Reflections on the powerful

Miriam Makeba would have been 81 years young on this day. Her story of struggle, success, rejection and triumph has touched me and solidified my devotion to enrolling her into my SHERO hall of fame. "Mama Africa", rejected by her homeland, celebrated by her adopted family, told the story and was a warrior until the day of her death in 2008. To survive and give testimony regarding the hardships and oppression she and her fellow Black South Africans endured under apartheid provides illumination of the harsh truth we often rush to forget. These systems of oppression and the way society would like to exclude them are not by chance but by design, slavery, Jim Crow, Apartheid, and even current racial unrest are valid, true and should be recognized. But even in recognizing them they should all be evaluated so that these human tragedies can no longer occur.