher like his father. It was then that Tutu married his wife, Leah, who was a teacher in July 1955. Desmond became a teacher in a high school at Krugersdorp. He named his first son Trevor after father Huddleston. A ...