Born: 4 March 1932, South Africa
Died: 9 November 2008
Country most active: South Africa
Also known as: Mama Africa
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Zenzile Miriam Makeba, nicknamed Mama Africa, was a South African singer and civil rights activist known for becoming the first African artist to globally popularize African music.
Makeba was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on March 4, 1932. Her professional career began when she was featured in the South African jazz group the Manhattan Brothers in the 1950s and made her U.S. debut on November 1, 1959 on The Steve Allen Show. While traveling to London she met Harry Belafonte who helped her gain entry into the US as well as fame there. She tried to return to South Africa in 1960 but discovered that her passport was cancelled, making her an exile. Later that year she signed with RCA Victor and released Miriam Makeba, her first U.S. studio album.
Throughout the 1960s she spoke out against apartheid in South Africa. In 1968 she met and married prominent civil rights leader and Black Panther Stokely Carmichael, who she would go on to divorce in 1973. Makeba continued on in her activism and music career and in 1990 she would return to her home country of South Africa on a French passport after much persuasion by Nelson Mandela. Makeba died on November 9, 2008 after falling ill while taking part in a concert organised to support writer Roberto Saviano in his stand against the Camorra, a mafia-like organisation local to the Region of Campania. She was a strong supporter of human rights and continued her activism to her last breath.