Mark Mathabane
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Mark Mathabane, born Johannes Mathabane, is a tennis player, author, and lecturer. He was born in Alexandra, South Africa under the apartheid system. As he explains in his autobiographical book Kaffir Boy, Mathabane survived the oppressive environment by excelling at tennis and managed to earn a tennis scholarship to a school in the United States, escaping the brutal conditions of his homeland.
In America Mathabane changed his name from Johannes to Mark to avoid persecution by the South African government. Kaffir Boy helped to alert people in the United States to the cruelty of apartheid, especially after it was featured on Oprah Winfrey's talk show in 1985. Mathabane served as a White House Fellow under U.S. President Bill Clinton. Since the end of apartheid in South Africa, Mathabane continues to write books and articles that address human rights issues around the world. Mathabane lives with his wife, Gail, their two children, and his extended family in North Carolina.
Books
- Kaffir Boy
- Kaffir Boy in America: An Encounter with Apartheid
- African Women: Three Generations
- Love in Black and White
- Ubuntu
- Miriam's Song
External Links
- Mathabane.com (http://www.mathabane.com/)