The career of Nobel laureate and civil rights activist Albert Lutuli

Albert Lutuli was a tribal chief, best known for having served as the president of the ANC (African National Congress). He devoted much of his career to campaigning for civil rights in South Africa; however, as a charitable and compassionate leader, he always favoured non-violent means of protest. He aimed to merge the philosophies of Christian democracy, and Zulu culture, in order to bring peace to the African continent.

Lutuli is thought to have been born in 1898, in the area formerly known as Southern Rhodesia. At the age of ten, his parents sent him to the Christian mission school in Natal. After completing his education here, he then went on to train as a teacher in Edendale. Following this, in 1920, he was awarded a scholarship, which allowed him to enrol in Adam's College, where he took the Higher Teachers' Training course. He ended up teaching at this institute for 15 years.

His career path changed in 1935, after he accepted an offer of chieftaincy in his homeland. For the next 17 years, he devoted his time to the management of tribal affairs, mediating arguments between his peers, and helping local cane farmers to protect their interests. History enthusiasts like Tunde Folawiyo may be aware that Lutuli first joined the ANC in 1944; this organisation was similar, in terms of its objectives, to the NAACP in the USA, in that it aimed to create legal frameworks which would establish and protect civil rights.

One year after joining, Lutuli became a member of the ANC's Natal Provincial Division, and in 1951, he was elected as this division's president. Shortly after this appointment, he helped the other leaders within the ANC to arrange a series of non-violent campaigns, with the goal of protesting against discriminatory laws. He then began to make a number of public speeches which received a considerable amount of attention from the media. The balanced and articulate way in which he expressed his views on racial inequality earned him the respect of millions of people - including those who did not share his own views on the subject.

Anyone with an interest in this subject, such as Tunde Folawiyo, will probably know that in 1960, Lutuli showed his solidarity with those who had been killed during the Sharpeville massacre whilst protesting against the Pass Laws, by burning his own pass in public. He was arrested for this act. That same year, his efforts in regards to race relations in South Africa led to him being awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1962, he was named as the honourary Rector of Glasgow University, and the following year, he had his autobiography, entitled 'Let my people go' published. Four years later, he passed away.

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