Our Guest Speaker

“MLK— The Imperative for Us.”

Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu

Reverend Naomi Tutu’s human rights activist professional experience ranges from being an economist and development consultant in West Africa to being a 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, the Rev. Tutu has taught at the University of Hartford, the University of Connecticut and Brevard College in North Carolina. She served as Program Coordinator for the historic Race Relations Institute at Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn., and was a part of the Institute’s delegation to the World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa.

Growing up the daughter of Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu has offered Naomi many opportunities and challenges in her life. Perhaps one of the greatest struggles was the call to ministry. Finally, in her 50s, she responded and went to seminary. She is now an Episcopal priest who most recently served as Associate Rector at All Saints Episcopal Church in Beverly Hills, California. She currently resides in Atlanta where she is a priest associate at All Saints’ Episcopal.

As well as speaking and preaching, the Rev. Tutu has established Nozizwe Consulting. Its mission 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 is the recipient of four honorary doctorates from universities and colleges in the U.S. and Nigeria. She has served as a curate at Christ Church Cathedral and as a Canon Missioner for Racial and Economic Equity, and as a Canon Missioner for Kairos West Community Center for the Cathedral of All Souls in Asheville, N.C. She is a single mother of two daughters and a son.