Trevor Noah's unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents' indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa's tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle. Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man's relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother--his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life.
Discussion Dates, Times, and Locations
Discussion Dates and Times
Book Reviews/Interviews/Videos with the Author: Trevor Noah
“What makes Born a Crime such a soul-nourishing pleasure, even with all its darker edges and perilous turns, is reading Noah recount in brisk, warmly conversational prose how he learned to negotiate his way through the bullying and ostracism. . . . What also helped was having a mother like Patricia Nombuyiselo Noah. . . . Consider Born a Crime another such gift to her—and an enormous gift to the rest of us.”—USA Today
“Powerful prose . . . told through stories and vignettes that are sharply observed, deftly conveyed and consistently candid. Growing organically from them is an affecting investigation of identity, ethnicity, language, masculinity, nationality and, most of all, humanity—all issues that the election of Donald Trump in the United States shows are foremost in minds and hearts everywhere."
As a biracial kid growing up in apartheid-era South Africa, Noah learned to confront political injustice by poking fun at it. Now, at age 34, he brings that same sensibility to a world-touring stand-up act and a gig hosting the Daily Show—a role he took over from Jon Stewart and quickly made his own.
Comedian and "Daily Show" host Trevor Noah has adapted his 2016 memoir "Born A Crime" for young readers. "I didn't try to talk down to younger readers because I didn't like being talked down to when I was young," he tells Here & Now's Jeremy Hobson.
Trevor Noah, host of “The Daily Show” on Comedy Central, talks about his new book “Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood” with Sarah Rodman, L.A. Times TV editor, at the Theatre at Ace Hotel on Nov. 22, 2016.
Comedian Trevor Noah discusses his new book, Born a Crime, at Central Hall Westminster for Guardian Live. Noah shares anecdotes on family, religion, growing up ‘coloured’ in apartheid South Africa and becoming host of The Daily Show.
Trevor Noah was born to a black mother and a white father during South Africa's apartheid era, when those relationships were illegal. Noah joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss the process of turning his memoir into an audiobook and why his mother is the hero of his story.
Noah, in conversation with New Jersey Senator Cory Booker at Politics & Prose Bookstore in Washington, D.C., looks back over the experiences that have fueled his career, charting his coming-of-age in South Africa. If survival is the theme of his book, his mother, the consummate survivor, is its heart.
From BBC News: The Nelson Mandela Foundation has asked the courts to ban "gratuitous displays" of the apartheid-era South African flag. The foundation argues public displays of the flag amounts to "hate speech, unfair discrimination and harassment.".
South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa has brought the numbers of women appointed in his new cabinet up to 50 percent a first for Africa's second-biggest economy.
The squatters are part of a growing attempt to force land reform in South Africa, where black citizens were barred from owning land in nearly 90 percent of the country during apartheid.
South African president Jacob Zuma has finally appeared before a high-profile commission of inquiry looking into the alleged rampant state corruption he presided over during his nine-year tenure.
According to residents, there is just one tap to serve the the whole of Katilumla and if frequently runs dry due to a dwindling municipal water supply.
The conflict between Inkatha and the ANC was just one crisis: another was developing with far right white extremists, who were threatening to resort to violence.
CART aims to give the rural South African population of the Sicambeni village skills and technology to allow them to live self-sustainably without the need to seek work outside of their own villages, ultimately allowing migrants to return to their homelands.
Provides a platform for youth in Durban, South Africa to develop their leadership qualities and become team players through actively managing and participating in community based projects.
The Nelson Mandela Foundation is a non-profit organisation focused on memory, dialogue and legacy work, founded by Nelson Mandela in 1999. We are the custodian of his life and times; we are a committed facilitator of his living legacy; and we are mandated to promote his lifelong vision of freedom and equality for all.
The Right2Know Campaign is a South African non-profit advocacy organisation established to reduce state secrecy in the drafting of laws, increase access to information, and protect freedom of expression especially on the internet.
The Steve Biko Foundation focuses its work on reducing inequality,
strengthening democracy and promoting the intangible aspects of development: history, identity, culture and values.
The World Bank released the 11th edition of its South Africa Economic Update, with a special section of the report focusing on jobs and inequality in South Africa. The report highlights the current dynamics of inequality in South Africa, identifies key determinants, and presents policy options that can help reduce inequality.
