It is crazy to think that apartheid, the system of institutionalized racism in South Africa, was abolished way too recently in 1991. It was just twenty-six years ago that South African people were classified into four different racial groups with the goal of maintaining white supremacy. It gave rise to some of the most influential protest movements, within the country, by characters and heroes such as Nelson Mandela, as well as on a global scale. The arts and specifically music had a huge role in the fight against apartheid, with singer Miriam Makeba as a leading musician campaigning against the cruel injustices of apartheid in South Africa.
I’m sure you will recognize Makeba when listening to her performing her awesome “Pata Pata”:
However, today we will be focusing on her performing of the song “Soweto Blues,” by her one of her husbands, which talks about the 1976 Soweto uprising in South Africa. It was decreed in 1974 that the language Afrikaans was to be taught as much as English in schools. Because Afrikaans is inherently linked with racism, between 10,000 and 20,000 black students took to the streets of Soweto to peacefully protest the new law. The police quickly applied their forces very violently, leaving thousands of people injured and around 100-700 dead (the number of casualties is unclear).
Upon this tremendous tragedy, Miriam Makeba performed “Soweto Blues” at every chance. Its lyrics exclaiming,
“There was a full moon on the golden city Looking at the door was the man without pity / Accusing everyone of conspiracy / Tightening the curfew charging people with walking / Yes, the border is where he was waiting / Waiting for the children, frightened and running / A handful got away but all the others / Hurried their chain without any publicity.”
Miriam Makeba had an extensive musical career and participated in various bands, jazz bands, musicals, and films in Africa since very young. She got to travel to Venice to receive an award for her role in the controversial movie Come Back Africa, a documentary on South Africa. Makeba was soon in trouble with the African authorities for it because it portrayed their true and terrible side, and they obviously didn’t like it. She decided to not come back to South Africa, even if it meant she would practically get no payment for her performances. South Africa then revoked her passport, having Makeba officially in exile and preventing her from attending her mother’s funeral in 1960.
Miriam took refuge in London before coming over to the United States, where she would shoot to fame, performing for president John F. Kennedy, as well as alongside Nina Simone and other legendary artists in different occasions. She became a major activist against the injustice of the apartheid system.
As if her stunning singing wasn’t enough, she even went on to testify for the United Nations Special Committee against Apartheid:
No wonder she is often called “Mama Africa!”
Let’s connect this to present day events, shall we? This movement against apartheid very clearly connects to Colin Kaepernick’s refusal to stand during the rendition of “the Star Spangled Banner” in protest and awareness of the oppression people of color are still living every day in the United States. I find the discussion on the various transformations of the anthem very meaningful and relevant to the crucial issue at hand—the oppression of an entire group of people because of their race—and directly connects to the music of protest and activism against apartheid in South Africa. The Civil Rights Movement in the U.S. and the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa shared various similarities and both achieved a lot for people of color in terms of legal equality. However, there is still a lot to be done in terms of social equality, and that’s what characters like Colin Kaepernick are rightfully protesting.