NewAfricanWoman Issue 49 - Flipbook - Page 30
The legacy of iconic singer
Miriam
Makeba
South Africa’s world-famous
singer and activist Miriam Makeba
(1932-2008) would have turned
93 on 4 March. Born Zenzile
Miriam Makeba in Johannesburg’s
Prospect township, she had a
life of remarkable global impact.
She 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.
and her art of activism
By Nomfundo Xaluva
espite being banned from her home country
for her outspokenness and resistance to
apartheid, Makeba went on to build an
illustrious international career, performing on some
of the world’s most prestigious stages. She would
be 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.
In commemorating what would have been Makeba’s
90th birthday, it is fitting to pay tribute to her legacy
of 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.
D
20 l New African Woman l April 2023
Photography:Shutterstock/oliverdelahaye
EARLY YEARS
Her musical beginnings in the 1940s were at
Kilnerton College, a Methodist elementary school
where she sang in the school choir. The school’s
alumni include South Africa’s former chief justice
Dikgang Moseneke, Professor Khabi Mngoma, a
hugely influential figure in music education, as well
as struggle icon Lilian Ngoyi.
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. In 1952, she was cast in
Alf Herbert’s African Jazz and Variety production
showcasing black talent. It was presented mainly to