Masauko Chipembere Jr. Shares His Story Through Song

Malawian-American artist and activist Masauko Chipembere opened his evening event with
a song he dedicates to his father. Its lyrics are taken from a political speech in which Masauko
Chipembere Sr. preaches the song’s chorus, “freedom is meaningless unless people can see
change.” Chipembere Jr.’s parents were formidable Malawian nationalists exiled from the
country after a coup to overthrow the colonial-affiliated government backfired. They raised their
children in Los Angeles and had little contact with other Malawians. Chipembere was conceived
in Africa but shared that he had difficulty conceptualizing Malawi until his mother returned back,
confirming that their home existed. Although Chipembere’s father died in California due to
medical complications, Catherine Chipembere continues to lead in Malawian politics and
initiatives for women. 

Chipembere’s effort to find home on two continents has settled him somewhere in between.
An outsider in Malawi and a child of asylum seekers in the United States, neither place has felt
entirely his. Yet Chipembere, with the inspiration of his parents, has dedicate his art, his
entrepreneurship, and his passion to activism and ancestral tribute. In this way, Chipembere is
“bridging the gap between his African past and his American reality.”