Don Mattera
Don Mattera (). South African journalist, poet and author.
Biography
Born Donato Francisco Mattera in Western Native Township (now Westbury), Johannesburg, South Africa, Mattera grew up in Sophiatown. He is better known as Don Mattera.
His schooling was received at St Theresa Catholic Covenant School in Durban, and he continued his secondary studies at Pageview in Johannesburg. As a youth he joined and became the leader of the gang called The Vultures and at the age of 20, he was charged with the murder of a rival gang member and spent time in jail as an awaiting trialist before his acquittal.
He passed away on 18 July
His career
He went on to work as a journalist on The Sunday Times, The Sowetan, and The Weekly Mail (now known as the Mail and Guardian). As a political activist he joined the African National Congress Youth League, and in the early s became involved in the politics of the Black Consciousness Movement. He helped to form the Union of Black Journalists, as well as the Congress of South African Writers. As a result of his political activities, the South African government from to banned him. Three of these years were spent under house arrest.
Memory is the Weapon
Donato Francesco Mattera has been celebrated as a journalist, editor, writer and poet. He is also acknowledged as one of the foremost activists in the struggle for a democratic South Africa, and helped to found both the Union of Black Journalists, the African Writer's Association and the Congress of South African Writers. Born in in Western Native Township (now Westbury) across the road from Sophiatown, Mattera can lay claim to an intriguingly di-verse lineage: his paternal grandfather was Italian, and he has Tswana, Khoi-Khoi and Xhosa blood in his veins. Yet diversity was hardly being celebrated at that time. In one of apartheid's most infamous actions, the vibrant multicultural Sophiatown was destroyed in and replaced with the white suburb of Triomf, and the wrenching displacement, can be felt in Mattera's writing.
Renowned poet, author and anti-apartheid activist Don Mattera has died at the age of eighty-seven.
Mattera&#;s family confirmed that he passed away peacefully at his home in Protea Glen, Johannesburg, today, Monday 18 July—which is celebrated in South Africa as Mandela Day. Mattera will be buried according to Muslim rites.
Mattera was born in in Western Native Township (now Westbury), Johannesburg, and grew up in Sophiatown and Westbury, also attending boarding school in Durban.
He inherited a rich cultural tradition from his family, especially his Italian grandfather, Khoi and Xhosa grandmother and Tswana mother.
Mattera became politically active in the nineteen-fifties, after seeing a number of forced removals from Sophiatown, and became a founding member of the Black Consciousness movement and joined the ANC Youth League. As a result, he was banned from to , and spent three years under house arrest. He was also detained and tortured on more than one occasion.
He worked as a journalist for the Sunday Times, The Sowetan and the Weekly Mail, helping to form the Union of Black Journalists, and was also a director of the Black Consciousness publishing imprint Skotaville.
Mat
Don Mattera
Donato Francisco Mattera was born in Western Native Township, now called Westbury, Johannesburg in His grandfather was an Italian immigrant who married a Xhosa or Khoisan woman from the Cape. His grandfather then moved to Johannesburg where Mattera's father was born and classified Italian by the authorities. His mother was a Motswana and domestic worker in Johannesburg.
Mattera was raised by his grandparents not his parents. He grew up in the mixed area of Johannesburg called Sophiatown before the apartheid government moved his family to Westbury; an area earmarked for people classified “Coloured” by the government. At the age of eight, his grandmother sent him to study at the St Theresa Catholic Covenant School in Durban. His grandparents were not pleased with the quality of education provided for coloured by the government.
Mattera returned home from boarding school at the age of He continued his secondary studies at Pageview, another suburb of Johannesburg whose residents were forcefully removed. It was during these years that Mattera became involved with gangsterism. He then joined and became the leader of the most notorious gang group called the
Biographies you may also like
Odonovan rossa biography of albert club history Story of O’Donovan Rossa Park The Skibbereen Gaelic Athletic Association was founded on November 8th , at a meeting in the Town Hall. It was one of the first clubs .
Paulie litt biography of donald Ollie Trinke is a young, suave music publicist who seems to have it all, with a new wife and a baby on the way. But life deals him a bum hand when he's suddenly faced with single fatherhood, a .
Stepan makarov biography of martin Stepan Ossipovich Makarov (po rosyjsku: Степа́н О́сипович Макаров), urodzony 27 grudnia r. (8 stycznia w kalendarzu gregoriańskim) i zmarł 31 marca (13 kwietnia .
Biography of 2 international mathematicians pictures Enjoy our mathematician pictures featuring a range of photos, portraits and images of the most famous mathematicians in history. Find pictures of influential mathematicians such as .
Destry jetton annoying voice actress Check out Sooo U! on Channel 12's Arizona Midday! Summer segment; shorts and tanks!Missing: voice actress.
Best selling autobiography books in india First autobiography of Dalit woman. 6 Volumes. Pages. Covering period from .