Still Grazing

by Hugh Masikela

  To my bosom soulmates Shunna Pillay, Pat Bannister, Charlie Smalls, Rhodes Gxoyiya, and Nga Manelisi Ndibongo. Also to Ronnie Valjean, Mary Vonie, Susan Belink, Sharon Johnson, Ruth Nkonyeni, Vera Pitso, Duku Napo, Thelma Oliver, Barbara Alston, Dawn Levy, Pearl Reynolds, Joan Treisman, Mama Akuffo Addo, Jabu Mbatha, Chris Calloway, Abbey Lincoln, Miatta Fanbulleh, Thembi Mtshali, Thembi Nyandeni, Ndo Nyembezi, and Ladyfair Mngadi, for whom I was an absolute nightmare and who gave me all their love and support and many sadnesses.

  To Jane and Mburumba Kerina and their children Kakuna, Mandume, and Kambandi; Larry Willis; Astley Fennel; Lorraine and Dizzy Gillespie; Franco; Albert Geduldig; Danny Sims; Rudy Lucas; Janet Dubois; Johnny Nash; Adam Wade; Miles Davis; Louis Armstrong; Art D. Lugoff; Terry and John Mehegan; Carla Pinza; Jean Johnson; Priscilla and Bob Bollard; Bruce Langhorne; Millard Thomas; Edith Marzani; Mrs. Miller; Alan Pariser; Howie Folta; Elmer Valentine; Mario; Alvinia; Betty Mabry; Herb Alpert; Paul Simon; Hotep Galeta; Ned Tannen; René McLean; Don Blackman; Pat and Mike Mikell; Clive Calder; Bob Krasnow; Russ Regan; Al Brown; Devon Wilson; Jimi Hendrix; Sly Stone; Quincy Jones; Manu Dibango; Bob and Shirley Young; Joe Glaser; Oscar Cohen; Susan Cederwall; Nomkondelo Christina Makeba; Sid Kaiser; Peter Fonda; Mim Scala; David Crosby; Al Abreu; Les McAnn; Big Black and Ginger Ray and family; Carrie White; Richard Alcala; Letta Mbulu and Caiphus Semenya; and Yvonne Chaka-Chaka and Tiny Mhinga, who have always been family to me.

  For my dearest friends Lindi and George Phahle, who were assassinated by the apartheid death squads in Botswana; Job Kadengu, who gave Zimbabwe to me; Fela Kuti, who gave me Nigeria and West Africa; and Stanley Todd, my little brother, whose love and friendship I will always cherish, may they all rest in peace. Thanks to all the members of the Hedzoleh Soundz and Kalahari who reintroduced me to Africa.

  To my brother Quincy Troupe and his wife, Margaret; Mama Beatty Mbatha and all her daughters; Maggie and Mpho Motloung; Ntombi and Lepetu Setshwaelo; Tshenolo Modise; Gale Gaborone; Sisai and Sam Mpuchane; the Ramusi and Mokgokong families; Mbongeni Ngema; Peter and Mfundi Vundla; Aggrey and Jiji Mbere; Ray Lofaro; Ntinyane and Sebiletso Matabane; Caroline and Julius Mdluli; Tshipa Mothibatsela; Moss Tau; Arthur Habedi; Lazarus Serobe; Lindelani Mkhize; Themba Mkhize; Matwetwe Ntombini; Sipho Mabuse; Tsepo Tshola; Jabu Khanyile; Busi Mhlongo; Vusi Mahlasela; Angelique Kidjo; Sanza and Joy Loate; Esther and David Goodyear; Irene and Edward Akufo Addo; Nana Akufo Addo; Komlah Amoaku and Korkor Amartefio; Isaac Thapedi; Prudence and Gerry Inzerillo; Venashree and Anant Singh; Chuchu Horton; Steve Horton; Pat Dambe; Philemon Hou; Gertylue Brewer; Willie Kgositsile; Zenzi and Lumumba Lee; Sam Mhangwani; Jane and Peter Tladi; Rosie Katz; Sibongile Khumalo; and Khabi Mngoma, Letitia Montalvo, Olara and Ami Otunnu, and Jean and Peter Davidson, all of whom are my very close family.

  To my mothers-in-law Diamond Cofie and Matilda Dzamposu; my brothers-in-law Mark, Ben, and Wellie Cofie; my sisters-in-law Yealla, Gifty, Mercy, Mawusi, and Obi Cofie; and all my dear friends in Ghana.

