Georgian Court University Magazine

Finding Common Ground: Nontombi Naomi Tutu Visits GCU
Activist, teacher, daughter, healer; Nontombi Naomi
Tutu showed herself to be all these things and more as she
addressed an enraptured audience in the Little Theatre on
March 10.
The third child of Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa,
Ms. Tutu grew up amidst the harsh realities of apartheid—a system
of legal racial segregation that ruled South Africa from 1948 to 1994.
Her challenges were threefold: she was black; she was a woman; and
she was the daughter of a prominent opposition leader.
Despite a system of segregation entrenched since colonial days,
Ms. Tutu’s father preached a movement of peace, dignity, and unity
for South Africa, a philosophy that she embraced and continues to
champion today in the battle against human rights atrocities around
the globe. Educated in Swaziland, the United States, and England,
Ms. Tutu has served as a development consultant in West Africa and
program coordinator for race- and gender-based violence programs at
the African Gender Institute at the University of Cape Town. Today,
in addition to her speaking engagements, Ms. Tutu continues to
work with organizations across the world to help bridge conflicts
of race and gender.
She spoke to the GCU community about finding common
ground in the search for justice. Using personal stories infused with
humor and warmth, Ms. Tutu expressed the need for both victim
and victimizer to be equal and active participants in the healing
process, and to set aside differences as they search for commonalities
that might serve as a foundation for healing.
“Whether in personal life or in the larger society, we have
wounds that block our ability to be the wonderful gifts that we
are meant to be in the world. We, too, have inflicted wounds
unto others, but all these wounds can be healed,” she said.
“However, it takes courage and the willingness to speak and
hear the truth. That first step to healing is so often the hardest,”
she said. “We are afraid to speak our truth for fear of judgment,
rejection, and anger. We are also afraid to hear truths that might
question our images of ourselves. Yet the pain is only the first step;
what comes after that is healing and wholeness.”
Ms. Tutu pointed to her family’s struggles as an example of
how centuries of oppression, hurt, and anger could begin to change.
When disparate groups make an effort to understand one another
and work through the hurt, they can reach toward peace and justice,
she said.
Ms. Tutu, whose talk was punctuated with wit and warmth,
fielded questions from Georgian Court faculty, staff, and students,
as well as community residents. They asked about her human rights
work, her experiences working toward justice in nations mired in
conflict, and her views on the role of women in conflict resolution.
In the end, audience members lined up for photos, autographs,
and a chance to speak personally with Ms. Tutu. One local woman
commented that she had been a fan of Ms. Tutu’s for years and had
brought her teenage daughter to the program, who took notes so she
could report back to her high school class on the event. Many simply
expressed their admiration of Ms. Tutu’s courage and commitment,
and thanked her for standing as a voice for peace.
“Whether in personal life or in the larger society, we have wounds that block
our ability to be the wonderful gifts that we are meant to be in the world.”
Ms. Tutu speaks about finding
common ground.
Ms. Tutu signed autographs and posed
for photos with many members of the
audience after her lecture, including
GCU junior Thandi Jessica Magaya (left).
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