Miriam Makeba was a South African singer , actress, , anti-apartheid and 

civil-
rights activist. She was born in Johannesburg, South Africa on march 3rd 1932 ,
sixteen years before the official start of apartheid. In 1960 she was exiled from South
Africa. She was not able to return until 1990. Miriam Makeba used her musical talent to
actively fight against apartheid in South Africa and for civil rights in the United States.
Miriam is famously known as Mama Africa and was the most well known female singer
of Africa. She was one of South Africa’s precious jewels, she was the first African woman
to win a grammy in 1966. Most of her song was cry to the world to look at the
immortality of apartheid

Miriam Makeba’s activism started when she left South Africa and gained an outsider’s
perspective. When Makeba first left Africa she traveled to Europe. She later testified at
the United Nations against apartheid. In her testimony she asked the United Nations to
show compassion for the actions of Black South Africans. She also appealed to them to
try and stop the coming tragedy and free South Africa’s unrightfully jailed leaders). Upon
hearing this the South Africa government revoked Makeba’s citizenship and passport.
She was not aware of this until she tried to reenter the country for her mother’s funeral.

Having been banned in South Africa, she shared with the world the beautiful folk music
of South Africa. Her songs were protest songs against the apartheid system but also
about justice and equality. In her songs she painted a picture for the world to see the
conditions that black people were living in during the apartheid system. Through music,
she was an ambassador of the struggle in South Africa. She said:

During her exile from South Africa, Makeba also dedicated her life to fighting for Civil
Rights in America. During the late 1950s and 1960s . Black pop culture and arts
exploded in the United States. Makeba along with fellow artists Nina Simone, Abbey
Lincoln, Diahann Carroll and Cicely Tyson were all in New York performing and pushing
for civil rights. These five artists traveled the country and the world singing against this
oppression. Their home base was Manhattan or Harlem

Mama Africa held concerts everywhere. In 2008 while performing in Italy she had a
heart attack and then suddenly passed away. From the time she could sing to her death,
she used her voice. She used it to be an inspiration and preacher. She called out injustice
in South Africa and the United States. She was able to translate her popularity to help
change popular views across the world. And in her lifetime she saw the success of the
civil rights movement and the end of apartheid.
This is an old anti-apartheid song that warned the mastermind of the "apartheid
mentality". She called the Prime Minister Verwvoed to be careful. The song warns him
that when they get a hold of him, he will regret it. Ndodemnyama means beware or be
careful. This is one of the first resistance song created by Miriam Makeba against the
whole Apartheid philosophy.