Episode #104: Black Music Month Spotlight On”Mama Africa” Miriam Makeba with Dr. Martin L. Boston

Black Power Talks

June is Black Music Month. On this episode of Black Power Talks, we uplift Miriam Makeba. Miriam Makeba’s music played an important role in the African Revolution by building bridges across the colonial borders that divide African people.

We discussed the role of Makeba's music and feature three of her songs: "Into Yam", "Pata Pata", and "Malcom X." We talk about the importance of her appearance in the film Come Back Africa (1959) and the importance of the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre in her own political transformation. Makeba had two uncles killed in the massacre. As Makeba appeared on the international stage. We discuss her shifts from the New African Movement and SophiaTown Renaissance to her All-African and anti-colonial position.

On this episode, we are joined by Dr. Martin L. Boston, assistant professor of Pan-AfricanStudies and Ethnic Studies at California State University Sacramento. Dr. Boston is the author of the doctoral thesis, “Be(Long)ing: New Africanism & South African Cultural Producers Confronting State Repression in an Era of Exile" and other recent articles on culture and the antiapartheid movement.

Black Power Talks is produced by WBPU 96.3 FM "Black Power 96" in St. Petersburg, Florida. It is hosted by Dr. Matsemela Odom, Dexter Mlimwengu and Solyana Bekele, bringing an African Internationalist perspective to the important issues of our world.