Desmond Tutu Bishop Desmond Tutu was born in 1931 in Klerksdorp, Transvaal. His father was a teacher, and he himself was educated at Johannesburg Bantu High School. After leaving school he trained first as a teacher at Pretoria Bantu Normal College and in 1954 he graduated from the University of South Africa. After three years as a high school teacher he began to study theology, being ordained as a priest in 1960. Desmond Tutu has formulated his objective as "a democratic and just society without racial divisions", and has set forward the following points as minimum demands: 1. equal civil rights for all 2. the abolition of South Africa's passport laws 3. a common system of education 4. the cessation of forced deportation from South Africa to the so-called "homelands" The South African Council of Churches is a contact organization for the churches of South Africa and functions as a national committee for the World Council of Churches. Copyright © The Nobel Foundation 1984
Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi | biography - Indian leader Gandhi, Mohandas KaramchandAnn Ronan Picture Library/Heritage-Images Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, byname Mahatma Gandhi (born October 2, 1869, Porbandar, India—died January 30, 1948, Delhi), Indian lawyer, politician, social activist, and writer who became the leader of the nationalist movement against the British rule of India. As such, he came to be considered the father of his country. Gandhi is internationally esteemed for his doctrine of nonviolent protest (satyagraha) to achieve political and social progress. In the eyes of millions of his fellow Indians, Gandhi was the Mahatma (“Great Soul”). Youth Gandhi was the youngest child of his father’s fourth wife. Gandhi’s mother, Putlibai, was completely absorbed in religion, did not care much for finery or jewelry, divided her time between her home and the temple, fasted frequently, and wore herself out in days and nights of nursing whenever there was sickness in the family. “Never again” was his promise to himself after each escapade.
Mahatma: Life of Gandhi, 1869-1948 This is a film which seeks to tell the life-story of Gandhi the Man and his incessant search for Truth. In this world so full of hatred and violence, this man of peace and goodwill fought all evil and injustice with Soul-Force. He stands out as a challenge giving the message of truth and non-violence, of love supreme and unbounded. He is the Mahatma - the Great Soul - the name given to him by the people of India. Gandhi has left an indelible mark on human history. His thought is ever relevant for all those who aspire for a better and fuller life. Animation, live photography and old prints, have been blended to give an integrated image of his life. Even a full-length documentary film is but an inadequate instrument for depicting Gandhi's many-splendoured life and his varied activities. Watch the full documentary now
Desmond Tutu - Archbishop - Biography.com Desmond Tutu is a South African Anglican cleric who is known for his role in the opposition to apartheid in South Africa. Synopsis In 1978 Desmond Tutu was appointed general secretary of the South African Council of Churches and became a leading spokesperson for the rights of black South Africans. During the 1980s he played an unrivaled role in drawing national and international attention to the iniquities of apartheid, and in 1984 he won the Nobel Prize for Peace for his efforts. Early Life Desmond Mpilo Tutu was born on October 7, 1931 in Klerksdorp, South Africa. "We knew, yes, we were deprived," he later recalled. Tutu was a bright and curious child with a passion for reading. Tutu graduated from high school in 1950, and although he had been accepted into medical school, his family could not afford the expensive tuition. Rise to Prominence Nevertheless, Tutu became increasingly frustrated with the racism corrupting all aspects of South African life under apartheid. Personal Life
Martin Luther King Jr. - Civil Rights Activist, Minister Martin Luther King Jr. was a Baptist minister and social activist, who led the Civil Rights Movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. Martin Luther King Jr. Facts Martin Luther King Jr. was born in 1929 in Atlanta, Georgia. Among his many efforts, King headed the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. King received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, among several other honors. Early Years Born as Michael King Jr. on January 15, 1929, Martin Luther King Jr. was the middle child of Michael King Sr. and Alberta Williams King. Michael King Sr. stepped in as pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church upon the death of his father-in-law in 1931. Young Martin had an older sister, Willie Christine, and a younger brother, Alfred Daniel Williams King. Growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, Martin Luther King Jr. entered public school at age 5. King attended Booker T. Education and Spiritual Growth Montgomery Bus Boycott On the night that Rosa Parks was arrested, E.D.
