Quick Center to Welcome Human Rights Activist Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu on April 3 | Press Releases

Fairfield University will welcome the distinguished Reverend Nontombi Naomi Tutu to the Quick Center stage on Monday, April 3 at 7:30 p.m. for an inspiring Open VISIONS Forum. Growing up in apartheid South Africa, Rev. Tutu is an inspired civil rights activist who seeks to tear down divisions and bring groups of individuals together to learn from and celebrate their differences and shared humanity.

“In this time of polarization and division, Rev. Canon Nontombi Naomi Tutu's message of common humanity is more important than ever. Drawing on her experiences as a Black woman in apartheid-era South Africa, Rev. Tutu makes the case for diversity: hatred wounds all of us, while celebrating difference has healing power,” said Glenn Dynner, PhD, the Carl and Dorothy Bennett Professor of Judaic Studies and director of the Bennett Center at Fairfield University.

Rev. Tutu, also known as Mpho Tutu van Furth, is a renowned South African Anglican priest, author, and human rights activist. Born in 1963 in South Africa, Reverend Tutu is the daughter of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Leah Tutu. Her parents were active in the anti-apartheid movement, which had a profound impact on her life and work. Through her work as a priest, activist, author, and speaker, Rev. Tutu has dedicated her life to promoting peace, justice, and reconciliation around the world. Her commitment to these values continues to inspire and motivate people of all ages and backgrounds.

Her professional experience ranges from a development consultant in West Africa to program coordinator for Race and Gender and Gender-Based Violence in Education programs at the African Gender Institute at the University of Cape Town. In addition, Rev. Tutu has taught at the University of Hartford, University of Connecticut, and Brevard College in North Carolina. She served as program coordinator for the historic Race Relations Institute at Fisk University and was a part of the Institute’s delegation to the World Conference Against Racism in Durban.

Rev. Tutu has received numerous awards and honors for her work, including the 2016 Humanitarian Award from the Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity and the 2019 King Legacy Award for International Service from the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change.

She is the founder of Nozizwe Consulting, whose guiding principle is to bring different groups together to learn, celebrate differences, and acknowledge their shared humanity. Nozizwe means Mother of Many Lands, in her mother tongue Xhosa and is the name she was given by her maternal grandmother. She leads Truth and Reconciliation workshops to help groups address conflicts of various kinds, and she also organizes educational trips to South Africa for high schools, churches, hospices, K-12 teachers, and women's associations.

As a single mother of two daughters and a son, Rev. Tutu is the recipient of four honorary doctorates from universities and colleges in the U.S. and Nigeria. She is an ordained clergy in the Episcopal Church and serves as a Missioner for Racial and Economic Equity at the Cathedral of All Souls, in Asheville, N.C.

This event is the 25th Annual Jacoby-Lunin Humanitarian Lecture and is funded through generous Anonymous Friends of the Bennett Center for Judaic Studies.

Reverend Nontombi Naomi Tutu’s Open VISIONS Forum is supported, in part, by Moffly Media, Delamar Southport, Delamar Spa, and Artisan Restaurant. Tickets are on sale now at quickcenter.com for only $30, or $20 for Quick Members. Tickets can also be purchased by contacting the Quick Center Box Office at 203-254-4010, Monday through Friday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.