Kaffir Boy: The True Story of a Black Youth's Coming of Age in Apartheid South Africa

by Mark Mathabane

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Arthur Ashe
Arthur Ashe, a trailblazer in the world of tennis, shattered barriers as the first black man to triumph at Wimbledon. His iconic match against Jimmy Connors in South Africa ignites a fervent dream in Mathabane, inspiring him to become a formidable tennis player. Although Ashe ultimately loses to Connors, his presence and prowess serve as a beacon of hope for Mathabane, proving that not only can blacks excel in tennis, but they can also dismantle enduring racial barriers. Ashe becomes a heroic figure and a wellspring of inspiration for Mathabane.

Aunt Bushy
Aunt Bushy, the youthful daughter of Granny, still resides in the family home. She generously supports her nephew Johannes, often funding his school excursions and ensuring he always has lunch money for his daily needs.

Granny
Mathabane's maternal grandmother, affectionately known as Granny, captivates with her "genial brown eyes" that shine like "pristine pearls." Mathabane describes her as "the most beautiful black woman" he has ever seen. A skilled gardener, she endures the hardship of raising her family alone after her husband abandons them. To support her daughter and grandchildren, she toils long hours for white families in Johannesburg, becoming a pillar of strength. Her home becomes a sanctuary from the abuse inflicted by Jackson Mathabane. It is Granny's determination that secures employment for eleven-year-old Johannes with the Smiths of Johannesburg, marking his first venture into the enigmatic world of white affluence. There, he discovers the captivating realms of tennis and literature.

Wilfred Horn
A German transplant, Wilfred Horn operates a tennis ranch dedicated to training aspiring white professionals. Upon learning of this haven from a teammate, Mathabane seizes the opportunity to arrange a meeting with Horn, who warmly invites him to join matches at the ranch. For the first time, Johannes finds himself honing his skills among exceptional athletes and forming bonds with white players. The year is 1973, and aware of the potential backlash from South African officials over a black athlete mingling with whites, he adopts the moniker Mark Mathabane, perhaps as a guise to conceal his true identity amidst the oppressive apartheid system.

Dinah Mathabane
Dinah is the sixth-born among the Mathabane siblings, and she holds the place of Johannes's fourth sister.

Florah Mathabane
Florah, the second of the Mathabane children, is Johannes's eldest sister. At the tender age of three when the autobiography opens, she shares a makeshift bed beneath the kitchen table with her five-year-old brother. Johannes is entrusted with the responsibility of caring for her during their parents' absences, particularly during the tense moments of police raids when their parents must hide or flee.

George Mathabane
George, the sole brother among the Mathabane siblings, is the third child in the family. Just a year old at the story's commencement, Johannes is tasked with watching over him, just as he does for Florah, when their parents are unable to.

Johannes Mathabane
See Mark Mathabane

Linah Mathabane
Linah, the youngest member of the Mathabane family, is Johannes's fifth sister.

Mama Mathabane
The matriarch known as Mama Mathabane, though her given name remains unnamed, hails from Gazankulu, the Tsonga tribal reserve. Married to Jackson, who is two decades her senior, she endures a relentless struggle under apartheid's oppressive gaze. Despite their legal union, their marriage is not sanctioned by the white regime, forcing them into hiding during sudden night raids. While she suffers Jackson's abuse, leaving him is not an option as her father's acceptance of the bride price binds her. Dubbed a "mesmerizing storyteller," Mama's tales serve as a "golden fountain of knowledge," imparting lessons of morality to her children. Her...

(This entire section contains 1778 words.)

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unwavering determination ensures Johannes's education, waking him at dawn to procure the elusive birth certificate necessary for schooling. Even while pregnant with her fifth child, she takes on a cleaning job to support their education, her resolve a testament to her strength. Her values and stories mold Johannes into the humanitarian and writer he becomes, making her the family's heart and soul.

Maria Mathabane
Maria, the fourth child in the Mathabane family, is Johannes's second sister.

Mark Mathabane
Mark Mathabane, both the voice and author of Kaffir Boy, is born as Johannes, a name given by his parents. At the story's outset, he is a frightened five-year-old, hungry and vulnerable during the relentless police raids in Alexandra. By the tale's end, he emerges triumphant, graduating at the top of his class, securing a respectable banking job, winning a tennis championship, and earning a college scholarship in America. Fluent in multiple languages, Mathabane's journey is one of transformation and resilience.

In 1973, during his pivotal meeting with Wilfred Horn, Mathabane opts for the name "Mark," perhaps preemptively shielding his real identity from less liberal South Africans. His sister Florah reveals in the 1994 book African Women that Johannes adopted the name Mark in 1976 amid the Soweto student protests—a strategic move to evade police detection and safeguard his true identity.

Without the unyielding spirit of his mother, who refused to surrender, tirelessly pursued his birth certificate, coaxed him away from the brink of despair, and worked tirelessly as a housecleaner out of love and belief in him, his path might have been entirely different. From her, he recalls, "I learned that virtues are things to be always striven after, embraced and cultivated, for they are amply rewarded." He came to realize, "that vices were bad things, to be avoided at all cost, for they bring one nothing but trouble and punishment."

