apartheid

The 31-year-old comic has faced bigger challenges than running “The Daily Show.” One of them: growing up mixed-race in apartheid-era South Africa. Sometimes, he says, “I felt like a bag of weed.”

South Africa’s Vusi Mahlasela and Hugh Masekela are in the midst of a US tour they’re calling 20 Years of Freedom. The music celebrates 20 years since the start of democracy in South Africa and the official end of apartheid.

When Sheryl Ozinsky was attacked at gunpoint in her own home in a rich neighborhood in Cape Town, her whole life changed. Today, she’s running a farm and market day to help people come out of their locked homes and build their community.

When Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990, Zelda la Grange had no idea who he was. In her Afrikaaner family, he was simply a “terrorist.” She was in her twenties and would soon become Mandela’s personal assistant, and later, a close friend.When Nelson Mandela was released from prison in 1990, Zelda la Grange had no idea who he was. In her Afrikaaner family, he was simply a “terrorist.” She was in her twenties and would soon become Mandela’s personal assistant, and later, a close friend.

South Africa kept recordings of Nelson Mandela’s famous Rivonia speech. But no one could hear them because they were on dictabelts. And then South Africa’s last remaining dictaphone machine broke.