Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood (2016) is a memoir by comedian Trevor Noah detailing his life as a mixed-race child during and after apartheid in South Africa. Born to a Black Xhosa mother and White Swiss-German father, his existence was illegal, forcing his mother to hide him, treat him as a secret, and raise him with unconditional love and strict discipline. The book chronicles his struggle to belong, his entrepreneurial spirit, and his navigation of poverty and violence.
IMMORALITYACT,1927
Toprohibitillicitcarnalintercourse
betweenEuropeansandnativesand
otheractsinrelationthereto.
BEITENACTEDbytheKing’sMostExcellent Majesty,
the Senate and the House of Assembly of the Union of
SouthAfrica,asfollows:—
1.AnyEuropeanmalewhohasillicitcarnalintercourse
with a native female, and any native male who has illicit
carnalintercoursewithaEuropeanfemale…shallbeguilty
ofanoffenceandliableonconvictiontoimprisonmentfor
aperiodnotexceedingfiveyears.
2.AnynativefemalewhopermitsanyEuropeanmaleto
have illicit carnal intercourse withherandanyEuropean
female who permits any native male to have illicit carnal
intercoursewithhershallbeguiltyofanoffenceandliable
onconvictiontoimprisonmentforaperiodnotexceeding
fouryears….
The genius of apartheid was convincing people who were
the overwhelming majority to turn on each other. Apart
hate, is what it was. You separate people into groups and
makethemhateoneanothersoyoucanrunthemall.
At the time, black South Africans outnumbered white
South Africans nearly five to one, yet we were divided into
different tribes with different languages: Zulu, Xhosa,
Tswana, Sotho, Venda, Ndebele, Tsonga, Pedi, and more.
Long before apartheid existed these tribal factions clashed
and warred with one another. Then white rule used that
animosity to divide and conquer. All nonwhites were
systematicallyclassifiedintovariousgroupsandsubgroups.
Then these groups were given differing levels of rights and
privilegesinordertokeepthematodds.
Perhaps the starkest of these divisions was between
South Africa’s two dominant groups, the Zulu and the
Xhosa.TheZulumanisknownasthewarrior.Heisproud.
Heputshisheaddownandfights.Whenthecolonialarmies
invaded, the Zulu charged into battle with nothing but
spears and shields against men with guns. The Zulu were
slaughtered by the thousands, but they never stopped
fighting.TheXhosa,ontheotherhand,pridethemselveson
being the thinkers. My mother is Xhosa. Nelson Mandela
was Xhosa. The Xhosa waged a long war against the white
man as well, but after experiencing the futility of battle
againsta better-armedfoe, manyXhosachiefstookamore
nimbleapproach.“Thesewhitepeopleareherewhetherwe
like it or not,” they said. “Let’s see what tools they possess