Merriam Mathabane

Merriam Mathabane
The fifth child among the seven Mathabane siblings, Merriam stands as Johannes's third sister.

Papa Mathabane

Papa Mathabane
Known as Jackson Mathabane, he is vividly described as a "short, gaunt figure, with skin as dark as coal," and "large, prominent jaws." His "thin, uneven lips," seem designed only for "the production of sneers." He embodies "fearsome features" like a "broad nose with slightly flaring nostrils, small, bloodshot eyes that never shed a tear, small, close-set ears, and a wide, prominent forehead." Raised in the tribal reserve of the Vendas, he governs his household with tribal law, allowing "no deviance." As an uneducated laborer who paid lobola for his wife, he views her and their children as possessions. He reigns as the "tough, resolute, and absolute ruler of the house," demanding unwavering obedience, often enforcing it with violence. His spirit, crushed by apartheid's harshness, imprisonment, and cruelty, gradually sinks into a bitter life marred by alcohol.

Mpandhlani

Mpandhlani
A homeless thirteen-year-old entwined in a gang, Mpandhlani embodies the tragic consequences of apartheid's injustices. He acts as a recruiter for prostitutes among male migrant workers torn from their families, living in stark, all-male dormitories. They bribe him to lead innocent boys to their quarters with tempting promises of food and money. Johannes, hungry and vulnerable, nearly falls prey but is saved by the wisdom and teachings of his mother, sensing something sinister in the offer. Rejecting the food, he escapes as others start undressing, fleeing with his life and a solemn vow of secrecy. Reflecting on this harrowing episode as an adult, Mathabane sees what was once too dreadful for a child to grasp was heartlessly ignored by white officials, who chose to look away.

Peri-Urban

Peri-Urban
Peri-Urban, the notorious police squad of Alexandra, strikes fear with their terrorizing raids, unwarranted abuses, and arbitrary arrests. They drag Johannes's father from his bed, half-naked, and shackle him before tossing him into a truck. For two months, he toils on a white-owned potato farm. After another arrest and a year in prison, Jackson Mathabane returns, a man embittered and abusive. Peri-Urban reinforces Johannes's belief that white people are akin to devils.

Uncle Piet

Uncle Piet
Piet, Granny's teenage son, becomes Johannes's lifeline to education by providing him with essential clothing to remain in school.

Sacaramouche

Sacaramouche
A self-employed painter and a remarkable tennis coach, Sacaramouche stands as "one of the best tennis players among people of colour in Johannesburg." Upon spotting Johannes practicing his strokes against a stadium wall, he voluntarily takes him under his wing, honing his skills and refining his game. Two and a half years later, Mathabane triumphs, clinching his first championship at the Alexandra Open, emerging as one of South Africa's most promising young black tennis players.

Clyde Smith

Clyde Smith
Clyde, the son of Mathabane's Granny's employers, stirs a fire within the eleven-year-old Mark with his racist taunts, challenging him to prove his worth against any white person. "I vowed that, whatever the cost, I would master English, that I would not rest till I could read, write and speak it just like any white man, if not better. Finally I had something to aspire to."

Stan Smith

Stan Smith
Renowned Wimbledon champion Stan Smith becomes Mathabane's ally during a tennis tournament in South Africa. Upon returning to the States, Smith initiates a correspondence with Mark, paving the way for a full tennis scholarship at Limestone College in South Carolina. His friendship and support become Mathabane's ticket from the ghetto towards his dreams in America.

The Smiths

The Smiths
A white family residing in "Rosebank, one of Johannesburg's posh whites-only suburbs," the Smiths employ Granny as their gardener. They gift Johannes their son Clyde's hand-me-downs—comic books, toys, games, and storybooks like Aesop's Fables and Pinocchio. Mathabane reflects that "These books and toys revealed to me a new reality." They nurtured his imagination, ignited his dreams, and fueled his desire to learn. Mrs. Smith also bestowed upon Johannes an old wooden tennis racket, challenging him, "Practise hard, for one day I want to read about you in the papers, as our next Arthur Ashe."

Tsotsis

Tsotsis
The Tsotsis, lawless gangsters roaming Alexandra, become a young Johannes's nightmare when he inadvertently witnesses a savage murder committed by them. Overwhelmed by the brutality and despair of his surroundings, the thought of ending his life seems like a release at just ten years old, as he struggles to find a reason to carry on.

A White Nun

A White Nun
In Mathabane's world, a white nun emerges as a beacon of unexpected kindness and integrity. She assists his mother in acquiring Johannes's birth certificate, a key to education. Her determination to cut through bureaucratic barriers set against blacks, her willingness to stand beside them against her own kind, convinces young Johannes that not all white people are evil.

Mr. Wilde
A distinguished senior manager at Simba Quix, the foremost giant in the realm of potato chips and rusks in South Africa, graces Johannes with a prestigious scholarship. This award celebrates Johannes's outstanding academic achievements during his triumphant three-year journey through secondary school. The scholarship generously covers all of Johannes's educational costs and extends the opportunity for enriching summer employment.

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