The character arc of Miriam Makeba

A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record

Born 4 March 1932 in Johannesburg. Died 9 November 2008 in Italy, aged seventy six, after a concert. Between the two sit six months in prison with her mother as an infant, church choirs, a film in 1959, a passport cancelled in 1960, a funeral she was not allowed to attend, testimony at the United Nations, a marriage that ended her American career, fifteen years in Guinea, and a return on 10 June 1990. The line below draws that whole life in order.

Tap the line to pluck it. Hover or tap any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of her life; the sources are at the foot of the page.

Who was Miriam Makeba?

They cancelled her passport, and she sang for thirty years.

Her father was Xhosa and her mother Swazi. When she was eighteen days old her mother was imprisoned for six months for selling homemade beer, and the infant went to prison with her. That is the first fact on the line and it is worth sitting with. She sang in church choirs at the Kilnerton Training Institution in Pretoria, in several African languages, and began singing professionally in the early nineteen fifties with groups including the Manhattan Brothers.

An appearance in the 1959 film Come Back, Africa opened everything. She performed in Venice, London and New York, made her American television debut on 1 November 1959, and Harry Belafonte became her mentor. Then in 1960, after the Sharpeville massacre, the South African government cancelled her passport. She could not go home. She could not attend her own mother's funeral. She was twenty eight, and the exile lasted three decades.

She testified against apartheid at the United Nations in 1962 and again in 1964. In 1968 she married the activist Stokely Carmichael, and her American bookings collapsed. The couple moved to Guinea in 1969 and she stayed fifteen years, performing across Africa rather than in the countries that had made her famous. She returned to South Africa on 10 June 1990. She was still working eighteen years later, and died of a heart attack on 9 November 2008 during a concert at Castel Volturno in Italy. Her line is worth reading because she kept singing through every single one of those decades.

The moments

Miriam Makeba's timeline.

The 1930s

22 Mar 1932

Six months in a cell

Setback, and it changed everything. Eighteen days old, and in prison, because her mother had sold beer.

The 1950s

~1950

Church choirs, several languages

Milestone, and it changed her direction. She could already sing in several languages before anybody was paying her.

~1954

The Manhattan Brothers

Milestone, and it changed her direction. Professional at last, in a country that had very few stages for her.

1 Nov 1959

Come Back, Africa

Milestone, and it changed everything. One film appearance, and then Venice, London, New York, inside a year.

The 1960s

Apr 1960

Her passport was cancelled

Setback, and it changed everything. Twenty eight years old, abroad, and told she could not come back.

1 May 1960

Go quiet, or speak at the UN

Crossroads, decided.

The paths laid out: testify, taken, or keep her head down. She testified twice, stayed out for thirty years, and came home on 10 June 1990.

Jun 1960

She missed her mother's funeral

Setback, and it changed everything. The woman she had been in prison with as a baby, buried without her.

16 Jul 1963

She testified at the UN

Milestone, and it changed everything. Twice, in front of the General Assembly, about the country that had just locked her out.

Mar 1968

Her American career collapsed

Setback, and it changed everything. The marriage happened and the bookings stopped. The record states both and explains neither.

~1969

Fifteen years in Guinea

Milestone, and it changed everything. Out of the American market entirely, and singing across a continent instead.

The 1990s

10 Jun 1990

She went home

Milestone, and it changed everything. Thirty years and two months after the passport was cancelled.

The 2000s

~2000

Still recording

Milestone, and it changed her direction. Home, at last, and still working.

The line ends 9 Nov 2008, in Italy, at seventy six, on stage. What it set moving is a voice that carried a country while the country would not have her: for thirty years, for a great many people, she was what South Africa sounded like.

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Miriam Makeba: frequently asked questions

What people ask about her line.

What was Miriam Makeba's character arc?

A singer who spent her first six months in prison with her mother, reached an international audience in 1959, had her passport cancelled the following year, spent three decades in exile singing anyway, and came home in 1990.

Why was Miriam Makeba exiled?

The South African government cancelled her passport in 1960, following the Sharpeville massacre, while she was abroad. She could not return, could not attend her own mother's funeral, and remained out of the country for three decades.

Did Miriam Makeba speak at the United Nations?

Yes, twice. She testified against apartheid before the United Nations in 1962 and again in 1964, from exile, having already had her passport cancelled by the government she was describing.

What happened to Miriam Makeba's American career?

It collapsed after her 1968 marriage to the activist Stokely Carmichael. The couple moved to Guinea in 1969, where she stayed fifteen years and performed primarily across Africa rather than in the countries that had made her famous.

When did Miriam Makeba return to South Africa?

On 10 June 1990, after the dismantling of apartheid, thirty years and two months after her passport had been cancelled in 1960. She continued recording and performing for another eighteen years, and was still working when she died.

How did Miriam Makeba die?

Of a heart attack on 9 November 2008, at seventy six, during a concert at Castel Volturno in Italy. She was working when it happened, which is how most of her line reads.

What was Miriam Makeba's childhood like?

It began in a prison cell. When she was eighteen days old her mother was jailed for six months for selling homemade beer and the infant went with her. She later sang in church choirs in Pretoria in several African languages.

Where does this timeline of Miriam Makeba's life come from?

From the public record. Character Arc drew every moment on this line from the sources listed at the foot of the page, and the kind and weight of each moment are our editorial reading. Miriam Makeba isn't a Member of Character Arc and has no connection with it, and no feeling is attributed to her.

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Sources

Miriam Makeba, English Wikipedia biography.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Miriam Makeba.
United Nations General Assembly records, 1962 and 1964 testimony.