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Dennis Brutus, the prolific poet and impassioned activist who was imprisoned alongside Nelson Mandela in South Africa, died at his home in Cape Town this morning after battling prostate cancer. He was 85.
Mr. Brutus was exiled from his native South Africa for more than 20 years, and he successfully lobbied to ban the apartheid regime's all-white Olympic teams from the games.
During his exile, he traveled around the world, spending many years in Pittsburgh. At the University of Pittsburgh, where he was a professor, he directed the Black Studies department, now the Africana Studies department. He was beloved by many local writers and activists, who today recalled his gentle nature and devotion to human rights, whether in words or action.
Legacy.com: Patrick Bond, director of the Center for Civil Society at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, where Mr. Brutus was an honorary professor in his last years, said Mr. Brutus was sharp and engaged through his final days of life.
Despite his illness, he was still sending letters to newspaper editors this month about the international climate conference in Copenhagen. He was particularly passionate about environmental issues recently, said Dr. Bond, and he fervently wished he could be in Copenhagen himself.
Pitt Department of History Chair Marcus Rediker, who knew Mr. Brutus well, said he was awed by Mr. Brutus's tirelessness.
"I called him a world-wide mover and shaker," he said. "You could never be sure at any given moment which continent Dennis was on, what particular cause of justice he was taking up."
Arrangements for services remain unclear today.
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