Singer and Activist Miriam Makeba ("Mama Afrika") Dies at 76

Miriam Makeba, the South African singer and vocal critic of apartheid, died last night after performing in Italy. She was 76 years old. After she left for a tour in 1960, the South African government revoked her passport, forcing her into exile for over 30 years. In those years, Ms. Makeba lived in United States, France, Guinea and Belgium, and served as a constant reminder and voice to the outside world of the struggles for justice, freedom, and equality for black South Africans. When she spoke out against apartheid at the United Nations in 1963, state broadcasters banned her stirring music as well. She returned home by invitation from Nelson Mandela, after the collapse of apartheid in 1990.

While in forced exile, Makeba was so popular that she sang at the 1962 birthday party of President John F. Kennedy. More importantly, she toured with Harry Belafonte, winning a Grammy award with him for their 1965 album, "An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba." The folk album documented the political plight of black South Africans. Makeba became renowned for her distinctive style, which was a combination of folk music, jazz, and black township rhythms. In 1987, her performance with Paul Simon at his Graceland concert in Zimbabwe brought Makeba to the attention of another generation.

In addition to a busy professional life, Makeba married several times. Her husbands included Hugh Masekela, who also spent many years in exile, and American civil rights activist Stokely Carmichael. Sadly, her only child died in 1985, but Makeba is survived by two grandchildren and three great grandchildren. However, through her music, the woman known as "Mama Afrika" will continue to bring her charm and warmth - as well as knowledge - to millions of people around the world.

Makebo is in many ways the epitome of the feminist mantra "the personal is the political." Intern Margaret at Jezebel noted that Makeba said in an interview earlier this year that:

People think I consciously decided to tell the world what was happening in South Africa... No! I was singing about my life, and in South Africa we always sang about what was happening to us — especially the things that hurt us.

Those songs and their messages meant many things to millions of people around the world. Jill Miller Zimon at Writes Like She Talks reminisced about growing up listening to Makeba's music as a child in West Haven, CT:

I loved hearing her name being spoken as much as I enjoyed hearing the music of Miriam Makeba, which was a staple in my home in the 1960s and 70s when I was a child... all these names were clues to me then as they are now that my parents were very interested in the civil rights movement and the political events of those years.

In response to Jill's remembrance, BRM commented:

We are so sad... I spoke to several under 30’s today at the gym about her and it made me even more sad when they looked blank at the mention of her name. I suppose it is good in a way that their messages about freedom in South Africa no longer need to resonate so passionately. But still, I wish the younger generation had heard of her.

While I am a few years beyond the "under 30s" label, I admit that when I first heard that Makeba passed, I had the blank look on my face that BRM experienced in the gym. It is really frustrating to me that, like pioneering journalist Nancy Hicks Maynard, I only learned about this amazing woman as a result of her death. (I blame this on an overburdened and outdated public education system that shortchanges both modern history and the achievements of people of color, but that's another story.) However, at least the work of this great artist and human rights activitist lives on for those of us who only found out what we were missing when it was too late. The tribute to Makeba at Jezebel features several clips posted in the the comments. Undercover Black Man has a clip from the 1959 documentary, Come Back, Africa which features Makeba. (Belafonte invited Makeba to the United States after he saw the film.)

Active and singing until her final hour (she was performing at a concert against mafia violence in Italy before she had a heart attack), Miriam Makeba is, as Jacob Zuma, head of the ruling African National Congress, said, "an African heroine... a freedom fighter and outstanding African cultural figure.”

Suzanne also blogs about life at Campaign for Unshaved Snatch (CUSS) & Other Rants. Her first book, Off the Beaten (Subway) Track, is about unusual things to see and do in New York City.