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Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu was one of the key anti-aparthy campaigners in South Africa. He delivered his speech “Change or Illusion” to a white female organization called the Black Sash to urge non-violent struggle among the whites that were against the aparthy. With his speech, he wanted to show how even the most liberally minded whites were contributing to the racially discriminative regime. The speech was addressed to the white people, as it raised the questions of the idleness of those who belonged to the privileged minority.
One of the first strong statements that Tutu makes concerns the argument that ordinary people cannot do anything to change the situation, even as an ally. He states, “I have no real sympathy with what I believe is an imagined impotence” (Tutu 1980). Tutu believes the right to vote that the whites had was one of the integral instruments in the hands of the white supporters in the face of aparthy. He also recalls the ways how civil activism, such as protesting and boycotts, can have a real impact on the transformative potential, as he draws the example of a butter purchase boycott conducted by women that ultimately led to a drop in prices to an adequate numerical value (Tutu 1980). Tutu states that actions like this are significant and facilitate real change, as they get noticed by the government.
With his speech, Tutu urges his audience to get armed with a non-violent tactic of resistance: taking civil actions that though the legal status of the citizens, can draw the attention of the aparthy to the problem and the attitude of full-fledged citizens to their policies of racial oppression against the black population of South Africa. He states, “The government does often take note when strong feelings are aroused about this or that…”(Tutu, 1980, 36). Such civil actions as boycotting something or actively using their right to vote can emphasize the overall mood within the population of the current state of affairs.
His main idea is that little actions can lead to big changes. Such a course of action is presented as a way of establishing a compromise with the government, as it implies non-violent negotiation with the ruling party. Tutu emphasizes the fact that any deep change is a long process and that the movement is ready to be patient if they see the commitment of the white supporters to change (Tutu 1980). The compromise with the government on a peaceful solution is only possible in case of irreproachable implementation of the full equal rights for the black population. By the end of the speech, Tutu stresses that the time for non-violent resistance is running out and calls for taking action before the situation escalates into a “bloodbath” (Tutu 1980). His performance was to encourage people to act and speak up.
Change or Illusion was delivered in 1980, the beginning of the most violent decade of the aparthy regime when the oppressive government would focus intensely on holding onto its power and repressing the resistance movement. Thus, this speech reflects the overall mood of the struggle: there is still hope and openness for non-violent politics implementation, as the worst years of the fight for freedom are yet to unfold. This speech is a reliable source, as it is a concise record of the key ideas of the black movement and the points of potential negotiations with the whites provided by one of the leaders of the anti-aparthy campaign, Desmond Tutu.
Work Cited
Tutu, D. “Change or Illusion?” 1989: Democratic Revolutions at the Cold War’s End: A Brief History with Documents, edited by Padraic Kenney, Bedford, 2009.
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