By Donald Van Deusen
The death of Anglican Archbishop Trevor Huddleston at 84 just a few months
ago, on April 22nd, appropriately resulted in multiple obits paying tribute
to his work leading the British campaign to end apartheid (for which he was
knighted) in South Africa where he served. He had helped found BritainÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs
Anti-Apartheid Movement in 1959 and led its campaigns for sanctions against
the White-led government. Mr. Huddleston was educated at Oxford, became a monk
in 1939 and two years later was working in the black slums near Johannesburg.
From the start, he fought against the terrible poverty and laws that made
blacks "non citizens" in their own land.
South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a friend for more than 50 years, was
quoted in the Philadelpia Inquirer obit as saying, "If you could say that anybody single-
handedly made apartheid a worldwide issue, then that person was Trevor
Huddleston." He did this, noted, South African President Nelson Mandela, "at
great risk to his own personal safety and well-being."
A touching, but largely untold story of the Archbishop Huddleston was relayed
to me a few years ago by the Rev. Warren H. Davis, the retired, but still
working rector of St. ChristopherÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs Church in Gladwyne, we wrote about
recently as the "jazz priest." of Philadelphia. He heard it from Mr.
Huddleston when he was visiting here some 20 years ago. ItÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs a simple story
telling of the multiple and sometimes seemingly miraculous effects and of
the little things we may do to help one another. In a sense, it is like John
GuareÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs play about the "Six Degrees of Separation" that connect each of us to
everyone else in the world.
During HuddlestonÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs tenure as an Anglican priest in the black slums of Soweto,
a boy child of one of his parishioners was gravely ill. Like many South
African boys, he had fallen under the spell of American jazz and the one thing
he wanted more than anything else in the world was a trumpet.
Serving as a monk to a poverty-stricken people left Huddleston with few
financial resources to simply just go out and buy the trumpet for the boy to
ease a childÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs illness and , just perhaps, give him something to live for. One
long shot possibility occurred to him. Louis ArmstrongÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂAmericaÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂs "jazz
ambassador" and arguably, the greatest jazz trumpet player of all timeÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂwas
appearing in Johannesburg on one of his world tours.
Huddleston went to see Louis and told him the story, asking if Armstrong might
be of help in possibly getting a trumpet for the boy. As soon as Louis heard
the story, he held out his hand, holding the trumpet, he had just used in his
performance. The boy would not only have his trumpet, but he would have one
played the acknowledged finest trumpet player who ever lived, Louis
Armstrong. Huddleston was overcome at LouisÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ characteristic generosity.
The boy to whom Huddleston gave his horn was, as you might imagine, nearly
speechless with joy. He not only recovered from his illness, but went on to
become a world-renowned jazz trumpeter himself. His name was Hugh Masekela,
who has starred all over the world and appeared here just a few years ago in
Philadelphia in the Forrest Theater production of "Sarafina."
From "The Weekly Press & University City Review" in Philadelphia, Pa.