Miriam Makeba, also known as Mama Africa, is well known as a brave woman, who used her talent to fight against the apartheid system in South Africa in the 1950s. The apartheid system was a period when Africans suffered from segregation, and discrimination in all they did, and women suffered more harm. Despite the chauvinistic environment she grew up in, Miriam, took advantage of her voice and joined her cousin’s band that performed for white privileges, where she sang a mixture of jazz love songs and songs that rallied against apartheid and gender discrimination. Miriam addressed the United Nations General Assembly twice and was awarded the Dag Hammerskojd Peace Prize. In 1966, she won a Grammy award and became the first black female artist to have a Worldwide Top 10 song.
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Source: Miriam Makeba: Feminist, Activist, Musician
