Desmond Tutu Research Paper

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Pages: 7

The apartheid was a time of much suffering for Black South Africans. Many people were unjustly abused by the white-controlled government for crimes that they did not commit. Although many Black South African leaders felt that the use of violence would help bring an end to this cruelty, others such as Desmond Tutu supported a more peaceful approach.(House page 1, South African History Online Page 1) Archbishop Desmond Tutu was an influential South African leader who used his intelligence, religious status, and resilience to promote nonviolent protests.

Desmond Tutu was an extremely intelligent man. As a child, Tutu remembers having a strong interest in reading books and magazines. One of his favorite books was about the life of Jackie Robinson,
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In South Africa, Tutu gave many sermons and speeches to develop a spirit of nonviolent protest in his own country. Tutu did not agree with other anti-apartheid leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Mangosutha Buthelezi who supported violent protests. (House page 1)He used his status as archbishop to publicly criticize these leaders and explain why their thought process was incorrect. In another situation, Desmond Tutu used his religious status to lead protests against police abuse. For example, he defended the rights of a black police officer who the government had threatened to execute. (South African History …show more content…
Every day, Tutu was insulted by the white South African government who saw him as a threat to their power. He was also challenged by his fellow black South Africans who supported violent protests. In the 1980s, Tutu's passport was taken away by the South African government. They were embarrassed by Tutu's constant criticism and did not want to make other nations aware of the terrible atrocities that were taking place in their country.
Tutu did not allow this setback to affect him. Although he was not able to travel the world to speak about nonviolence, he continued to participate in peaceful protests in South Africa. On another occasion, Tutu was teased by the South African government because of his poor management of money. Tutu was never strong in math, but did not expect to be publicly criticized for it. Tutu was embarrassed by this experience, but continued to be an important South African leader.(House page 1)

Desmond Tutu's resilience helped him to promote nonviolent protests during the Apartheid. Thousands of Black South Africans were killed during the Apartheid era. Although some leaders such as Nelson Mandela chose to resort to violence,Tutu was resilient and continued to support peaceful protests, even if it was not the easy thing to