South African singer “Mama Africa” dies.Miriam Makeba, the South African singer nicknamed “Mama Africa,” suffered a heart attack after performing and died Sunday in Italy. She was 76. Makeba was known for using her music to fight against apartheid in her native land which resulted in her being exiled from the nation for over 30 years. She performed for only a half an hour at Sunday night’s benefit concert in Castel Volturno, reports the AFP. “She had been the last one to go on stage, after the performances of other singers,” said a photographer who covered the event. “There were calls for an encore and at that moment someone asked if there was a doctor in the house. Miriam Makeba fainted and was lying on the floor.” After her anti-apartheid lyrics caused her citizenship to be revoked in 1960, South African authorities refused to let her back into the nation, even for her mother’s funeral. The country also banned her music, but that didn’t slow her popularity worldwide. She won a Grammy Award in 1965 for her album with Harry Belafonte, “An Evening With Belafonte/Makeba.” Her biggest hit was “Pata Pata” in 1967, but she made the uninformed decision to sign away all royalties on the song. “Though my music I became this voice and image of Africa, and the people, without even realizing,” she said in her biography. Her only daughter, Bongi Makeba, died in 1985. After living in the United States, Guinea and Europe, she returned to South Africa in the 1990s when Nelson Mandela was released from prison and the apartheid system crumbled. South African Foreign Minister Nkosazana Dlamini Zuma released a statement about Makeba’s death. “One of the greatest songstresses of our time Miriam Makeba has ceased to sing,” it he said. She “died performing what she did best - an ability to, communicate a positive message through the art of singing.” “Though my music I became this voice and image of Africa, and the people, without even realizing.”

You can call it a sign of the times. But it’s more accurate to call it a series of signs that reflect our times. Several recording stars are teaming up to express their thoughts on the world’s political scene. They have posed for photos featuring protest signs that they made up themselves, The Associated Press reports. Among those involved is Public Enemy. You can probably guess what their sign reads: “Fight the Power.” Others involved include Modest Mouse, R.E.M., Death Cab for Cutie and Rage Against The Machine. The signs will be auctioned off starting next Tuesday. Proceeds from the online sales will go to benefit War Child International, a nonprofit organization that helps kids in areas of conflict around the globe, AP reports.  See the auction signs here.

You(th) Vote: A group of about 10 activists, calling themselves “Blacks Against Obama,” were escorted out of a rally for Sen. Barack Obama in Coral Gables, Fla., after  interrupting Obama’s speech for about 2 minutes.  They were waving signs that said that Obama supports gay marriage, abortion and that he has been endorsed by the KKK! Click for more.

He’s preparing to defend his Sean Bell acquittal protest

The Rev. Al Sharpton will take his public nuisance and disturbing the peace case to court Oct. 6, a Manhattan judge ruled Thursday. Sharpton, who was arrested in early May - along with scores of protestors who froze up major New York City thoroughfares as a statement against the acquittal of three police officers in the shooting death of Sean Bell - had an opportunity recently to admit guilt and avoid a trial and jail time. But the civil rights leader, who heads the Harlem-based National Action Network, wanted a public airing for a case that focuses attention back on what he and others say is the egregiously unfair freeing of the NYPD cops who shot down the 23-year-old Bell outside a Queens nightclub on the eve of his wedding day, Nov. 25, 2006. The officers shot the unarmed groom and his two friends in a haze of 50 bullets. Bell’s friends, Joseph Guzman and Trent Benefield, survived but were seriously wounded. On Wednesday, Sharpton said there is nothing unlawful about a peaceful protest. “Every time they bring me back, it further exposes the disparity of justice in this city,” he said.

Thousands of Mexicans hit the streets to protest crime. Mexicans, sick and tired of the huge wave of murders and kidnappings in t heir country, took to the streets Saturday demanding the government do something about the violence, which they say is out of control. More than 50,000 people (according to government estimates) wearing white and carrying candles and pictures of kidnapped loved ones, marched through the streets of Mexico City . Thousands also took part in protests around the nation as well. During his time in office, President Felipe Calderon has put crime fighting first but, other than the arrest of several prominent drug dealers, not much has improved, reports CNN.  Big drug cartels have been fighting one another for trafficking routes. Just in the state of Chihuahua , there have been more than 800 murders this year - which is twice as much as last year during this time. Last week a dozen headless bodies were found near Cancun . One family of protesters had not heard from their 24-year-old daughter, Monica Alejandrina Ramirez, since she was kidnapped in 2004. “The most frustrating thing has been the indolence of many of the authorities, their insensitivity. I have often asked myself, why? Why me? Why my daughter?” said Ramirez’s father. In many towns, the police forces are struggling, some complaining that they have to share guns. And many officers have resigned after witnessing a fellow officer murdered in front of their homes.

