Avatar photo

By Citizen Reporter

Journalist


Trevor Noah’s ‘Born a Crime’ is being taught in US schools

Trevor Noah's memoir is now part of the curriculum in New Jersey schools.


Trevor Noah’s autobiography, ‘Born a Crime’, has been added to the curriculum in schools in the US.

In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, The Daily Show host said his book was being taught as a setwork in some schools in Newark, New Jersey. He said the news had come as some surprise.

“To go from a kid who was always in trouble for something or other, to now have my book being taught in school is quite a jump,” Noah said.

“I don’t think the book is a product of myself, but rather me telling a story comprised of many stories. Part of it is South Africa’s story, part of it is my family’s story, my mother’s story, the lessons she taught me. Then, obviously, my interpretation of the world I was raised in,” he said. “It’s most beautiful to me because of why they’re using the book.”

Noah said the book had lessons in it learned from apartheid South Africa and stories that applied to the world.

“You do see vestiges of that in America today. It’s an easy story to understand because South Africa’s racism was so blatant and so unavoidable,” Noah said.

While Noah shot to fame as largely an observational comedian, but as The Daily Show’s host, political commentary is now his daily bread. Recently he took the Trump administration to task over its family separation policy for illegal immigrants, which saw children torn from their families.

Read more on these topics

Trevor Noah

Access premium news and stories

Access to the top content, vouchers and other member only benefits