Sophiatown, Gauteng
Encyclopedia
Sophiatown (also known as Sof'town or Kofifi) is a suburb
of Johannesburg
, South Africa
.
Sophiatown was a legendary black cultural hub that was destroyed under Apartheid, rebuilt under the name by Triomf, and in 2006 officially returned to its original name.
Sophiatown was one of the oldest black areas in Johannesburg and its destruction represents some of the excesses of South Africa under Apartheid.
Despite the violence and poverty it was the epicenter of politics, jazz and blues during the 1940s and 1950s. It produced some of South Africa's most famous writers, musicians, politicians and artists.
and 686 Chinese.
in 1948, relocation plans were debated at the level of national politics Under the Immorality Ammendment Act, Act No 21 of 1950, people of mixed races could not reside together, which made it possible for the South African Government to segregate the different races. When the removals scheme was promulgated, Sophiatown residents united to protest against the forced removals, creating the famous slogan "Ons dak nie, ons phola hier" (we won't move). Father Trevor Huddleston
, Nelson Mandela
, Helen Joseph
and Ruth First
played an important role by becoming involved in the resistance. On 9 February 1955, 2 000 policemen, armed with guns, rifles and African Clubs (knobkerries
), forcefully moved the black families of Sophiatown to Meadowlands, Soweto
. Other ethnic groups were also moved: with Coloured people moved to Eldorado Park in the South of Johannesburg; the Indian
community moved to Lenasia; and the Chinese people moved to central Johannesburg. Over the next eight years Sophiatown was flattened and removed from the maps of Johannesburg to give way for a suburb for whites, and the area was renamed Triomf - Afrikaans for Triumph - by the Apartheid government. The name Sophiatown was officially restored in 2006.
There were two cinemas in Sophiatown. The larger was the Odin which at the time was also the largest in Africa. It was also the site of a series of "Jazz at the Odin" jam sessions featuring white and black musicians. Also at a meeting at the Odin the ultimately unsuccessful resistance to destruction of Sophiatown began to coalesce.
was appointed Rector. He was an outspoken opponent of apartheid. In 1955 during the forced removals Huddleston was recalled to England. His ashes reside next to his former church. On the north-eastern side of the church there is a mural depicting Father Huddleston walking the dusty streets of Sophiatown. The entire Sophiatown community was removed by the end of 1963; the church was deconsecrated in 1964 and sold to the Department of Community Development in 1967. In the 1970s it was bought by the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk
, which used it for Sunday schools. The church changed hands again and the Pinkster Protestantse Kerk bought the building and altered it significantly. The nave was enclosed, a large font was built and wooden panelling and false organ pipes changed the look of the interior. In 1997 the Anglicans bought the church back and it was reconsicrated; the changes were reversed and the building was largely restored to its former self. However, the hall and gallery the Pinkster Protestantse Kerk had built were retained..
novels, Miriam Makeba's
ghostwritten autobiography and Trevor Huddleston's
Naught for your comfort.
Marlene van Niekerk's
novel Triomf focuses on the suburb Triomf (Afrikaans for triumph) which was built on the ruins of the demolished Sophiatown. The novel recounts the monotonous daily lives of a family of poor white Afrikaners, showing how apartheid failed even those it was ideologically designed to benefit.
Suburbs of Johannesburg
The suburbs of Johannesburg are officially demarcated areas within the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. As in other Commonwealth countries, the term suburb refers to a "neighbourhood", although the term has a somewhat stronger meaning in South Africa as most "suburbs" have legally recognised...
of Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
.
Sophiatown was a legendary black cultural hub that was destroyed under Apartheid, rebuilt under the name by Triomf, and in 2006 officially returned to its original name.
Sophiatown was one of the oldest black areas in Johannesburg and its destruction represents some of the excesses of South Africa under Apartheid.
Despite the violence and poverty it was the epicenter of politics, jazz and blues during the 1940s and 1950s. It produced some of South Africa's most famous writers, musicians, politicians and artists.
