I look at an ant and I see myself: a native South African, endowed by nature with a strength much greater than my size so I might cope with the weight of a racism that crushes my spirit.
– Miriam Makeba
Age is…wisdom, if one has lived one's life properly.
– Miriam Makeba
Which goes to show you, you can make all the laws you want, but you cannot change people's ways. If you must change them, you have to understand that it will take a long time.
– Miriam Makeba
It's a really unfair world because life is, where I am all day long we listen to American music. So I don't see why the radios in the U.S. cannot even put aside one hour a day just to play music that is not American.
– Miriam Makeba
In the mind, in the heart, I was always home. I always imagined, really, going back home.
– Miriam Makeba
Girls are the future mothers of our society, and it is important that we focus on their well-being.
– Miriam Makeba
Everybody now admits that apartheid was wrong, and all I did was tell the people who wanted to know where I come from how we lived in South Africa. I just told the world the truth. And if my truth then becomes political, I can't do anything about that.
– Miriam Makeba
And why is our music called world music? I think people are being polite. What they want to say is that it's third world music. Like they use to call us under developed countries, now it has changed to developing countries, it's much more polite.
– Miriam Makeba
Age is getting to know all the ways the world turns, so that if you cannot turn the world the way you want, you can at least get out of the way so you won't get run over.