Beyers Naudé facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Beyers Naudé
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Naudé in 1972
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| Born | 10 May 1915 Roodepoort, Transvaal, South Africa
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| Died | 7 September 2004 (aged 89) |
| Other names | Beyers Naudé, Oom Bey (Afrikaans for "Uncle Bey") |
| Alma mater | Stellenbosch University |
| Occupation | Cleric |
| Known for | Anti-apartheid activist |
| Spouse(s) | Ilse Hedwig Weder |
| Parent(s) | Jozua François Naudé and Adriana Johanna Zondagh van Huyssteen |
Christiaan Frederick Beyers Naudé (born 10 May 1915 – died 7 September 2004) was a brave South African leader. He was a Dominee (a type of minister) and a theologian who strongly fought against apartheid. Apartheid was a system in South Africa that separated people based on their race. Beyers Naudé was an Afrikaner, but he stood up for equal rights for everyone. People often called him Beyers Naudé or Oom Bey, which means "Uncle Bey" in Afrikaans.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Beyers Naudé was one of eight children. He was born in Roodepoort, Transvaal (now Gauteng). His family had French roots, coming from a Huguenot refugee who arrived in South Africa in 1718. Beyers was named after General Christian Frederick Beyers, a military leader his father admired.
His father, Jozua Naudé, was also an Afrikaner minister. He helped create the Broederbond, a powerful secret group of Afrikaner men. This group played a big part in supporting the National Party, which brought in the apartheid laws in 1948. Beyers' father also helped translate the Bible into Afrikaans.
In 1921, Beyers' family moved to Graaff-Reinet in the Cape Province. He went to Afrikaans High School and finished in 1931. He then studied theology at the University of Stellenbosch. He graduated in 1939 with degrees in languages and theology. One of his teachers was Hendrik Verwoerd, who later became a prime minister and a main architect of apartheid.
In 1939, Beyers Naudé became a minister in the South African Dutch Reformed Church. He also joined the Broederbond as its youngest member. For 20 years, he served different churches, preaching ideas that supported apartheid. On 3 August 1940, he married Ilse Weder. They had three sons and a daughter.
Anti-Apartheid Activities
In 1960, a terrible event called the Sharpeville massacre happened. Police killed 69 black protestors who were demonstrating against unfair laws. This event completely changed Beyers Naudé's views. He started to question if the Bible truly supported apartheid. He studied the Bible deeply and realised that the church's reasons for apartheid were wrong. He found that some parts of the Bible were even twisted to try and justify it.
Cottesloe and the Christian Institute
After the Sharpeville massacre, the World Council of Churches (WCC) met with church leaders in Johannesburg. Beyers Naudé helped arrange a meeting called the Cottesloe Consultation. At this meeting, church leaders agreed that race should not keep people out of churches. They also said that everyone should have the right to own land and have a say in their government.
However, the Prime Minister, Verwoerd, forced the Dutch Reformed Church to reject these ideas. Beyers Naudé was the only one from his church who continued to speak out against apartheid's religious justification. The Dutch Reformed Church later left the World Council of Churches.
In 1963, Naudé started the Christian Institute of Southern Africa (CI). This group aimed to bring people of different races together through talks, research, and publications. The Dutch Reformed Church told Naudé he had to choose between being a minister and leading the CI. He chose to resign from his church job and also left the Broederbond. He lost his status as a minister. He told his wife they should prepare for a difficult time. Later, Archbishop Desmond Tutu said that Beyers became like an outcast among Afrikaners.
In 1967, Naudé and another professor won a court case against someone who had falsely called them communists.
In 1970, Beyers Naudé was one of the few white South African Christian leaders who supported the WCC's decision to help groups fighting for freedom in Southern Africa. He said that if there was violence in South Africa, it would be because the churches had done nothing, not because the WCC had acted. Because of this, the government started investigating anti-apartheid Christian groups. When Naudé refused to give evidence, he was tried and spent a night in jail. A fellow minister paid his fine.
