Miriam Makeba

South African poet and anti-apartheid activist Dennis Brutus, who campaigned successfully for an Olympic ban on the white-rule regime, has died, his family announced Sunday. He was 85. His son Anthony said Brutus died in his sleep on Saturday at his home in Cape Town after a battle with prostate cancer. Brutus was jailed with Nelson Mandela on Robben Island for a period in the 1960s. The Nelson Mandela Foundation said Brutus' contribution to the struggle against apartheid and his efforts to bring about social justice in the world "are appreciated and will be remembered for many years to come." One of his most ... Read Full Story

South African poet and former political prisoner Dennis Brutus has died. He was 85. Brutus' publisher, Chicago-based Haymarket Books, says the writer died in his sleep at his home in Cape Town on Saturday. Brutus was an anti-apartheid activist who was jailed at Robben Island with Nelson Mandela in the mid-1960s. His activism led Olympic officials to ban South Africa from competition from 1964 until apartheid ended nearly 30 years later. Exiled from South Africa in 1966, Brutus later moved to the United States and taught literature and African studies at Northwestern University and the University of Pittsburgh. Over the years, he wrote more ... Read Full Story

WHAT WE LEAVE BEHIND IS A FORM OF THE HAPPINESS WE PERSONIFIED As you may know, some beauty walked the earth through the mortal body of Miriam Makeba and now leaves only her spiritual footprints ~ as she left her body behind and moved on to sing elsewhere. Music was her medium. So too, was her integrity. Music is a gift. So too, Miriam Makeba. Source of the Media Statement below is www.miriammakeba.co.za Issued by: ZM Makeba Trust and Siyandisa Music 10th November 2008 Johannesburg The world was dealt a blow early this morning, in a small town outside Naples, Italy when Zenzile Miriam ... Read Full Story

Heart attack claims life of inspirational artist Just minutes after performing on stage at a political benefit concert in Italy on Sunday night, legendary South African singer Miriam Makeba suffered a heart attack and died before she could receive hospital treatment. She was 76. Makeba had been in semi-retirement since 2005 after a decorated recording career to match her colourful and often controversial private life. Born in Johannesburg, she began her professional career in the 1950s singing with the Manhattan Brothers before forming her own band, The Skylarks, who provided a South African twist on the girl group sounds coming out of the States ... Read Full Story

About the Author: Gregory L. Garland serves as Media and Outreach Coordinator for the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of African Affairs. Two great leaders of the struggle against apartheid have recently passed away, leaving South Africa and the rest of the world a better place for their heroism: Miriam Makeba and Helen Suzman. In fact, it is impossible to imagine modern South Africa without these two very different women who devoted their lives to ending state-sanctioned racism. Miriam Makeba, who died November 10 at the age of 76, burst onto the world scene starring in a 1959 anti-apartheid documentary, Come Back, Africa . ... Read Full Story