Naomi Tutu, daughter of Nobel Peace Prize winner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, will be the guest speaker for Indiana University of Pennsylvania's Kwanzaa celebration on Dec. 6 from 4:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Hadley Union Building's Ohio Room.
She will be joined by guest performer Toby Foyeh and Orchestra Africa, the IUP Voices of Joy Gospel Choir and IUP African Dance Ensemble.
Kwanzaa is a celebration of family, friends, community and culture, based on African festivals, from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. The event at IUP is free and open to the community. Participants are asked to bring a prepared food item to share with those attending.
Naomi Tutu, a native of South Africa, is known as an advocate for peace and human rights and is the chairperson of the Tutu Foundation for Development and Relief in Southern Africa, based in Hartford, Conn. She has taught at many universities in the United States and internationally. She recently served as program coordinator for Race Relations Institute at Fisk University in Nashville, Tenn.
From 1985 to 1990, the Tutu Foundation helped South African refugees become self-supporting by providing them with scholarships, micro-business grants and practical resources.
Naomi Tutu has continued to work to improve educational and professional opportunities in Africa. She has served as a development consultant in West Africa and as a program coordinator at the University of Cape Town's African Gender Institute.
She holds a bachelor's degree in economics and French from Berea College, in Berea, Ky., and a master's degree in international economic development from the Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce at the University of Kentucky.
Toby Foyeh and Orchestra Africa's music is a fusion of traditional Nigerian Yoruba music including Highlife, Afrobeat, folklore with jazz, rock, pop and Latin music. The band features traditional African instruments such as Gangan and Kalimba. The female singer-dancers perform in African costumes.
Reservations are requested and can be made by calling the African American Cultural Center at (724) 357-2455.