Rev. Naomi Tutu presentation to kick off series of Ashland Center for Nonviolence events

ASHLAND, Ohio – The Ashland Center for Nonviolence (ACN) at Ashland University will kick off the Season for Nonviolence with a special event, as it welcomes Rev. Naomi Tutu for a fundraiser dinner and keynote address on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2024. As an Episcopal priest and the daughter of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu, Rev. Tutu is a much sought-after speaker and will present “Striving for Justice: Searching for Common Ground.”

The fundraising event will be held in the alumni room of the John C. Myers Convocation Center, with a buffet-style dinner from 5-6:30 p.m., featuring an exclusive interview with Rev. Tutu conducted by Peter Slade, Ph.D., chair of the AU Department of Religion. Tickets cost $120 per plate. Contact Elizabeth Buttil, assistant director of ACN, at ebuttil@ashland.edu or 419-289-5313 for more information.

Rev. Tutu’s presentation, which is free and open to the public, will begin at 7 p.m. It will include a personal reflection on the challenges of growing up Black and female in apartheid South Africa, as well as an examination on how the whole human family loses when society accepts situations of oppression and the dangers of teaching and preaching hate and division.

Rev. Tutu was born in South Africa, educated in Swaziland, the U.S. and England and her professional experience includes time as a development consultant, educator, activist and ordained minister while dividing her time between South Africa and the U.S. She served as a coordinator for programs on race and gender at the African Gender Institute at the University of Cape Town, and has taught at the University of Hartford, the University of Connecticut and Brevard College. She was also a program coordinator for the historic Race Relations Institute at Fisk University.

Rev. Tutu is the founder of Nozizwe Consulting. The guiding principle of Nozizwe, which means Mother of Many Lands, is to bring different groups together to learn from and celebrate their differences and acknowledge their shared humanity.

This special event is possible due to a grant from the Ashland County Community Foundation.

The Season for Nonviolence runs from Jan. 30-April 4, marking the period of time from Mohandas Gandhi’s assassination to Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. ACN hopes to take this time to demonstrate that nonviolence is a powerful way to heal, transform and empower individuals within their community.

There will be other ACN events during the Season for Nonviolence, including a presentation by a Yad Vashem Visiting Scholar, the ninth annual John D. Stratton Conference, a documentary screening and a conflict resolution training session. More details about those events will be announced in the near future.

ACN, celebrating its 20th anniversary, promotes alternatives to violence through education, training and building relationships that foster awareness and consideration of issues related to nonviolence and social justice, and supports ways to create a caring community that is inclusive and just.

Ashland University is a mid-sized, private university conveniently located a short distance from Akron, Cleveland and Columbus, Ohio. Ashland University (www.ashland.edu) values the individual student and offers a unique educational experience that combines the challenge of strong applied academic programs with a faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.