The Blue Crane of Africa - Miriam Makeba

Born in apartheid-era South Africa, an artist, whose life fused music and activism in a remarkable supernova, symbolized the struggles and triumphs of her continent. The artist is Miriam Makeba, affectionately known as "Mama Africa." She was a pioneering artist and activist, and above all, she was the hope that Africa needed at a crucial moment in their history. Makeba’s blend of African rhythms with jazz, folk, and pop through her unmistakable voice conveyed the spirit of her homeland to her global audiences. However, Makeba was much more than an artist—she was a fearless advocate for justice who challenged apartheid and spoke out against oppression regardless of the dire predicament she had to face in her personal life. This is the story of a Black South African artist who, against all odds, became a household name in the US and whose voice became synonymous with freedom, dignity, and cultural pride. 

Miriam Makeba was born on March 4, 1932, in Prospect Township, near Johannesburg, South Africa. Her birth name was Zenzile Miriam Makeba. With Swazi and Xhosa parents, she grew up in a working-class household and it was during a time when apartheid- South Africa’s institutionalized racial segregation-was tightening its grip on the nation. Makeba was forced to find jobs as a child following her father’s death. Makeba grew up with her family's musical tastes; her mother played several traditional instruments, and her elder brother collected records of Duke Ellington and Ella Fitzgerald. Despite the hardships, her family’s cultural pride and admiration for music were instilled in her and she always had a deep connection to music and her African roots. 

Makeba’s musical journey began at a young age when she started singing in her local church choir. Her voice was rich, emotive, and filled with natural charisma and she stood out among her peers. She became a professional vocalist in 1954, although she was performing primarily in southern Africa at that time. During the 50s, she performed with the Cuban Brothers and the Manhattan Brothers, and with this group, her career started. The Manhattan Brothers drew their musical elements from American ragtime, swing, and doo-wop and incorporated them with African choral and Zulu harmonies. She was a part of a female ensemble, the Skylarks. This group also had a mixture of jazz, traditional African melodies, and Western pop in their music with harmonization that had never been heard before-they were real trendsetters. 

Makeba’s music was a vibrant picturesque tapestry of African culture- her homeland’s rich musical traditions. Music had already become her solace and means of expression amid the racial oppression that shaped her early years and years to come. By the late 1950s, her soothing and powerful voice had made her well-known in South Africa. Her international recognition came with her appearance in the anti-apartheid documentary Come Back, Africa by American independent filmmaker Lionel Rogosin. The film had a significant impact on African cinema and Makeba as well. Her appearance in the film piqued the interest of Harry Belafonte and some other American artists and performers. With their help, Makeba settled in the United States in 1959. 

In the United States, she crafted a successful singing and recording career. A variety of popular songs were released; however, her excellence was unparalleled in Xhosa and Zulu songs, which were new and fresh to Western audiences.  Belafonte became her mentor and helped her with her first solo recordings which included two of her most recognized songs "Pata Pata" and a version of the traditional Xhosa song "Qongqothwane" with the former being described by Musician magazine as a "groundbreaking Afropop gem." Her US music debut happened on The Steve Allen Show in Los Angeles for a television audience of 60 million. On her New York debut at the Village Vanguard, she performed in Xhosa and Zulu in front of Miles Davis and Duke Ellington and needless to say, her performance garnered strongly positive reviews from critics. 

Everything was like a smooth ride for Makeba, but her ordeal was not over yet. In 1960, happened the Sharpeville massacre and two of her relatives were killed. Soon after that, she received the news of her mother’s death. Her daughter was still living in South Africa and Makeba wanted to go back to her country. However, she was unable to do so as the government denied her reentry into South Africa. Although she managed to bring her daughter to the US, something had changed in Makeba. 

Up until the massacre, Makeba’s music rarely touched on apartheid or any other form of injustice. Following the Sharpeville killings, Makeba realized most of her countrymen were stuck in a crumbling country that she was fortunate enough to escape. She felt a responsibility to help and had an increase in awareness of apartheid and the anti-apartheid movement. She became an anti-apartheid ambassador in exile and started opening her songs with a brief English introduction to educate the world about apartheid. In 1963, Makeba went on to address the United Nations Special Committee on the Policies of Apartheid. Makeba’s advocacy did not sit well with the South African government. They banned her and her records in South Africa, and even her name was erased from official narratives. 

While all of these were going on, Makeba was undeterred. In her exile, she came in contact with prominent activists, including Nelson Mandela and Stokely Carmichael leader of the Black Power movement in the United States. She and Carmichael got married later in 1968. But, her marriage to Carmichael brought her a wave of criticism since Carmichael had been marked by many as a “black power-monger”. Under scrutiny from U.S. authorities, her tours were canceled and she was blacklisted by the American music industry. The couple had no other way other than relocating to Guinea, where Makeba continued her activism alongside then-President Ahmed Sékou Touré. 

Following Mandela’s release from prison, Makeba eventually returned to South Africa in 1990. It was a joyous and triumphant moment for her as a South African and an activist. She breathed in the air of her free country with her own people. In 2008, during a concert in Italy, she suffered a heart attack after singing her hit song "Pata Pata." She was taken to a hospital, but it was too late. 

Miriam Makeba broke barriers for African artists on the global stage and used her music as a weapon against injustice. Her songs were more than mere melodies; they were wails and cries for freedom and equality. Mama Africa may be gone, but her voice, courage, and message live on, continuing to reverberate across generations.