Sam Nhlengethwa

Kalamzoo Mokone, is a lithograph from the series, “The Beat of the Drum,” which was a collection of prints based on the Drum Magazine that investigated life under apartheid in South Africa and celebrated vivacious life in black communities. These images feature themes of belonging, equality, and universality while exploring South African feelings of citizenship and identity during a wildly tumultuous time.

This print featured soccer player, Kalamazoo Stephen Mokone, who was the first black, South African soccer player to play in a professional European league when he signed for Coventry City in 1955. His skill on the field earned him the nickname of The Black Meteor and Kalamazoo he was the first foreign player in the Dutch football league with the club Heracles Almelo. Through this series, Nhlengethwa hoped to educate young South Africans about their personal history, as well as the legacies of apartheid found today. Nhlengethwa believes that all citizens should be equally concerned with the current socio-political climate of South Africa and understand its fraught history.