A Georgia boy dies after being shot by a little girl. A Georgia teen died Saturday after being accidentally shot in the head by a 12-year-old girl late Friday. Police said that 17-year-old Trevayne R. Cozart was pronounced dead at the Gwinnet Medical Center in suburban Atlanta. He had been playing with a friend when the friend’s little sister fired a weapon. Although the girl’s mother was home at the time, she was not in the room where the shooting to place, police said. No charges have been filed against the parents or the child.

NAACP will protest police actions in Conn. town.

The Stamford, Conn., branch of the NAACP, saying that police are “mentally abusing” Black youths, will hold a protest against local law enforcement on Aug. 31. The mass action will mark the first demonstration under NAACP President Jack Bryant, who took over the helm of the chapter five years ago. “I feel this plan of action is necessary as the need to begin policing our police department,” Bryant told Mayor Dannel Malloy and Public Safety Director William Callion in an e-mail a week ago. The mayor responded that he was willing to meet with Bryant, who told The Advocate newspaper that the “the time for meetings is over. This issue has been exhausted with meetings between the police department and the community. I think it’s time for action now.” Bryant says that the complaints from the African-American community have been pouring in. He says that he even witnessed one “disturbing” incident earlier this month but declined to offer details, The Advocate reported. “I approached the officers and they said it’s an investigation and they couldn’t give me any details,” he said. The incident didn’t involve a beat-down, but it was troubling, he added. “It wasn’t physical police brutality but I think mentally it was police brutality … I don’t want this to seem like we’re singling out the whole police department. I’m sure there are a lot of good police officers on the force. There’s just a few who make it seem bad for those whole police force.”

Two NYPD officers rode around with a Black baby doll’s head on their antenna

Dozens of African-American leaders turned out at a rally in Harlem’s Marcus Garvey Park Thursday to denounce two White New York Police officers who rode around town with the head of a Black baby doll impaled on the antenna of their unmarked car. “When you talk about the young people that are here today, and the message that is being sent to them when they see this,” said Manhattan Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, NY1 News reports. “They see the lack of serious attention that is given by the city is not really something I want to be party to,” adds Mark-Viverito, who, along with State Sen. Bill Perkins (above) for the protest. Go to BET.com/News for more on this story.  Do you believe that the officers were unaware the doll’s head was on their antenna?

Nigerian job recruitment drives kills at least 12
In Nigeria, at least 12 people died at separate recruitment drives in recent days. The drives were for positions within the Nigerian Immigration Service. At one drive in Enugu, thousands of applicants were trying to rush in to a government building to take an aptitude test before a recruiter closed the gate. The desperate stampede led to four people being killed. More than 130,000 people applied for just 1,260 jobs. Another four people were crushed in a separate stampede for jobs in Ilorin. And in Asaba (in the Niger Delta region) four job-seekers were killed while doing a fitness test that required them to run miles during the hottest portion of the day, reports the BBC. Others died during fitness tests across the nation but an exact number is not known. Government jobs in the nation are sought after for the good pay and benefits in a nation where there are few good jobs for the thousands who graduate college every year. “After struggling through school, you have unemployment staring you in the face, and when you finally think succor has come to provide you with employment, the recruitment leads to your grave,” said the sister of one of the applicants killed at a recruitment in Kaduna. “That is the pathetic story of the poor in our country.” Over the last eight years, the amount of government jobs has been cut due to economic reforms. And even though the government is the country’s largest employer, most of the population depends on the informal economy to earn money, reports the BBC.

Haitian police and protesters clash at a rally
Haitian police and protesters clashed at a rally to mark the 55th birthday of ousted leader President Jean-Bertrand Aristide, reports The Associated Press. Police had set up barricades around the National Palace, but hundreds of angry protesters poured passed them anyway and were confronted by riot police with tear gas. The protest began as a small, peaceful rally about 200 people gathered around Aristide’s former home. But the number of people expanded to thousands who marched to the capital chanting, “We need Titid,” which is Aristide’s nickname. According to one of the organizers, the march was also a protest against the skyrocketing food prices. At least seven died during food protests in April. Aristide now lives in South Africa, after escaping Haiti in 2004 during a violent rebellion, for which he blames the United States. Earlier this year, 5,000 people demonstrated to mark the fourth anniversary of him being ousted, proving he still has a strong following.

World Lens: There are fiery protests in Indonesia; Zimbabwe opposition leader calls it quits; and a Brazilian model shows off a colorful creation. See the pictures here.