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Archbishop Desmond Tutu to Give First U.S. Speech to the LGBT Community

The International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC) announced today that Archbishop Desmond Tutu will give an historic 30-minute address to the LGBTI community in San Francisco on April 8, 2008. It’s the first time that he has directly addressed such a large LGBTI gathering in the United States. He will speak to a crowd of approximately 400 people at A Celebration of Courage, the IGLHRC’s annual gala awards ceremony, where he will also be honored for his leadership on human rights. Archbishop Tutu, a Nobel Prize winner for his work against apartheid in South Africa, has persistently challenged discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. He has publicly condemned persecution on the basis of sexual orientation, comparing it to apartheid. In article published in The Times of London in 2004, he wrote:

“We struggled against apartheid in South Africa, supported by people the world over, because black people were being blamed and made to suffer for something we could do nothing about-our very skins. “It is the same with sexual orientation. It is a given. I could not have fought against the discrimination of apartheid and not also fight against the discrimination that homosexuals endure, even in our churches and faith groups.”

Archbishop Tutu has also vigorously criticized the Catholic church for its homophobia. Last year, he told BBC radio, “If God, as they say, is homophobic, I wouldn’t worship that God.” He has even challenged the church for “being almost obsessed with questions of human sexuality” when other issues such as poverty, HIV/AIDS and war are more deserving of attention and action. He told Union Theological Seminary students in 2006 that “All belong–white, black, red, yellow, Arab, Jew, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, Buddhist, young old, male, female, rich poor, gay, lesbian and so-called straight–all belong.”

I find his use of the term “so-called straight” to be an interesting choice.

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