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Renowned
author Mark Mathabane delivers message of hope to high school kids
in inspirational local visit
Wednesday, February 04, 2004 - From a life of desperate poverty, Mark
Mathabane emigrated from his native South Africa and eventually became a
successful author in America.
"Kaffir Boy" is the story of his youth as a black living under apartheid, a story of sheer survival against crushing odds. The fact that he retained personal hope under such dire circumstances both at home and at school was a miracle.
(Photo: Mark Mathabane autographs books and chats with students at Terra Nova High School)
"Kaffir Boy" is required reading for Terra Nova seniors and Oceana sophomores, who were the students fortunate enough to hear Mathabane speak at Terra Nova on Jan. 23. About two dozen community members attended the free lecture, as well.
"It was a total reality check about how lucky we are and how much we take for granted," said Debi Prince, a Terra Nova student.
The germ of the idea to bring Mathabane to Pacifica began in the classroom of Marilyn Sullivan, a Terra Nova English teacher. Her class read "Kaffir Boy" and they had some questions. They looked up Mathabane's website and typed in their questions, hoping for a response, but not really expecting one. To their delight, Mathabane responded to their questions personally within two hours.
"He's so accessible," Sullivan said.
The community came together to bring Mathabane to Pacifica. Each high school raised $1,000 from donations that ranged from 25 cents to $1 a student up to $30 or more from parents and community members and kicked in the remainder from their general funds.
It was clear from the minute Mathabane appeared behind the podium that he had come to a place where people appreciated him and his stellar storytelling ability. The audience was attentive and broke into loud applause at several points in the lecture. All Mathabane's books were on sale after the talk. Eager students asked Mathabane to sign "Kaffir Boy," "Kaffir Boy In America" and "Love in Black and White," co-authored with his wife, Gail, who accompanied him to Pacifica. Two of the titles "African Women" and "Miriam's Song" - sold out, but if someone ordered them, Mathabane promised to send them along with an autograph. He writes autographs upside down -- that's the way he learned to write English.
He learned to read English, his fifth language, at age 11 by reading scraps of newspaper in his ghetto in South Africa, just one square mile crammed with 200,000 black residents.
"What are you doing to be able to express who you are and what you are feeling?" he asked the students, telling them never to doubt themselves, always to try, regardless of their background.
He described the ghetto where he spent his youth. He and his friends played with a soccer ball they made out of rags. Food was so scarce, he longed for a stale scrap of bread he could soak in sugar water for a treat. His family clawed through garbage bins for food. They waited outside the slaughterhouse with tin cups that could be filled with cattle blood for a nutritious stew that Mathabane found anything but appealing.
"Do you find it remarkable there is so much food available for you?" he asked the students.
Homes were small and packed with family members. There was no running water or electricity. It was often bitterly cold at night. The kids slept on cardboard and wrapped themselves up with newspapers to keep warm. Mathabane gave his sister the only shabby blanket. At age 5, he thought he dare not go to sleep. One night when he did fall asleep, rats snacked on the soles of his feet.
By age 6, he was a bonafide gang member.
"At least I had control over my life, he said.
His environment was bleak, but through hope and determination, he beat all the odds and gained official permission to leave South Africa as an international tennis player. Although he started too late age 13 to become one of the best players, he was good enough to get safe passage out of apartheid and get a ticket to a new life.
"Don't accept the limits people place on you," he told the students.
He was prohibited from returning to South Africa for 14 years until apartheid was lifted and Nelson Mandela was elected president.
Mathabane challenged the audience to dare to accomplish something in their lives, even if they are facing obstacles.
"You can make a difference. Some of you are facing obstacles in your life. In my life, education made a huge difference. It changed my life to one of triumph and it saved my life," he said.
Oceana sophomore Georgio Reed heard that challenge loud and clear.
"He inspired me to stay with my education. Now I'm doing bad, but he said school is more important than the way you dress. I'm going to try to improve my education," he said.
Mathabane's fellow young gang members told him school was a place of torture that should be avoided at all costs. At the all-black school, a young inexperienced teacher used a whip on the students to maintain discipline. Only years later after apartheid was abolished did the beatings stop.
One day Mathabane came home from school to discover his mother had fled to his grandmother's home. Finding her there badly beaten, he learned his dad attacked his mom because he found out she had spent a precious $1 on Mathabane's school fees. His dad thought the money should have been used on the family's more urgent needs. Out of this conflict, Mathabane resolved he would build a better life for himself than his dad's and figured school was going to be the best place to accomplish that.
"What are you doing to be the best you can be given your opportunity?" he challenged the kids.
To answer a question from a student about whether his relationship with his dad improved, Mathabane said he was happily astonished to see changes in his dad's life, specifically that he stopped drinking and using abusive behavior.
"He deserved my gratitude and respect," Mathabane said, adding his dad said his dreams stay alive through his famous son.
His mom and sister live in North Carolina now. His mom went to school to learn how to read and write. His sister finished her own high school education at age 23 in North Carolina.
Disappointed that many young blacks don't have educational opportunities even now in South Africa, (and trying to avoid another mother's bruised face) Mathabane established a scholarship in his mom's name to pay for their school fees.
He graduated with a bachelor's degree in economics from Dowling College on Long Island, New York in 1983, where he worked on the student newspaper and realized he could get attention for his writing. He started working on "Kaffir Boy" one year later.
As a White House fellow in 1997, he served as a special assistant to the U.S. Secretary of Education and worked on America's Reading Challenge to make sure every child can read by third grade.
He is concerned that in this country more young men of color end up in jail rather than in school.
"It matters the kind of image that we have," he said.
He disapproves of popular song lyrics that demean women and promote violence.
"It's so destructive. It feeds the stereotype. Whatever happened to, 'love me for my mind?'" he said, earning thunderous applause from the audience.
A student in the audience asked Mathabane why he is not bitter given the injustice and unhappiness of all his experiences.
"It doesn't make sense," he replied. "It makes sense to believe in the power of love. Learn to love yourselves. Learn to be grateful. People will remember what you've done for other people, not how big a house you live in."
Mathabane's words were inspiring to the students.
"It made me interested to go on and try and not to take things for granted," said Danielle Schraner, an Oceana sophomore.
"After reading the book, he opened my eyes. It was inspirational," said Jamie Francisco of Terra Nova.
"I really love the book. It was good to hear him speak. It's more personal. You can relate more. It was a really touching book," said Tiffany Wan of Terra Nova.
"I read all his books. It's a crazy story how he came here. We're pretty lucky, because he came from having nothing. He made us realize we take a lot for granted," said Terra Nova senior Tony Try.
And his accessibility, the thing that first connected him with the students, remained a strong point on the day of the lecture and was most appreciated.
"He was willing to stay around until every last student had a chance to shake his hand. To transfer the abstraction to the reality made it that much more real to them. The book mattered to them. Now they can say, 'thank you.' They'll be more interested in meeting history," said Alyssa Jenkins, Terra Nova English teacher.
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February 22, 2008 10:54 AM
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
Preface
Chapter One
Miriam's Song
Miriam's
Page
Dust
Jacket
Dedication
Preface
First Chapter
Reader Reviews