Miriam Makeba

Mama Africa: Miriam Makeba Film Review

Reverential Biopic Chronicles Rise, Fall and Triumphant Return of Legendary South African Singer/Activist Zenzile Miriam Makeba had the misfortune of being born black in Johannesburg, South Africa in 1932, which relegated her to second-class citizenship. In fact, she spent the first six months of her life behind bars with her mother, a sangoma (witch doctor), sent to prison days just after her birth. Luckily, her mom was also an amateur singer, and that was a gift Miriam inherited. She married at 17 and had a child a year later, but was soon abandoned by her abusive husband. So, she started