MATHABANE

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Newspaper Articles by and about Mark

Articles by or about Mark Mathabane are available for free. Some can be downloaded from this page and others are available only in hard copy. To order a hard copy of an article, simply send your request, the name of the article, and a stamped, self-addressed envelope to Mathabane Books, 1320 NW Frazier Court,
Portland, Oregon, 97229

South African: Youths ignore past
Fall of apartheid taken for granted, writer says
The Atlanta Journal Constitution 02/04/2004

A decade after the end of apartheid, Mark Mathabane wonders if a younger generation of black South Africans fully realizes what the struggle was all about.

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If you assign my book, don't censor it
The Washington Post 11/08/99

This article is Mark's defense of his memoir, Kaffir Boy, against parents who want the book banned or censored. Teachers who are facing such challenges are free to use the article in mounting a defense of their right to assign students books that broaden their horizons.

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Whatever Happened to the War Against AIDS?
The Oregonian 10/29/01

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How Hatred is Learned and Unlearned
The Oregonian 9-10-01

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A Black South African Learns Not to Hate
USA TODAY 3-23-2001

For me, Black History Month is more than just a time to celebrate black achievements and culture. It is also a time to reflect on what I can personally do to help heal the racial divide.

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Book Plumbs the Agony of a Man, and His Nation
The New York Times

This article about Mathabane describes his childhood, his odyssey in America and the impact the publication of Kaffir Boy had on the publishing world and on him. (Available in hard copy only)

Some only can dream of school
USA TODAY

The beginning of each school year is a time for me to reflect on how education saved my life....

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South African Writer Tells of Horrors During Apartheid
The Plain Dealer (Cleveland, OH)

Writer Mark Mathabane survived South Africa's apartheid regime by nourishing his boyhood imagination. "My mind was rescued, my soul was rescued, because I knew there was a world out there of imagination."

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Memories of a Native Son
People magazine

This article summarizes the highlights of Kaffir Boy, from dawn police raids and scavenging for food in the dump to the Soweto Student Uprising in 1976.
(Available in hard copy only)

Arthur Ashe and Venus Williams
The Washington Post

An African word came to mind last weekend as I watched Venus Williams overpower Lindsay Davenport to win the Wimbledon championship. It is Sipho, the Zulu word for gift.....(Available in hard copy only)

Education as a powerful weapon of hope
The Arizona Republic

Mark addresses the educational crisis in America, and offers some solutions. (Available in hard copy only)

Authors and the Internet
USA TODAY

Those who are chortling over the fact that Stephen King's novella, The Plant, isn't a blockbuster on the internet miss the point....(Available in hard copy only)

How else will posterity understand?
Los Angeles Times

Mark argues that failure to include distinguished black authors such as Zora Neale Hurston, James Baldwin and Richard Wright in "The Great Books" series amounts to intellectual colonialism. (Available in hard copy only)

Healing the scars of apartheid
Greensboro News & Record

Mark discusses the poignant reconciliation with his father, and explores the importance and strength of family ties. (Available in hard copy only).

Lobola, AIDS and Africa
The Washington Post

In this article, which is partly based on African Women: Three Generations, his tribute to his mother, grandmother and sister, Mark Mathabane discusses how the oppression of women has contributed to the spread of AIDS in his homeland of South Africa. (Available in hard copy only)

Appearances Are Deceiving
The New York Times

In this popular article by Mark Mathabane, he argues for the use of uniforms in public schools as a way to focus students on learning and books and less on fashion and appearances. (Available in hard copy only)

Anger and Amnesty in South Africa
The New York Times

This article by Mathabane grapples with the question of whether or not the Truth and Reconcilation Commission's approach to forgiving the atrocious crimes of apartheid will help heal his homeland's deep racial wounds. (Available in hard copy only)

Mixed Couples Break Down Barriers
Newsday

In this article, written to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Supreme Court's decision legalizing mixed marriages, Mark Mathabane argues that "Slavery, the Holocaust and apartheid should by now have taught us the dangers of clamors for racial purity, racial exclusivity and separatism." (Available in hard copy only)

Taking the Measure of American Racism
Time Magazine

In this interview, Mathabane compares two forms of apartheid -- here and in South Africa. He discusses racism, segregation, ghettos, education, welfare and politicians. (Available in hard copy only)

Like the Second Coming
Newsweek

Mathabane describes his feelings of jubilation on the day black South Africans voted for the first time in their lives and elected Nelson Mandela president. (Available in hard copy only)

Closing the Racial Communications Gap
The Los Angeles Times

In this commentary, Mathabane argues that racism and its harmful effects will continue to plague American society until and unless blacks and whites begin talking to each other—rather than always about each other. (Available in hard copy only)

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Books

Kaffir Boy
Kaffir Boy Page
Back Cover
Preface
Chapter One

KB in America
KB in A Page
Back Cover
Chapter One

Love in B&W
Love in B&W
Dust Jacket
Reader Reviews
Preface
Mark's View
Gail's View

African Women
AW Home
Back Cover
Reader Reviews
Preface
Chapter One

Ubuntu (Novel)
Ubuntu Page
Dust Jacket
Chapter One

Miriam's Song
Miriam's Page
Dust Jacket
Dedication
Preface
First Chapter
Reader Reviews