Episode 60 - RECOVERING ARCHBISHOP DESMOND TUTU'S RADICALISM

Sisonke Msimang joined me to debate whether or not, when his
legacy is properly considered, Archbishop Desmond Tutu can be
located along the spectrum of Black Radical Thought. 

Msimang argues that not only is Tutu undeniably radical in his
racial politics, but that we should also push back against
notions of non-racialism that wrongly associate the doctrine with
colourblindness and polite politics. Tutu's allyship on the
question of same-sex love and relationships shows his
intersectional politics within the church, itself a manifestation
of his radicalism.

I also explored with Sisonke what the achivements and limitations
of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission were, and how much of
the shortcomings are to be  attributed to Tutu as such and
how much of our incomplete justice project is to be blamed on the
failures of the democratic state and other non-state
actors. 

We ended off by exploring the fullness of Tutu's humanity, how
his personal biography tracks the biography of the country and,
lastly, why we should stop having existential crises about the
moral giants of yesteryear no longer being with us, and rather
embracing our generation's moral challenges by taking seriously
our own agentive powers to complete the justice project.