The United States can benefit from researching and acknowledging past atrocities committed against blacks and American Indians, said South African Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
”There is a pain that sits in the tummy of most African Americans and Native Americans, and maybe white Americans, that needs to be articulated in a non-threatening environment,” Tutu said during lecture sponsored by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation on Wednesday.
Tutu (72) the former Anglican Archbishop of South Africa, was on the country’s Truth in Reconciliation Commission, which researched 34 years of human rights violations against blacks under apartheid.
Tutu won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 for his anti-apartheid advocacy and stepped down from his position as archbishop in 1996.
His speech on Wednesday focused on overcoming racism and focusing on the inherent goodness of people.
”One of the things that I want you to take away from this is that evil can be defeated,” he said.
Speaking later to reporters, Tutu addressed the war in Iraq, calling it ”immoral” for the United States and its allies to invade the country without the support of the United Nations.
”Almost everything that has happened since then has confirmed that,” said Tutu, who also questioned whether Iraqis are better off now than they were under Saddam Hussein. – Sapa-AP