The National Geographic has released a list of some of Africa’s Greatest
Innovators in Arts and Sciences. Compiled by distinguished professor
Henry Louis Gates Jr., director of the W.E.B. Du Bois Research Institute
at Harvard University, the list is part of The Innovators Project, a series of
profiles on people who are transforming their fields by creating,
educating, provoking, and delighting.
Check out the list (in no particular order) HERE:
1. Miriam Makeba (1932-2008)Also known as Mama Africa, Makeba was
a Grammy Award-winning singer from South Africa. Her musical style
ranged from jazz to Afro-soul to marabi, a type of popular music that
originated in the black townships of South Africa. The first artist from
Africa to popularize African music around the world, Makeba was also a
civil rights activist and one of the most outspoken opponents of the
apartheid regime. As a result, the South African government revoked her
passport in 1960 and three years later denied her the right to return to her
country. After 30 years in exile, Makeba was able to return only when the
system of apartheid was dissolved. She died in 2008 of a heart attack
after performing her hit song "Pata Pata" at a concert in Italy organized to
take a stand against the Camorra, a mafia-like
organization.
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