History before the forced removals
Sophiatown was originally part of the Waterfall farm. Over time it included the neighboring areas of Martindale and Newclare. It was purchased by a speculator, Hermann Tobiansky, in 1897. He acquired 237 acres four miles or so west of the centre of Johannesburg. The private leasehold township was surveyed in 1903 and divided into almost 1700 small stands. The township was named after Tobiansky's wife, Sophia, and some of the streets in it were named after his children Toby, Gerty, Bertha and Victoria. Before 1913 black South Africans had freehold rights, and they bought properties in the suburb. The distance from the city centre was seen as disadvantageous and after the City of Johannesburg built a sewage plant nearby, the area seemed even less attractive. Because of these and other reasons most of the whites have moved out by 1920, leaving behind a vibrant multi-racial community. By the late 1940s Sophiatown had a population of nearly 54 000 Black Africans, 3 000 Coloureds, 1 500 IndiansIndian South Africans
Indian South Africans are people of Indian descent living in South Africa and mostly live in and around the city of Durban, making it 'the largest 'Indian' city outside India'. Most Indians in South Africa are descendents of migrants from colonial India during late 19th-century through early...
and 686 Chinese.
Forced removals
As neighboring white working-class areas, such as Westdene and Newlands, developed adjacent to Sophiatown, the perception arose that the suburb was too close to white suburbia. From 1944 onwards, the Johannesburg City Council planned to move the black population out of the Western Areas, including Sophiatown. After the election victory of the National PartyNational Party (South Africa)
The National Party is a former political party in South Africa. Founded in 1914, it was the governing party of the country from 4 June 1948 until 9 May 1994. Members of the National Party were sometimes known as Nationalists or Nats. Its policies included apartheid, the establishment of a...
in 1948, relocation plans were debated at the level of national politics Under the Immorality Ammendment Act, Act No 21 of 1950, people of mixed races could not reside together, which made it possible for the South African Government to segregate the different races. When the removals scheme was promulgated, Sophiatown residents united to protest against the forced removals, creating the famous slogan "Ons dak nie, ons phola hier" (we won't move). Father Trevor Huddleston
Trevor Huddleston
Ernest Urban Trevor Huddleston CR, KCMG was an English Anglican bishop. He was most well known for his anti-apartheid activism and his 'Prayer for Africa'...
, Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...
, Helen Joseph
Helen Joseph
Helen Joseph , a South African anti-apartheid activist, was born in Easebourne near Midhurst West Sussex, England and graduated from King's College London, in 1927. After working as a teacher in India for three years, Helen came to South Africa in 1931, where she met and married Billie Joseph...
and Ruth First
Ruth First
Ruth First was a white South African anti-apartheid activist and scholar born in Johannesburg, South Africa...
played an important role by becoming involved in the resistance. On 9 February 1955, 2 000 policemen, armed with guns, rifles and African Clubs (knobkerries
Knobkerries
Knobkierrie, also spelled knobkerrie, knopkierie or knobkerry, are African clubs used mainly in Southern and Eastern Africa. Typically they have a large knob at one end and can be used for throwing at animals in hunting or for clubbing an enemy's head...
), forcefully moved the black families of Sophiatown to Meadowlands, Soweto
Soweto
Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...
. Other ethnic groups were also moved: with Coloured people moved to Eldorado Park in the South of Johannesburg; the Indian
Indian South Africans
Indian South Africans are people of Indian descent living in South Africa and mostly live in and around the city of Durban, making it 'the largest 'Indian' city outside India'. Most Indians in South Africa are descendents of migrants from colonial India during late 19th-century through early...
community moved to Lenasia; and the Chinese people moved to central Johannesburg. Over the next eight years Sophiatown was flattened and removed from the maps of Johannesburg to give way for a suburb for whites, and the area was renamed Triomf - Afrikaans for Triumph - by the Apartheid government. The name Sophiatown was officially restored in 2006.
