Born a Crime Book Summary

Book Summary

15 min

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Brief Summary

Living as a mixed-race person during and after apartheid was not easy. Trevor Noah faced poverty and racism throughout his life, while also getting mixed-up in crime.

About the Author

Trevor Noah is a South African comedian, writer, producer, political commentator, actor, and television host. He is the current host of The Daily Show, an American satirical news program on Comedy Central. He was born in Johannesburg. He hosted several television shows for the South African Broadcasting Corporation and was the runner-up in the fourth season of South Africa’s iteration of Strictly Come Dancing in 2008.

From 2008 to 2011, he created and hosted the late night talk show Tonight with Trevor Noah, which aired on M-Net and DStv. After his talk show gained international success, he became the Senior International Correspondent for The Daily Show in 2014. In 2015, he succeeded Jon Stewart.

In 2017 and 2018, he was named one of The 35 Most Powerful People in New York Media by The Hollywood Media. In 2018, Time Magazine added him to the list of the 100 most influential people in the world.

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Key Insights

You’ve probably heard of the late-night South African comedian, Trevor Noah.

Trevor Noah famously took over Jon Stewart’s, The Daily Show, in September of 2015.

But, there is much more to this satire-loving comic than many people know.

“You want to live in a world where someone is good or bad. Where you either hate them or love them. But that's not how people are.”- Trevor Noah

In, “Born A Crime” by Trevor Noah, you will learn the star’s life story. And, how he was affected by the racist beliefs of his country, where life for a mixed-race person is systematically cruel.

Trevor Noah Was A Crime From Birth

Noah was born during apartheid in South Africa, which was racial segregation that was active between the years of 1948 and 1991.

“Relationships are built in the silences. You spend time with people, you observe them and interact with them, and you come to know them—and that is what apartheid stole from us: time.” - Trevor Noah

This segregation system was set in place in 1948, but the roots stretch much farther. In 1652, the Dutch settled in South Africa and took the people of the land as slaves.

In the 1800s, the British then took control of the land and the people. So, the Dutch decided to high-tail it inland in order to develop their own unique culture. They gained the name Afrikaners.

After the British left, the Afrikaners returned and created a code of laws that oppressed the native black people.

One part of the code made it clear that whites and blacks were not allowed to procreate or have any sexual encounters with each other. This was to keep the races completely separate so that it could not tear apart the racist apartheid system.

People who did intermingle with the other race were put into prison. Men were sent for up to five years and women would serve no more than four.

Keeping the races separate was essential to keeping the racist system intact. And because it was so important, police would peek into windows to try to bust interracial affairs.

On February 20th, 1984, Noah took his first breath. Noah’s mother was black and his father was white, which made Noah the evidence of a serious crime: interracial intercourse.

Noah’s Parents Prove That Opposites Attract

Noah’s parents were different racially, but they were also different in many other ways.

Noah’s father was named Robert. He was of Swiss and German heritage. In the 1970s, he moved to South Africa. Robert was a very quiet man who didn’t quite understand the apartheid system he was living in. Later in his life, he opened the first racially-mixed dining spot in the town Johannesburg.

Unfortunately, Noah wasn’t able to visit his father as much as he’d like to because of the racial system. By the time Noah was 13, they didn’t talk anymore.

But, when Noah turned 24, he was able to visit his father again and was welcomed with love and a big scrapbook his father had made of clippings from articles focusing on Noah’s comedy career.

Noah’s...