Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu
Race & Gender Justice Activist; Daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu
SPEAKER FEE RANGE: $12,000–$20,000 [FEE NOTE]
TRAVELS FROM: Georgia
As the daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Naomi Tutu struggled to find her own place in the world. As a human rights advocate, she pulls from her personal challenges of growing up black and female in apartheid South Africa. Her professional experience ranges from being a development consultant in West Africa, to a program coordinator for race and gender-based violence in education at the African Gender Institute at the University of Cape Town. In addition, Tutu has taught at the University of Hartford and Brevard College in North Carolina. She also leads workshops on conflict resolution and racism. In addition to speaking, Tutu is a consultant for the Spiritual Alliance to Stop Intimate Violence (SAIV), founded by renowned author Riane Eisler and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Betty Williams, and the Foundation for Hospices in Sub-Saharan Africa (FHSSA). Audiences are captivated by her story growing up in apartheid South Africa and moved by her message of healing and wholeness.
The Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu knew from early in life that the one thing she would never be is a priest. She has always said, “I have my father’s nose, I do not want his job” However, after years spent as a development consultant, educator and race and gender activist she accepted her call to ordained ministry. She is an Episcopal priest who most recently was Associate Rector at All Saints, Beverly Hills.
The challenges of growing black and female in apartheid South Africa have been the foundation of Naomi’s life as an activist for human rights. Those experiences taught her that our whole human family loses when we accept situations of oppression, and how the teaching and preaching hate and division injure us all.
Rev. Tutu is the third child Archbishop Desmond and Nomalizo Leah Tutu. She was born in South Africa and had the opportunity to live in many communities and countries. She was educated in Swaziland, the US and England, and has divided her adult life between South Africa and the US. Growing up the ‘daughter of …’ has offered Naomi Tutu many opportunities and challenges in her life. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges she has struggled with is the call to ministry. From early in her life she would say, “I have my father’s nose, I do not want his job!” Yet this call refused to be silenced. Even as she carried her passion for justice into other fields, the call to preach and serve as an ordained clergyperson continued to tug at her. Finally, in her 50’s she responded to the call and went to seminary.
Her professional experience ranges from being a development consultant in West Africa, to being program coordinator for programs on Race and Gender and Gender-based Violence in Education 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.
She started her public speaking as a college student at Berea College in Kentucky in the 1970’s when she was invited to speak at churches, community groups and colleges and universities about her experiences growing up in apartheid South Africa. Since that time, she has become a much sought-after speaker to groups as varied as business associations, professional conferences, elected officials and church and civic organizations.
As well as speaking and preaching Rev. Tutu has established Nozizwe Consulting. Nozizwe means Mother of Many Lands, in her mother tongue Xhosa and is the name she was given by her maternal grandmother. The guiding principle of Nozizwe Consulting is to bring different groups together to learn from and celebrate their differences and acknowledge their shared humanity. As part of this work, she has led Truth and Reconciliation Workshops for groups dealing with different types of conflict. She has also offered educational and partnership trips to South Africa for groups as varied as high schools, churches, hospices, K-12 teachers, and women’s associations. These trips emphasize the opportunities to share our stories and experiences.
Rev. Tutu is the recipient of four honorary doctorates from universities and colleges in the US and Nigeria. She has served as a curate at Christ Church Cathedral and as Canon Missioner for Racial and Economic Equity, and Canon Missioner for Kairos West Community Center for the Cathedral of All Souls, in Asheville, NC. She is the single mother of two daughters and a son.
The challenges of growing black and female in apartheid South Africa have been the foundation of Naomi’s life as an activist for human rights. Those experiences taught her that our whole human family loses when we accept situations of oppression, and how the teaching and preaching hate and division injure us all.
Rev. Tutu is the third child Archbishop Desmond and Nomalizo Leah Tutu. She was born in South Africa and had the opportunity to live in many communities and countries. She was educated in Swaziland, the US and England, and has divided her adult life between South Africa and the US. Growing up the ‘daughter of …’ has offered Naomi Tutu many opportunities and challenges in her life. Perhaps one of the greatest challenges she has struggled with is the call to ministry. From early in her life she would say, “I have my father’s nose, I do not want his job!” Yet this call refused to be silenced. Even as she carried her passion for justice into other fields, the call to preach and serve as an ordained clergyperson continued to tug at her. Finally, in her 50’s she responded to the call and went to seminary.
