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Miriam Makeba
'Mama Africa' — singer & anti-apartheid activist
The voice that carried Africa's freedom to the world.
The rise
A gifted singer, Makeba rose from Johannesburg to global stardom — then was exiled for speaking out against apartheid.
What they did
She testified at the United Nations, won a Grammy, and turned her music into a weapon against racism and for African dignity.
The full picture
Statelessness, surveillance and personal hardship shadowed her decades in exile; she only returned home after Mandela's release.
Why it matters
Makeba proved culture is diplomacy — 'Mama Africa' gave the continent a voice the world could not ignore.
“I look at an ant and see myself: a native South African, endowed with a strength much greater than my size…”