MY WALL OF FAME: MONTH OF AMAZONS: MIRIAM MAKEB
MIRIAM MAKEBA (MAMA AFRICA)
“Makeba’s voice was a surface onto which Americans projected their
own narratives about Africa and American race relations” …Barber Sizemore
"Makeba’s legacy is strong enough to stand on its own two feet. Her
name needs no co-anchor. She fought more with her “artivism” than many a man
did with their armed weaponry."....Bishop Desmond Tutu
Miriam Makeba (nicknamed MAMA AFRICA) was a South African singer,
songwriter, actress and civil rights activist. She was an advocate against
apartheid and white-minority rule in South Africa.
Born Zenzile Miriam Makeba in Johannesburg’s Prospect township on
4th March 1932, Miriam Makeba would have been 91 in March 2023.
She was Africa’s world foremost singer and activist.
Makeba contributed to black people’s struggle for liberation and
defended the integrity of African identity and artistry while living in a land
absent of her ancestry.
Her activism and outspokenness against apartheid led to her being
banned in her home country and living in exile where she built a successful
international career in music and entertainment.
Miriam Makeba was celebrated
and persecuted in the US and
invited to perform at the independence celebrations of numerous African
countries before eventually returning to South Africa later in life.
Makeba is remembered for her activism not only as a black African woman often living in exile in a western society but also as an artist who used her craft to teach and conscientise the world about Africa.
Her musical beginnings in the 1940s were at Kilnerton College, a Methodist elementary school where she sang in the school choir.
Makeba’s break into the professional circuit was with the singing group the Cuban Brothers. She later joined the well-established Manhattan Brothers. They sang vernacular verses over what was a predominantly American swing and ragtime sound.
She was a founding member of the famous all-woman singing
group the Skylarks.
Makeba featured in the controversial documentary film, Come Back Africa which depicted the harsh conditions under which black South Africans were forced to live by the apartheid government.
Because of her role in the movie she was banned by the apartheid state
from returning home, not even to bury her own mother. This marked the beginning
of her life in exile.
While in London, she met African
American folk singer and activist Harry Belafonte who played a significant role in her
career in the US, forming half of the duet on their Grammy-winning album An
Evening with Belafonte & Makeba.
Mama Africa’s artistry extended beyond the stage, beyond her
impeccable vocals and her sophisticated interpretations of international and
South African repertoire. Her very presence in the United States stood as a
form of activism against the apartheid government who had attempted to silence
her and erase her from the consciousness of her people.
Makeba’s life in the US coincided with the experiences of
black people in America and South Africa suffering immense injustice, marginalization, racism and inequality.
Hughe Masekela, in his
book Soweto Blues, wrote “There’s nobody in Africa who made the world more aware of
what was happening in South Africa than Miriam Makeba. This was because of the
way in which she described the songs. Unwittingly she educated African American
artists.”
African Americans saw in the South African not only what they were
but also the possibilities of what they could become, expressed through song,
dance, dress, language and ideology.
Makeba’s influence transcends generations to reveal itself in
contemporary cultural practices. “We are because she was.” Makeba’s legacy is too often suffocated by the
complexity surrounding her intellectual property as
well as her relationships with the men in her life.
The role of these male figures in Makeba’s life may have been
meaningful but it is also grossly overstated. Makeba’s legacy is strong enough
to stand on its own two feet. Her name needs no co-anchor. She fought more with
her “artivism” than many a man did with their armed weaponry.
Mama Africa” was a stalwart and an icon of African liberation and
identity. Her legacy carved the way for future generations to live a life of
authenticity, fearlessness and bravery.
Miriam Makeba died of a cardiac arrest at midnight on 10th
November, 2008 in Castel Volturno, Italy. She was aged 76.
Comments