Desmond Tutu, South African Anglican bishop, theologian and anti-apartheid and human rights activist passed away on Sunday at the age of 90.
A man known for his leadership and charismatic way of connecting with others through his words, Archbishop Tutu leaves behind a legacy of love. His work toward social justice in the face of the horrors and indignities shaped by apartheid, and the continued racial inequalities that followed even after that system fell with the democratic election of Nelson Mandela in 1994, was shaped by his optimism and belief in compassion.
His quest for the betterment of the people of South Africa will not soon be forgotten.
Being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 and the Archbishop of Cape Town in 1986 are just a few of his accomplishments. While he will likely be touted for his advocacy of peaceful reconciliation through the use of his powerful oratory skills, let us also remember the ways in which he was quick to chastise the self-importance of world leaders when necessary as well.
Desmond Tutu was a dynamic figure who believed in fitness. He jogged every morning and did push-ups with First Lady Michelle Obama at the Cape Town Stadium that was built for the 2010 World Cup.
Tutu recognized the power of sport and the ways in which it could inspire nations, and even contribute to social cohesion.
South Africa was a nation that had for generations been shaped by a racist system of apartheid that kept the Black majority underfoot of the white minority. Yet apartheid fell, partly due to economic sanctions, including the sporting boycott which isolated South Africa from participating in the global sports enterprise. Tutu remarked that such sanctions made plain the instability of apartheid as a system “because sports are in the makeup of South Africans.”
So sporting boycotts, while not solely responsible for the collapse of this decades long systemic form of racial segregation, did play a role in bringing the system to an end.
All too often we see how things change when profits are impacted. To that end, Tutu was clear-eyed in his recognition of the role sports could play in fostering change in a nation.
In having South Africa host the World Cup in 2010, Desmond Tutu remarked “…Imagine what that does to the morale, the self-esteem of people. When we saw the way the world looked up to Nelson Mandela, we grew two inches. When we see how the World Cup is going to make us gel as a nation, we shall grow more than two inches.”
However, the problems of race and sport did not vanish with the end of apartheid or the hosting of the 1995 Rugby World Cup or the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa. Similar to the US and other nations, South African operates under a frame of neutrality in which the mantra is ‘keep politics out of sport’, which often means turning a blind eye to the embeddedness of racism within sport as a social institution. Like many other countries once ruled by white supremacist politics, South Africa’s modern sport structure has been largely shaped racism, narrow definitions of masculine identity, and colonial and imperialist ideologies.
These legacies are not easily removed, even as they would like to be left largely unacknowledged.
With the rise of the Black Lives Matter Movement as well as the African Lives Matter movement, the denial of racism in sport is not so easily concealed. The world is changing as much as it remains the same.
Even Desmond Tutu, known for his work on ending apartheid, remarked that he remained uneasy riding with police, because “…back home, when you hear a police siren, you figure that they are coming to get you.” Yet, Tutu remained hopeful to the end, an optimist who saw many paths forward, including through sport.
He viewed sports as a space for the creation of social change.
Wyomia Tyus ran in black shorts in 1968 and dedicated her gold medal as the first American to win back-to-back gold in the 100-meter dash to Tommie Smith and John Carlos who raised gloved fists in protest.
Colin Kaepernick took a knee in response to the anthem’s words not matching the nation’s actions.
Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka said not today and put their mental health first in 2021.
So while we mourn the loss, and celebrate the life, of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, let us do so by remembering his optimism and hope that better things may yet come.
