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It saddens my heart to hear of the death of Archbishop Desmond Tutu today, Sunday, December 26, 2021. Let me give this tribute to the Archbishop who helped end apartheid in South Africa. Nobel Peace Prize-winning Anglican cleric whose good humor, inspiring message and conscientious work for civil and human rights made him a revered leader during the struggle to end apartheid in his native South Africa. This is my own personal story.

Under the tutelage of journalist Adrienne Washington, long-time columnist for the Washington Times, allowed me and several other community writers to share articles we had written in The Washington Times. It was my pleasure to be one of those selected to write articles. Some of my columns included one about the death of Michael Jackson and his religious faith as a Jehovah's witness; I wrote about Buddhism history and traditions; and others. The article that I will remember forever was when I wrote a column for World Aids Day. The Lord have given me orders to call for an interview with Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

Anyone who knows me, realizes how challenges gets me going. With excitement, I began to make phone calls to Johannesburg, South African, trying to find a way to speak with the Archbishop. Long story short, my efforts paid off. When I finally got his secretary on the telephone, after several phone calls and discussions, she said "The Archbishop said, God told you to interview him, so he cannot say no to you."

Delighted and shocked at how such an important day in my life actually was a dream come true. The Archbishop was such a gentle, soft spoken 'man of God.' He answered my questions about how Aids was so rampant in South Africa, it was a delight. My column was given the entire page, with a photograph of President Barack Obama placing the Medal of Freedom around his neck; The Washington Times had added that very special photograph in the top center of my article. When I saw the Byline which say By Lyndia Grant, I was filled with pride.

President Cyril Ramaphosa said the churchman's death marked "another chapter of bereavement in our nation's farewell to a generation of outstanding South Africans". Archbishop Tutu had helped bequeath "a liberated South Africa," he added.

Tutu was one of the country's best known figures at home and abroad. Let me give a small portion of his story.

"A man of extraordinary intellect, integrity and invincibility against the forces of apartheid, he was also tender and vulnerable in his compassion for those who had suffered oppression, injustice and violence under apartheid, and oppressed and downtrodden people around the world," Ramaphosa said.

For six decades, Tutu -- known affectionately as "the Arch" -- was one of the primary voices in exhorting the South African government to end apartheid, the country's official policy of racial segregation. After apartheid ended in the early '90s and the long-imprisoned Nelson Mandela became president of the country, Tutu was named chair of South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

The Nelson Mandela foundation called Tutu's loss "immeasurable."

"He was larger than life, and for so many in South Africa and around the world his life has been a blessing," the foundation said in a statement. "His contributions to struggles against injustice, locally and globally, are matched only by the depth of his thinking about the making of liberatory futures for human societies."

Tutu's civil and human rights work led to prominent honors from around the world. Former US President Barack Obama awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2009. Obama called Tutu a "mentor, a friend, and a moral compass" in a statement after his death.

"Archbishop Tutu was grounded in the struggle for liberation and justice in his own country, but also concerned with injustice everywhere. He never lost his impish sense of humor and willingness to find humanity in his adversaries," said Obama.

President Joe Biden also mourned Tutu on Sunday. "His courage and moral clarity helped inspire our commitment to change American policy toward the repressive Apartheid regime in South Africa," the President said in a joint statement with first lady Jill Biden. "His legacy transcends borders and will echo throughout the ages."

In 2012, Tutu was awarded a $1 million grant by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation for "his lifelong commitment to speaking truth to power." The following year, he received the Templeton Prize for his "life-long work in advancing spiritual principles such as love and forgiveness which has helped to liberate people around the world."

Most notably, he received the 1984 Nobel Peace Prize, following in the footsteps of his countryman, Albert Lutuli, who received the prize in 1960.

The Nobel cemented Tutu's status as an instrumental figure in South Africa, a position he gained in the wake of protests against apartheid. Despite anger about the policy within South Africa, as well as widespread global disapproval -- the country was banned from the Olympics from 1964 through 1988