What Johnny Clegg taught South Africans about Nelson Mandela
Dear Reader,
In 1999, South African pop star Johnny Clegg was performing in Frankfurt, Germany, when Nelson Mandela sneaked on stage. Mr. Clegg was singing 鈥淎simbonanga,鈥� his 1987 hit about Mr. Mandela鈥檚 imprisonment. Unbeknownst to the band, Mr. Mandela started dancing behind them.
"The audience erupted and I thought, 'Wow! they know my song,鈥� but it was Mandela, walking behind me on stage,鈥�" Mr. Clegg听.
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Growing up in South Africa, I witnessed firsthand how Mr. Clegg, who died this week, helped change his fellow countrymen鈥檚 minds about Mr. Mandela and apartheid. The first concert I ever saw was Mr. Clegg鈥檚 arena show in Johannesburg in 1989. The songwriter had a multiracial band and听听traditional Inhlangwini dances. His high kicks would put a karate master to shame.听
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Mr. Clegg鈥檚 songs combined English and Zulu (he鈥檇 once lived in a hostel among black migrant workers) but his music had a universal appeal. At a time when white South Africans were largely disinterested in domestic music, hits such as听听and听introduced us to the riches of African pop. Yet it wasn鈥檛 just Mr. Clegg鈥檚 protest lyrics that spoke loudest. It was how he lived by example. Up through his Final Journey Tour, he exuded a grace and joy that reflected his love of people and faith in humanity.
Mr. Clegg once told an interviewer that the long struggle to end apartheid taught him a lesson in patience. Change, as he noted, can take time.听
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鈥淧eople waited for 30, 40 years,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t bore fruit. It taught me that the new South Africa can鈥檛 be perfect. The new South Africa is going to take another 40 years to be truly flourishing and truly democratic and truly offer its citizenship a flowering future.鈥澨�
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Stephen Humphries,听Culture听writer
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