Explore and learn about the characteristics of the diverse South African population, and how it has changed over time. Provides statistics on sex and age, mortality and birth figures, migration and education.
United Nations data on South African includes general information, economic indicators, social indicators, and environment and infrastructure indicators.
Movies and Books with South African Apartheid Themes
After falling ill, Yesterday learns that she is HIV positive. Her one goal is to live long enough to see her child go to school. Set against the awesome, harsh landscapes of South Africa.
South Africa's low ranked national Rugby team, the Springboks, have a new slogan: "One team, One nation." President Nelson Mandela is betting that if they win the Cup, it might even be a bit true.
Wikus Van De Merwe finds himself in charge of the mass eviction of aliens in District 9 and cannot believe the good luck of his sudden promotion, until events spin out of control.
A former anti-apartheid activist symbolizes the transition from white financial dominance to black business ownership through the Black Economic Empowerment policy.
Examines both canonical and lesser-known photographs and films that address the struggle against apartheid and the new struggles that came into being in post-apartheid times.
Tells the thrilling true story of one woman's struggle against the apartheid system.
Discussion Questions
Discussion Questions
How was Noah’s upbringing complicated by living in a “police state,” particularly as a colored child? What did he learn about apartheid, about how police treated whites as opposed to how they treated coloreds and other nonwhite people, and about the risk his parents took simply by having a child together? What specific examples from the text are most important to understanding his explanation of this aspect of his childhood—that is, growing up colored in the apartheid-era police state?
Noah describes languages in South Africa as a hierarchy, where “English comprehension is equated with intelligence” (p. 54). He explains: “I learned to use language like my mother did . . . It became a tool that served me my whole life” (p. 55). He even asserts that “language, even more than color, defines who you are to people” (p. 56). Do you agree with Noah’s assessment of the importance of language? What do his claims suggest about the power of language and the values placed on certain languages over others?
Despite his primary school teacher’s recommendation that he remain in the advanced, white dominated classes, Noah opts to take lower-level classes with black students instead. He writes, “With the black kids, I wasn’t constantly trying to be. With the black kids, I just was” (p. 59). What does this suggest about identity and belonging, especially in light of Noah’s interracial identity?
List all of the different neighborhoods in which Noah lived and their respective characteristics. In his own estimation, what were the advantages and disadvantages of each place? How did each location shape his identity? What does this suggest about the influence and importance of being grounded in a particular place and time (that is, why did it matter that he was a young colored boy in a white neighborhood during the post-apartheid era?) What lessons did he have to learn, growing up in that time and place?
Noah’s mother insists that he have a relationship with his father: “‘Because he’s a piece of you,'she said, ‘and if you don’t find him you won’t find yourself’” (p. 101). Explore the importance of Noah’s decision to forge a relationship with his father, Robert. Focus on the moment when Robert shows him the scrapbook of Noah’s accomplishments, and then compare that to Noah’s assertion that “Being chosen is the greatest gift you can give to another human being” (p. 110).
What conclusions can you draw about what Noah learned from his friend Andrew? What was the value of what Noah learned outside of school, as compared to in school? Interpret Noah’s conclusion that “Working with Andrew was the first time in my life I realized you need someone from the privileged world to come to you and say, ‘Okay, here’s what you need, and here’s how it works’” (p. 190).
Noah is dismayed when his stepfather, Abel, begins abusing him and his mother. Noah also learns a hard lesson about how South African society viewed female domestic violence victims when he saw how the local police discredited his mother’s claims of abuse. Eventually, his mother leaves Abel after he nearly kills her. Discuss how you think this part of his life affected Noah’s future, particularly given his mother’s wishes for him to live a life better than her own. How did this experience of abuse shape him and his relationship with his mother?
Note all the ways in which Noah participated in the underground economy of Alexandra,from pirating music to selling CDs and DJing parties. How do his detailed descriptions of his time in Alexandra complicate your assumptions about crime and poverty? Consider Noah’s explanation: “The hood made me realize that crime succeeds because crime does the one thing the government doesn’t do: crime cares. Crime is grassroots. Crime looks for the young kids who need support and a lifting hand. Crime offers internship programs and summer jobs and opportunities for advancement. Crime gets involved in the community. Crime doesn’t discriminate” (p. 209). Do you agree with Noah’s opinion of crime as described here?
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