The Prejudice Faced by Trevor Noah in His Autobiography, Born a Crime

Trevor Noah was born in February of 1984, to a black mother and a white father of Swiss-German descent in South Africa. Trevor was born 10 years before the end of apartheid which Trevor liked to think of as ‘apart hate’ to describe the method of which white leaders separated each group and made them to hate one another in order to control them. Trevor’s parent’s union and relationship was illegal during the apartheid, he often references himself as “being born a crime”. After apartheid, Noah and his mother no longer faced the challenge of hiding his existence, but they faced the new challenges of his mother’s relationship with an abusive alcoholic and their experience with poverty. 

Noah’s values and leadership are heavily influenced by his upbringing. Although he was raised in a world that hated him for the colour of his skin. Trevor is now a worldly recognized comedian, political commentator, television host, and the first African comedian on “The Tonight Show”(Heller) He often credits his humour for the injustices he faced especially throughout his childhood. Born a Crime is an autobiographical book that Trevor wrote in order for his audience, which is mostly a part of the western world, to understand his African experience. Trevor gained popularity through performing stand-up comedy in South Africa at a time that it was not a common occurrence. Trevor credits his success to his mother, Patricia to whom he credits the upbringing and nurturing that made him the man he is today.

The insight the reader receives from Trevor Noah’s autobiography, born a Crime, contains multiple life lessons but it also reveals his authenticity. Trevor is relatable and respected by individuals across all ages because of his authenticity. In addition, his book has many lessons that are applicable to various people in different ways. Throughout his childhood, Trevor faced issues concerning his identity, he was unsure if he identified as a: Black, White or a Mixed person. In school he never knew what group to associate with and he noticed whatever group he temporarily associated with he was always treated differently. As he grew up, he came to realize that he did not have identify with one particular group, but he could just had to remain true to himself. Trevor has the talent of speaking multiple languages such as Xhosa, Zulu, Afrikaans and Sotho this helped him to interact and fit in with people of the different factions of people in South Africa. Trevor speaking multiple languages helped people to recognize him as a person beyond his colour. “When you make the effort to speak someone else's language, even if it's just basic phrases here and there, you are saying to them, 'I understand that you have a culture and identity that exists beyond me. I see you as a human being” (Noah 138). 

Trevor’s goal in writing Born a Crime was to offer insight into his upbringing especially, his relationship his mother. His mother had an extremely difficult life, she was often thrown in jail for violation apartheid curfews and later on facing her abusive husband, Abel, who shot her in the face during one of his drunken flashes of anger. Although Trevor’s mom, Patricia had faced such adversity in her life, she was able to teach Trevor the lesson of thinking beyond her circumstances and being capable of transforming her pain into strength. She always remained a steady reliance for her children and Trevor never really understood his mother’s bravery and strength at that time. Trevor recalls in his book the way his mother’s optimism protected them, “She never let me see us as victims, me my mom, Andrew and Isaac. Victims of apartheid. Victims of abuse. But I was never allowed to think that way” (Noah 158) Trevor’s memoir also outlines the life lesson of there being nothing worse than regret. Although in Noah’s situation, he learnt this lesson by missing an opportunity to ask a girl he liked out, the lesson is also applicable to more complicated situations. “ We spend so much time being afraid of failure, afraid of rejection. But regret is the thing we should fear the most. Failure is an answer. Rejection is an answer. Regret is an eternal question you will never have the answer to. “What if.” ”If only…” ”I wonder what would have…” You will never, never know, and it will haunt you for the rest of your days.” (Noah 84) Trevor encourages everyone to pursue what they want because for him, he continued to think about what would have happened if he was only able to summon u the courage to tell his crush, Zaheera, his true feelings for her. Throughout this book, Noah instills in the reader valuable lessons such as, staying true to yourself, thinking beyond current situations and fearing regret. He instills all these lessons in the reader by offering some of his own valuable life stories that have shaved him into the person that he grew to be.

Trevor Noah’s autobiography is a genuinely insightful account that gave me a new perspective on Trevor as an influential figure in the culture of today. Before, reading this book, I did not know much about Trevor Noah other than the fact that he was hilarious comedian with a show that often criticizes America’s current issues, especially the President. From the time of birth, Trevor was placed at a disadvantage all because of his skin colour. The lessons that I have learned from reading this book have influenced me, especially that of staying true to yourself in a place where I am distinctly different from everybody else. In addition, this book has also inspired me to learn a language such as French or Spanish, which I may attempt. As a leader, these lessons can be applied to how to treat others and also in how to persevere in times of struggle. Asides from in a leadership setting these lessons can be applied to my interactions with other people that are different from myself. Trevor Noah perfectly embodies all the characteristics of an influential leader through his television show, comedy and his contributions to youth like himself in South Africa.

Works Cited

1. Heller, Karen. “How Trevor Noah Went from Biracial Youth in S. Africa to Leading Light on U.S. TV.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 12 Nov. 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/how-trevor-noah-went-from-biracial-youth-in-s-africa-to-leading-light-on-us-tv/2016/11/10/6fdab1e6-a13e-11e6-8d63-3e0a660f1f04_story.html?utm_term=.23ccb0b1f695.
2. Noah, Trevor. Born a Crime. United States. Spiegel & Grau, 2016