Best-selling Author and South Africa Native Mark Mathabane to Speak at Holy Cross

Activist and best-selling author of “Kaffir Boy,” an autobiographical account of life under apartheid, Mark Mathabane will give a talk on Thursday, April14 at 7 p.m. in Seelos Theater at the College of the Holy Cross. The lecture is free and open to the public.

Born in a ghetto of Johannesburg, Mathabane spent the first 18 years of his life living in devastating poverty under apartheid.  His love of books and his dream of becoming a famous tennis player led him to excel in the classroom and on the tennis court, and eventually he earned a scholarship to attend Dowling College in Oakdale, New York.  Mathabane left South Africa in 1978 and graduated cum laude with a degree in economics in 1983.

Since then he has written several books, including “Kaffir Boy,” which was a New York Times Best-Seller and a recipient of the prestigious Christopher Award; “Love in Black and White,” a non-fiction book about interracial relationships and race relations in America; and most recently, “Miriam’s Song,” the true story of his sister Miriam’s coming of age during the violence that preceded the end of apartheid and Nelson Mandela’s election.

His provocative articles have been published in the New York Times, Newsday, U.S. News & World Report, and USA Today.  He has been featured in Time, Newsweek, and People and has appeared on the “Oprah Winfrey Show”, “Today,” CNN, NPR, and numerous other television and radio broadcasts. 

A celebrated lecturer, Mathabane was nominated for Speaker of the Year by the National Association for Campus Activities.  His lecture at Holy Cross is co-sponsored by the Teacher Education Program, the Student Government Association, the Campus Activities Board, Africana Studies, and Multicultural Education.