  To my present-day music colleagues John Selolwane, Fana Zulu, Khaya Mahlangu, Ezbie Moilwa, Tom Nkabinde, Arthur Tshabalala, Dumisani Hlela, Mandla Zikalala, Blondie Makhene, Don Laka, Oscar Mdlongwa, Francis Fuster, Irfaan Gillan, Pula Twala, Fiona Domingo, Jimmy Dludlu, Themba Mokwena, and Johnny Hassan, a very heartfelt thanks.

  Most of all my deepest love to my children Patrick, Pula, Adam, Mabusha, Selema Mabena, Selema Makgothi, Sunny, Sophie, Sibongile Makeba, Monde Twala, and my daughter in Sweden, whom I have never met.

  Thank you Marie Brown, Michael Cheers, and Chris Jackson for making this book possible. Thanks to Autshumato, Robert Sobukwe, Nqika, Hintsa, Monomotapa, Makana, Adam Kok, Moshoeshoe, Shaka, Biko, Cetshewayo, Bambaatha, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Nelson Mandela, and all their comrades. To Khama, Ramokgopa, Lilian Ngoyi, Winnie Madikizela Mandela, Ida Mtwana, Carole and Buddy Arnold, and the staff of Clouds. I am particularly grateful to all those I might have overlooked on this list but without whom I could never have gotten where I am today. Finally, thank you, South Africa!

  D. Michael Cheers: Thanks to Dr. Robert J. Cummings, professor and chair, Department of African Studies at Howard University, for guiding me through this arduous process. Thanks frat! Also much appreciation to professors Sulayman Nyang, Luis Serapaio, Robert R. Edgar, Wilfred David, and Mbye Cham. Professor Doris E. Saunders (Ret.), Jackson State University, you have been a friend and mentor for almost three decades; Jet magazine’s Robert E. Johnson, who taught me how photojournalism can impact community, and the importance of “arguing the case for black folks”—Hamba Khale!; and also thanks to Gordon Parks, Moneta Sleet Jr., Morris Henderson, Robert P. Knight, Doris E. Barnhart, Albert Johnson, Vivian Mahathey, Gretchen Ronnow, Howard Emerson, the staff at the Moorland-Spingarn Research Center at Howard University, and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board for awarding me the Fulbright Scholarship that led to my first interview in 1995 with Hugh Masekela.

  Hugh Masekela—thanks for allowing me to travel with you on this remarkable musical journey. Marie Brown, the doyenne of literary agents, I’m humbled and deeply gratified by our belief in this project. To the many South African musicians and singers I interviewed, thanks for sharing your “Bra Hugh” stories with me. A special thanks to Caiphus Semenya and his wife, Letta Mbulu. Your insights into those crazy episodes in America in the 1960s were valuable morsels. Mabusha Masekela, you are a walking history book of world music. Matse Keshupilwe, thanks for believing in this idea and for helping me get this project off the ground. Ambassador Miriam Makeba, “Mama Africa,” just being in your presence is a precious experience. Trevor Huddleston, thanks for a wonderful afternoon filled with reflections on Bra Hugh—Hamba Khale! Chris Calloway, thanks for opening up to me and sharing your thoughts and memories. And thanks to the numerous friends and associates of Bra Hugh for sharing your reflections.

  To all the archivists, translators (especially Tshidi Bookholane), graduate teaching assistants (Manda Banda and Cara Polinski), and photo researcher (Jacqui Masiza), thanks for your assistance. Bra Alf Kumalo, one of South Africa’s finest photographers, thanks for sharing your images with this project. Chris Jackson, my editor at the Crown Publishing Group, you are a special brother! Genoveva Llosa, Chris’s assistant, much thanks! Stuart Bullion, chair of the Department of Journalism at the University of Mississippi and a longtime Hugh Masekela fan, thanks for helping me get Still Grazing across the finish line. To Burnis Morris, my mentor at the University of Mississippi, Penny Rice and Amelia Rodgers, two superb information technology specialists, and to all my current and former students, my sincerest gratitude for your kindness and patience.

  Finally, this work is dedicated to my children, my nephews, and to my extended family.

  ABOUT THE COAUTHOR

  D. Michael Cheers received his doctorate in African Studies and Research from Howard University in Washington, D.C. A Fulbright Scholar, he co-edited Songs of My People: African Americans A Self-Portrait. Dr. Cheers currently teaches visual journalism at San Jose State University, in San Jose, California.