Miriam Makeba

Who is Miriam Makeba?

Miriam Makeba, nicknamed 'Mama Africa,' was a South African singer, songwriter, and civil rights activist who became one of the first internationally celebrated voices of African music. Born in Johannesburg in 1932, she rose to fame in the 1950s with the group the Manhattan Brothers and later the all-female group the Skylarks before appearing in the 1959 anti-apartheid documentary 'Come Back, Africa,' which brought her to international attention. After testifying before the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid about the injustices of the regime in 1963, the South African government revoked her citizenship and passport, forcing her into a 30-year exile. During this period she recorded hit songs such as 'Pata Pata' and 'The Click Song,' won a Grammy Award in 1966 for her collaborative album with Harry Belafonte, and used her global platform to raise awareness of apartheid's brutality. She returned to South Africa in 1990 at Nelson Mandela's invitation and continued performing and advocating for human rights until her death in 2008.

Sources: Miriam Makeba with James Hall, Makeba: My Story (New American Library, 1988) · Recording Academy, Grammy Award records (1966 Best Folk Recording) · United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid, testimony record (1963)