Tutu was a member of The Elders, an international organization of human rights advocates founded by Mandela.
When the ANC sued to prevent the report's release, Tutu lashed back: "I didn't struggle in order to remove one set of those who thought they were tin gods, to replace them with others who are tempted to think they are." And while his commission's report in 1998 put most of the blame on the apartheid system, it also found the African National Congress guilty of human rights violations. "Without forgiveness, there is no future," he said then. At hearings in which torture and other atrocities were recounted, Tutu would openly weep. When the anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela was released from prison after 27 years, eventually becoming his nation's first Black president, in 1994, Tutu was appointed to head the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, tasked with investigating the apartheid government's brutal history. And until that system goes, there is no hope at all of any stability in this land." He once stated, "The primary violence – and White people don't want to hear this – the primary terrorism in this country comes from the government. His resolve to bring down the apartheid system through non-violent means (including calling for sanctions against South Africa in retaliation for its apartheid restrictions) only hardened when a state of emergency brought sweeping powers to police and the military in the 1980s. The Associated Press contributed to this gallery.Īs South Africa's first Black Archbishop, Anglican theologian Desmond Tutu (October 7, 1931-December 26, 2021) bravely challenged the brutal racism of the country's apartheid rulers.īorn in the township of Klerksdorp, Tutu was a diminutive clergyman with a twinkle in his eye and a massive laugh who would earn a Nobel Peace Prize as a global campaigner for racial equality and human rights. | EPU FILES/AFP via Getty ImagesĪ look back at the esteemed personalities who left us this year, who'd touched us with their innovation, creativity and humanity.īy senior producer David Morgan. The Murray brand is, in 2010, found on lawn equipment such as mowers.Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 1984. By 1999, Murray and Roadmaster had ceased production. companies were unable to compete with imported bicycles from China. In a legal challenge, it was ruled that Chinese bicycle imports were not a threat to U.S. bicycle manufacturers in operation - Murray, Huffy and Roadmaster. 1990s and 21st Centuryīy 1996, there were only three major U.S. Some new Murray bikes would last only about 500 miles, according to Ken Kifer's Bike Pages. Ken Kifer's Bike Pages says cheap Murray bikes of this era often had problems with wobbly wheels, poor-quality components and improper initial assembly. Because Murray's 1980s bikes were made on a low budget, problems with quality and durability were common.
Murray also manufactured budget BMX bikes on 20- to 24-inch frames during the early years of the decade. One of the rarer models was the Murray cruiser bike with a 26-inch frame, made for only a short period of time during the early 1980s. The English company Tomkins bought out Murray in 1988.ĭuring the 1980s, Murray bicycles varied in style and quality. Although sales volume increased, overall profits were disappointing. Murray's solution to this problem was to mass-produce bicycles cheaply and sell them through big-box discount stores. Bike manufacturers in general were battling declining sales during the 1980s. In 1982, Schwinn moved one-third of its overall production to the Murray factory in Nashville, Tennessee. Production of BMX bikes continued into the 1980s. bicycle manufacturers, Murray started making BMX-style bikes for the youth market in the late 1970s. Murray undercut competitors' prices and sold millions of bikes through department stores such as Sears. Production stopped during World War II, but in the postwar era, Murray became a successful low-cost bicycle manufacturer. In the 1930s, Murray started making bicycles, aimed primarily at the U.S. The first Murray factory was in Cleveland, Ohio. Initially, the manufacturing focus was on car parts, including gas tanks and fenders. The company making Murray bicycles was founded in 1919 as the Murray Ohio Manufacturing Co.