Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu Named 21st Annual Atlas Week Keynote Speaker

03/25/2021

The 21st Annual Sam and Marilyn Fox Atlas Week program will be held the week of April 12-16, 2021. The theme for the 2021 Atlas Program is “The House that Race(ism) Built.” 

The Atlas Planning Committee has announced that prominent race and gender justice activist, Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu, will deliver the keynote address at the Atlas Week Signature Symposium.

The Atlas Week Signature Symposium will be held from 5:30-7 p.m. Friday, April 16.

The Atlas Week Signature Symposium is presented by internationally renowned speakers who have dedicated their lives to issues of political and social justice.

Rev. Tutu is the third child of 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 United States and England, and has divided her adult life between South Africa and the U.S.

Rev. Tutu’s 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.

As well as speaking and preaching, Rev. Tutu has established Nozizwe Consulting. 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, Rev. Tutu 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.

The 21st Atlas Week Signature Symposium is free and open to the public. Register at alumni.slu.edu/atlas21 to join the virtual keynote address with Rev. Tutu.

The deadline to register for the event is Wednesday, April 14. All registrants will receive the Zoom link to the keynote on April 15.

Please contact Luella Loseille at luella.loseille@slu.edu for questions and more information.