In 1973, the government took away his passport. But they gave it back temporarily in 1974 so he could travel to the USA. There, he received an award for his work for justice and peace. As the Christian Institute worked more with black activists like Steve Biko, Naudé faced more trouble from the state police. The government eventually forced the CI to close in 1977.
Banning and the SACC
From 1977 to 1984, the South African government "banned" Naudé. This meant he was under house arrest. He had strict rules about where he could go and who he could meet. For example, he could not be in a room with more than one other person. Even with constant police watching him, Naudé secretly helped anti-apartheid activists. He would fix old cars and give them to people who needed to move around or leave South Africa. He joked that this was his small way of helping the fight for freedom.
In 1980, Naudé and three other ministers left the white Dutch Reformed Church. They joined the Dutch Reformed Church in Africa, which was the black African branch of the church.
After his banning order was lifted in 1985, he took over from Archbishop Desmond Tutu as the leader of the South African Council of Churches. In this role, he called for the release of political prisoners, especially Nelson Mandela. He also pushed for talks with the African National Congress. In 1987, the apartheid government made it illegal to ask for the release of prisoners in public. But Naudé encouraged Christians to keep praying for them publicly, even if it meant going to jail.
After his time at the South African Council of Churches, Naudé continued to work for many groups that fought apartheid and helped communities.
Post-Apartheid Influence
After 1990, when apartheid was ending, Naudé sometimes opened events for the African National Congress with Bible readings. In the same year, the ANC asked him to be the only Afrikaner in their team for talks with the National Party government. Even though he worked closely with the ANC for a long time, Naudé never officially joined the party. Some people think this was because he was very independent and never sought personal power.
In 2000, he signed a public document called the Declaration of Commitment by White South Africans. This document admitted that apartheid had caused great harm to black South Africans.
Beyers Naudé passed away on 7 September 2004, at the age of 89. Nelson Mandela said that Naudé was "a true humanitarian and a true son of Africa." His official funeral was held on 18 September 2004. The President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, and other important leaders attended. Naudé's ashes were scattered in the township of Alexandra, near Johannesburg. He was survived by his wife, four children, and two great-grandchildren.
Even though his own people treated him badly, Naudé never showed anger towards them. He always said, "I am an Afrikaner. I saw myself never as anything else but an Afrikaner, and I'm very grateful for the small contribution which I could have made."
Honors and Accolades
Beyers Naudé received many awards during his life for his work in human rights:
- Bruno Kreisky Award for services to human rights (Austria, 1979)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt Four Freedoms Award (USA, 1984)
- African American Institute Award (USA, 1985)
- Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Award (USA, 1985)
- Swedish Labour Movement Award (Sweden, 1988)
- Order of Oranje-Nassau (Netherlands, 1995)
- Order for Meritorious Service (Gold) (South Africa, 1997)
- Order of Merit (Germany, 1999)
He also received fourteen honorary doctorates from universities. In 1993, he was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.
Legacy
In 2001, the city of Johannesburg honored Beyers Naudé in several ways. He received the Freedom of the City of Johannesburg. A major road, DF Malan Drive, was renamed Beyers Naudé Drive. The Library Gardens in downtown Johannesburg were also renamed Beyers Naudé Square.
In 2004, he was voted 36th among the Top 100 Great South Africans in a TV poll. Georges Lemopoulos, from the World Council of Churches, called Naudé "one of the true Christian prophets of our time."
The University of the Free State renamed one of its student residences to Beyers Naudé. In Leeuwarden, Netherlands, a Christian school was also renamed in his honor.
See also
In Spanish: Beyers Naudé para niños
- Christian Institute of Southern Africa
- List of people subject to banning orders under apartheid
- Pro Veritate
- Ravan Press[[Category::Dutch Reformed Church in South Africa clergy]]
