Rarely do we get the opportunity to meet one of our personal heroes, and even less so to walk away feeling as though they truly are who they proclaim to be. Desmond Tutu was one of those heroes for me—and I was fortunate enough to meet him several years ago, as a starry-eyed undergrad at USC. He came to speak on our campus, to share his timeless wisdom, and to inspire a new generation.
Our meeting was brief, but his influence nevertheless echoed on in my life. Years after meeting him, I would end up moving to Desmond’s native South Africa doing human rights work, in part because of the wisdom he imparted on me as a young woman.
To this day, I can still remember and feel the sincerity, the genuine love for his fellow humans, that radiated off of him when I met him. He was full of kindness and grace, and when we spoke, even in that brief time, I could feel the kindness that radiated from him like a beacon.
Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s legacy speaks for itself. A pioneering South African anti-apartheid and human rights activist who saw the divine in the ordinary and the oppressed, his work remains as profoundly significant today as it was when he first took his position as Archbishop of Cape Town in 1986.
Many of our hearts are heavy as we mourn his passing yesterday, but I am choosing instead to celebrate the joy he brought to our lives. As Barack Obama says, he was the “world’s moral compass,” a guiding light in an increasingly polarized society.
Desmond Tutu was a man who sought only to bring humankind together while so many out there would see it torn apart. He was a man who knew that love was the one universal thing that could bring hearts and minds together.
I hope you’ll join me in remembering and honoring Desmond Tutu and his beautiful spirit by making an effort to be kind every day and to try to be a light in the world that seems increasingly dark.
May he rest in peace, and may we all remember the important work he accomplished during his 90 years with us.