Her professional experience ranges from being a development consultant in West Africa, to being program coordinator for programs on Race and Gender and Gender-based Violence in Education 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.
She started her public speaking as a college student at Berea College in Kentucky in the 1970’s when she was invited to speak at churches, community groups and colleges and universities about her experiences growing up in apartheid South Africa. Since that time, she has become a much sought-after speaker to groups as varied as business associations, professional conferences, elected officials and church and civic organizations.
As well as speaking and preaching Rev. Tutu has established Nozizwe Consulting. Nozizwe means Mother of Many Lands, in her mother tongue Xhosa and is the name she was given by her maternal grandmother. The guiding principle of Nozizwe Consulting is to bring different groups together to learn from and celebrate their differences and acknowledge their shared humanity. As part of this work, she has led Truth and Reconciliation Workshops for groups dealing with different types of conflict. She has also offered educational and partnership trips to South Africa for groups as varied as high schools, churches, hospices, K-12 teachers, and women’s associations. These trips emphasize the opportunities to share our stories and experiences.
Rev. Tutu is the recipient of four honorary doctorates from universities and colleges in the US and Nigeria. She has served as a curate at Christ Church Cathedral and as Canon Missioner for Racial and Economic Equity, and Canon Missioner for Kairos West Community Center for the Cathedral of All Souls, in Asheville, NC. She is the single mother of two daughters and a son.
- One Body, One Family, One World
Growing up during apartheid in South Africa, Ms. Tutu had firsthand experience of how the prayers and support of the worldwide church are a real means of encouragement for struggling and suffering people.
Concrete steps were taken by churches throughout the world to offer support to the people of South Africa as they sought to change their country from one built on the separation of people based on race, to one that celebrated the different gifts and cultures that their country has been blessed with. Churches sent letters of support to political prisoners and their families, sponsored communities in the Bantustans, wrote letters to government and business leaders calling on them to live the Gospel imperative to “love your neighbor as yourself.”
This experience of being part of a worldwide community that sought the best for all God’s people became the basis of this presentation, which speaks to the connections that necessarily exist between the many parts of the One Body. The presentation explores the requirements and benefits of living in this world as people who are connected, one to one another, and the whole of creation through God’s grace. - Our Shared Humanity: Creating Understanding Through the Principles of MLK
In this empowering keynote speech, Naomi Tutu combines Dr. King's dream of the "Beloved Community" with the teachings of a South African proverb, speaking to the need to understand how our actions – or inactions – affect all with whom we come in contact and ourselves. Rather than focus on what separates us, Tutu encourages us to focus on our shared humanity in order to build a just world. Both the "Beloved Community" and the proverb share an underlying theme: the importance of not dehumanizing those with who we are in conflict, but rather concentrate on what we have the power to change. - Truth & Reconciliation: Healing the Wounds
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 on others, and all these wounds can be healed. However, it takes courage and the willingness to speak and hear the truth. That first step to healing is so often the hardest. 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. Using South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission is a starting place and model, in this presentation Naomi Tutu talks about how we can heal as individuals and as a society. - A Woman’s Spiritual Place in the World
- Striving for Justice Searching for Common Ground
The challenges of growing up black and female in apartheid South Africa have been the foundation of Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu’s life as an activist for human rights. The third child of Archbishop Desmond and Nomalizo Leah Tutu, she learned early on that the whole human family loses when we accept situations of oppression, and that the teaching and preaching of hate and division injure us all. Rev. Tutu is founder of Nozizwe Consulting, which brings groups together to learn from and celebrate their differences and shared humanity, and has led Truth and Reconciliation Workshops for groups dealing with conflict. - Building Gender Coalitions Across Racial Lines
“Reverend Tutu was the BEST. Everyone really enjoyed her. The way she shared proverb and stories of her childhood to show how one steps in their power. I will always remember, ‘A person is a person through other people.’"
--LaDenta Smith, CalWORKs Student Support Coordinator
--LaDenta Smith, CalWORKs Student Support Coordinator
We can help ideate, source and book speakers that aren't on our website, too. Leave an inquiry or call us at