History - Historic Figures: Mohandas Gandhi (1869 - 1948) Profile: Malala Yousafzai Image copyright Reuters Pakistani schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai wrote an anonymous diary about life under Taliban rule in north-west Pakistan. She was shot in the head by militants for daring to go to school. Accepting the award in Oslo she said she was "humbled" and proud to be the first Pashtun and the first Pakistani to win the prize. Malala Yousafzai first came to public attention through that heartfelt diary, published on BBC Urdu, which chronicled her desire to remain in education and for girls to have the chance to be educated. When she was shot in the head in October 2012 by a Taliban gunman, she was already well known in Pakistan, but that one shocking act catapulted her to international fame. She survived the dramatic assault, in which a militant boarded her school bus in Pakistan's north-western Swat valley and opened fire, wounding two of her school friends as well. Image copyright Birmingham Hospitals Trust Passionate campaigner Media playback is unsupported on your device
Martin Luther King, Jr. | Biography & Facts Martin Luther King, Jr.American religious leader and civil-rights activist Also known as MLK Jr.Michael Luther King, Jr. born January 15, 1929 Atlanta, Georgia died April 4, 1968 Memphis, Tennessee Martin Luther King, Jr., original name Michael King, Jr. Early years King came from a comfortable middle-class family steeped in the tradition of the Southern black ministry: both his father and maternal grandfather were Baptist preachers. This secure upbringing, however, did not prevent King from experiencing the prejudices then common in the South. In 1944, at age 15, King entered Morehouse College in Atlanta under a special wartime program intended to boost enrollment by admitting promising high-school students like King. At Morehouse, King favoured studies in medicine and law, but these were eclipsed in his senior year by a decision to enter the ministry, as his father had urged. The Montgomery bus boycott In his first speech to the group as its president, King declared: David L. Assessment
Malala Yousafzai - Children's Activist, Women's Rights Activist As a young girl, Malala Yousafzai defied the Taliban in Pakistan and demanded that girls be allowed to receive an education. She was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman in 2012, but survived and went on to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Synopsis Malala Yousafzai was born on July 12, 1997, in Mingora, Pakistan. Early Life On July 12, 1997, Malala Yousafzai was born in Mingora, Pakistan, located in the country's Swat Valley. Initial Activism Yousafzai attended a school that her father, Ziauddin Yousafzai, had founded. In early 2009, Yousafzai began blogging for the BBC about living under the Taliban's threats to deny her an education. With a growing public platform, Yousafzai continued to speak out about her right, and the right of all women, to an education. Targeted by the Taliban Malala and her family learned that the Taliban had issued a death threat against her because of her activism. The shooting left Malala in critical condition, so she was flown to a military hospital in Peshawar.
Kate Sheppard Kate Sheppard was the leading light of the New Zealand women’s suffrage movement. In recent years her contribution to New Zealand’s identity has been acknowledged on the $10 note and a commemorative stamp. Born in Liverpool in 1847, Kate Malcolm migrated to Christchurch in her early twenties and in 1871 married merchant Walter Sheppard. Sheppard travelled the country, writing to newspapers, holding public meetings and lobbying members of Parliament. In 1893 Kate Sheppard and her fellow suffragists gathered the signatures of nearly 32,000 women to demonstrate the groundswell of support for their cause. Kate Sheppard continued to work at home and abroad for women’s rights – from contraception to freedom from the corset. Sheppard outlived two husbands, her only son, and her only grandchild. By Emma Brewerton Read the full biography in Te Ara Biographies
Collaborating for Indigenous Rights 1957-1973 Kate Sheppard - Women's Rights Activist - Biography.com Kate Sheppard was a leader in the New Zealand women's suffrage movement, helping women gain the right to vote in New Zealand. Synopsis Born on March 10, 1847, in Liverpool, England, Kate Sheppard moved to New Zealand in the late 1860s. In 1885, she founded the Women's Christian Temperance Union and, two years later, became leader of its suffrage campaign. Several suffrage bills failed before New Zealand Parliament finally granted women the right to vote in 1893. Early Years A pivotal figure in making New Zealand the first country in the world to grant women the right to vote, Kate Sheppard was born Catherine Wilson Malcolm on March 10, 1847, in Liverpool, England. The daughter of Scottish parents, Sheppard moved with her family at a young age to Scotland, where she was subsequently raised and educated. Political Life Active in the Trinity Congregational Church, Sheppard also immersed herself in the temperance movement and, in 1885, co-founded New Zealand Women's Christian Temperance Union.
Eleanor Roosevelt "What other single human being has touched and transformed the existence of so many? She walked in the slums and ghettos of the world, not on a tour of inspection, but as one who could not feel contentment when others were hungry." — Adlai E. Stevenson Eleanor Roosevelt has been called one of the 20th century's most influential women. She was a wife, mother, teacher, first lady of New York, first lady of the country, newspaper columnist, author, world traveler, diplomat, and seasoned politician. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was born on October 11, 1884, into one of the oldest and wealthiest families in New York. Not long afterward, her mother died suddenly of diphtheria. When Eleanor was 15, her grandmother decided to send her to Allenswood, a boarding school in England. After three years at Allenswood, Eleanor returned to New York. Upon her "coming out" in 1902, several young men started to court her. Franklin proposed in November 1903. In 1906, the Roosevelt's first child, Anna, was born.