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Sophiatown / s oʊ ˈ f aɪ ə t aʊ n /, also known as Sof'town or Kofifi, is a suburb of Johannesburg, South Africa. Sophiatown was a poor multi-racial area and a black cultural hub that was destroyed under apartheid .
Dr. Xuma's house was one of two houses to escape the destruction of Sophiatown, South Africa by the government in the late 1950s, it is also a landmark which belonged to Dr Alfred Bitini Xuma who was a medical doctor and the President of the African National Congress (ANC) and Chairperson of the Western Areas Anti-Expropriation and Proper Housing Committee. [1]
One of the most famous uses of the Group Areas Act was the destruction of Sophiatown, a suburb of Johannesburg. [6] On 9 February 1955, 2,000 policemen began removing residents to Meadowlands, Soweto and erected a new white-only area called Triomf (Victory). [7] Nelson Mandela said of the Act in his book, Long Walk to Freedom:
The events surrounding Sophiatown epitomise the approach adopted by the Apartheid government towards racial segregation and town planning, and illustrate an important episode of South African history. Moreover, the description of life in Sophiatown provides a valuable insight into multi-racial culture in South Africa before Apartheid.
In 1955, the settlement of Sophiatown was destroyed, and its 60,000 inhabitants moved, many to a settlement known as Meadowlands. [4] Sophiatown had been a center of African jazz music prior to the relocation. [18] The move was the inspiration for the writing of the song "Meadowlands", by Strike Vilakezi.
However, the lyrics were intended to be ironic. The residents of Sophiatown understood this interpretation, and sang the song as their possessions were removed from the township by government trucks. [12] Thus the song has been referred to as a notable example of using ambiguous meaning to convey anti-government sentiment in a covert manner. [13]
The story takes places in Sophiatown, a township of Johannesburg, in the early 1950s, shortly before the apartheid regime forcibly removed non-whites from the area to make way for white resettlement under the Group Areas Act and the Natives Resettlement Act, 1954. Philemon, a doting husband who works for a lawyer, prepares breakfast in bed for ...
A multitude of anti-apartheid plays were staged, including Reza de Wet's multi award-winning, Diepe Grond, [6] and Woza Albert, Asinamali, Bopha, Sophiatown, You Strike The Woman, You Strike A Rock, Born in the RSA and Black Dog – Inj’emnyama. The Market Theatre's cultural contribution to South Africa's emergence as a democracy in 1994 is ...