CHAPTER 1
My Humble Journey
“It’s not where you come from that matters,
but where you are going.”
Unknown
This quote epitomizes my journey from the dusty and dangerous streets of Soweto
to the hustle and bustle of New York City. This is a story of a girl who dared to dream
and is now living her dream. I share this story with the intention of giving hope to
millions of young people in the ghetto, the townships or rural Africa an America who
have a dream to become somebody. This is truly my humble journey of life that I hope
will help you realize your dream. If I can, you too can. It’s not a story about rags to
riches; it is about making your dream a reality—whatever it may be.
This article published in Style Magazine in February 2005 and adapted for
timeliness, captures my journey succinctly from a girl growing up in Soweto, who
ventured to America in search of the American dream. It is about how I made my
mission to serve my people my true passion.
It is a story of determination and
persistence—not self glorification as some of the skeptics might choose to see it. The
purpose of recapping this story from Style is to assist you to better understand how I
“dared to dream” in my first book and now, why I “dare to live” in my second book.
Dr. Felicia Mabuza-Suttle
Businesswoman, talk show host, university lecturer and vibrant personality,
Felicia Mabuza-Suttle is a brilliant example of making dreams come true. From her
home in the USA, she told Style her story:
“I was born in Sophiatown and raised in Soweto with my sister and brother. Both
my parents remarried and added three more lovely sisters to the family. My father and
grandfather were both entrepreneurs. My grandfather, who raised us, was the first black
man to own two restaurants in downtown Johannesburg prior to the Group Areas Act
(prior to the introduction of apartheid that separated blacks and whites). He was also one
of the first black people to own a security company and real estate. My father owned his
own driving school franchise after breaking away from the Speedy Driving School chain.
My mom was a seamstress and in her words, “the Mona Lisa of Sophiatown.” She was
indeed a beautiful woman and one of the first soloists for the Jabavu Choristers, then the
best singing black choirs.
“We were comfortable but were taught the importance of saving for rainy days.
My grandfather is my role model. He demonstrated the importance of hard work and
integrity to me daily. He taught me how to be ambitious – to dream and make every
dream a reality. He was not educated but emphasized the importance of education.
“As a young girl growing up in Soweto under the apartheid regime, I yearned for
education. I just wanted to have alphabets behind my name and today, I am proud to say
I was able to accomplish this dream:
a BA in Journalism, an MA in Mass
Communications, and a Ph.D in Communications.
“I have always been a teacher at heart. In the early 1970s, I started a cultural
center aimed at keeping young people off the streets, where I taught them ballroom and
Latin American dance. Antonio Banderas in the movie Take the Lead, reminds me of my
venture of taking kids from the rough streets of Soweto and teaching them to dance and
competing in top ballroom competitions and winning. We also held discussions about the
present conditions in our country.
That was illegal in those days when we would hide
autobiographies of Malcolm X, Martin Luther King and Marcus Garvey. In our efforts to
practice black consciousness and not to be arrested for holding political rallies, we
danced the rumba to Nina Simone’s To Be Young Gifted and Black. We would end our
dance sessions doing the cha cha cha to James Brown’s song, Say It Loud; I’m Black and
I’m Proud.
“I had already started making a name for myself having earned community
awards for my work with youth, working as a reporter for the banned World Newspaper
under the tutelage of reknowned journalists like Aggrey Klaaste and Percy Qoboza. One
of South Africa’s black pioneers in advertising, Eric Mafuna, who was with J. Walter
Thompson then, selected me to be one of the first faces of Lux soap. My face on
billboards was a dream come true for a young Soweto girl, but the urge to want to make it
beyond the boundaries and borders of South Africa became even stronger.
“In the mid-1970s a grant from Anglo American helped me join the Council of
International Programs, to study youth work in America.
I met Earl Suttle at an
International Conference in Minneapolis. We became friends and months after I returned
to South Africa and after hearing about my intended pursuits, he sent me an air ticket and
paid my first semester fees at Marquette University. He saw this as his contribution to
South Africa. I later secured a scholarship from financier George Soros, who believed
that I would make a difference one day in my country. My education later opened many
doors, my proudest leading to a lectureship at major universities. Later, I also worked in
two American Fortune 500 companies.
“My most humbling and rewarding experience was coming back home after 18
years in America, responding to Nelson Mandela’s call in 1991 to South Africans abroad
to help rebuild our new democracy. I played a key role as part of the team that changed
the colours of the planes for SAA in the mid-1990s and obviously what I became most
noted for in South Africa was starting the first studio audience talk show in the country in
1992. The show had a successful 12-year run on two channels, SABC and Etv, and
judging from viewers’ letters, media reports and personal encounters, it changed many
lives. To this day, I am still receiving letters from dedicated fans asking me to start the
show again. But it was time to pass on the baton. Life is all about leaving a legacy and
today, many young people conduct their own talk shows in South Africa.
“I am back with my family who endured a long separation as I commuted
between Atlanta and South Africa, and I am presently involved in investing in projects
related to real estate, restaurants and retail. I have started a new talk show in America on
the Africa Channel. The show is called Conversations with Felicia. The aim of the show
is to change misperceptions about Africa in America.
Following in the footsteps of my entrepreneurial grandfather, my father and uncle,
“I am a founding member and investor in Pamodzi Investment Holdings, an investment
company with holdings in companies like Foodcorp, NamiTech, Digicore and Sodexho.
I am also a founding owner of the popular restaurant Back o’ the Moon at Gold Reef
City. The next dream is to start a chain of Back o’ the Moon restaurants in the USA.
“The concept of the American dream being played out in South Africa, with a
new democracy that has opened numerous opportunities for previously disadvantaged
black people, is definitely alive and well. The word ‘capitalist’ is no longer shameful
among blacks. As we have seen in our society of high unemployment, poverty can
definitely be the root of all evil.
We have to ensure, however, that economic
empowerment that is still enjoyed by a handful, including myself, trickles down and
reaches the millions who still live in poverty. That’s the African way. We need to see
more vehicles of empowerment to alleviate poverty and create a larger middle class in
South Africa. The American Dream is carried by a huge middle class with a thirst for
knowledge and an entrepreneurial spirit that makes the dream possible for many.
“The American Dream is about accumulation – a house in the suburbs, two cars,
two children and a dog.
The South African Dream should go beyond that –
empowerment of self and others. We must raise others as we rise. That’s the African
concept of ubuntu – humanness.
“Nothing and no one should stop you
From realizing your dream. Pursue it
with relentless determination.
Felicia Mabuza-Suttle