Brutus' cause: Freedom and justice were just the start

Political activist Dennis Brutus was described by a colleague at the University of Pittsburgh as "tireless." The former Pitt professor and black studies department director, who died from prostate cancer at his home in South Africa last weekend, crammed a lot of work and living into his 85 years.

Mr. Brutus is remembered by former students and colleagues, not only at Pitt but also at the University of Denver and Northwestern University, as a poet and teacher who encouraged an ethic of global engagement.

His own life could serve as a blueprint for principled action. Considered "colored" because of his mixed-race heritage, Mr. Brutus refused to accept the limits put on him by South Africa's apartheid regime or his well-meaning allies in the black liberation struggle.

Shot by police while fleeing arrest as a young man, Dennis Brutus almost died while waiting for the arrival of an ambulance that would transport "blacks" to the hospital. For his protests against the government, he was arrested and sent to prison for 18 months.

While incarcerated, Mr. Brutus continued to write poetry. A few years after his release, he went into exile, where he ramped up his campaign to get South Africa kicked out of the Olympics. The country was expelled from the international games in 1970.

In 1971, Mr. Brutus emigrated to America, where his academic career flowered. He also fought an attempt to deport him in the early 1980s. He returned to South Africa to teach in the 1990s and opposed policies he found inconsistent with the revolution.

Throughout his life, Dennis Brutus stood firm against injustice. In his youth, he refused a prestigious poetry award given to "blacks" because it was racially restricted. When South Africa's Department of Arts and Culture tried to induct him into South Africa's Sports Hall of Fame in 2007 he rejected the honor because those "who championed racist sport" were honored alongside its victims.

In his last days, he campaigned for sane environmental policies against the threat of global warming. Dennis Brutus refused to look back with regret when he could move forward with purpose.