Life in Sophiatown
The majority of the families living in Sophiatown were tenants and sub-tenants. Eight or nine people lived in a single room and the houses hid backyards full of shanties built of cardboard and flattened kerosene cans. The shebeens (informal pubs) were one of the main forms of entertainment. People came to the shebeens not only for skokiaan or baberton (illegaly self-made alcoholic beverages), but to discuss matters, to talk about their daily worries, their political ideas and their fears and hopes. In these shebeens the politicians tried to influence others and get them to conform to their form of thinking. If one disagreed he immediately became suspect and was classified as an informer.There were two cinemas in Sophiatown. The larger was the Odin which at the time was also the largest in Africa. It was also the site of a series of "Jazz at the Odin" jam sessions featuring white and black musicians. Also at a meeting at the Odin the ultimately unsuccessful resistance to destruction of Sophiatown began to coalesce.
Landmarks
One of the few tangible reminders of the old Sophiatown is the Anglican Church of Christ the King in Ray Street. The architect was Frank Flemming, who designed 85 churches throughout South Africa. The church was constructed in 1933. The bell tower was added in 1936. So little money was made available for the construction the the architect called it a "Holy Barn".. The church's distinctive feature was a mural that is no longer visible. It was painted between 1939 and 1941 by Sister Margaret.. The church was an icon of the liberation struggle in South Africa. In 1940 Father Trevor HuddlestonTrevor Huddleston
Ernest Urban Trevor Huddleston CR, KCMG was an English Anglican bishop. He was most well known for his anti-apartheid activism and his 'Prayer for Africa'...
was appointed Rector. He was an outspoken opponent of apartheid. In 1955 during the forced removals Huddleston was recalled to England. His ashes reside next to his former church. On the north-eastern side of the church there is a mural depicting Father Huddleston walking the dusty streets of Sophiatown. The entire Sophiatown community was removed by the end of 1963; the church was deconsecrated in 1964 and sold to the Department of Community Development in 1967. In the 1970s it was bought by the Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk
Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk
The Nederduitsch Hervormde Kerk is one of the Three Sister Churches in South Africa. It was the state church of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek.The theology is in the Calvinist tradition-External Links:...
, which used it for Sunday schools. The church changed hands again and the Pinkster Protestantse Kerk bought the building and altered it significantly. The nave was enclosed, a large font was built and wooden panelling and false organ pipes changed the look of the interior. In 1997 the Anglicans bought the church back and it was reconsicrated; the changes were reversed and the building was largely restored to its former self. However, the hall and gallery the Pinkster Protestantse Kerk had built were retained..
Sophiatown in literature
Images of Sophiatown were initially built up in literature by by a generation of South African writers: Can Themba, Bloke Modisane, Ezekiel (Es' kia) Mphahlele and others who all at one time or the other were journalists at Drum magazine. Later you could find images of Sophiatown in Nadine Gordimer'sNadine Gordimer
Nadine Gordimer is a South African writer and political activist. She was awarded the 1991 Nobel Prize in Literature when she was recognised as a woman "who through her magnificent epic writing has – in the words of Alfred Nobel – been of very great benefit to humanity".Her writing has long dealt...
novels, Miriam Makeba's
Miriam Makeba
Miriam Makeba , nicknamed Mama Africa, was a Grammy Award winning South African singer and civil rights activist....
ghostwritten autobiography and Trevor Huddleston's
Trevor Huddleston
Ernest Urban Trevor Huddleston CR, KCMG was an English Anglican bishop. He was most well known for his anti-apartheid activism and his 'Prayer for Africa'...
Naught for your comfort.
Marlene van Niekerk's
Marlene van Niekerk
Marlene van Niekerk is a South African author who is best known for her novel Triomf. Her graphic and controversial descriptions of a poor Afrikaner family in Johannesburg brought her to the forefront of a post-apartheid society, still struggling to come to terms with all the changes in South...
novel Triomf focuses on the suburb Triomf (Afrikaans for triumph) which was built on the ruins of the demolished Sophiatown. The novel recounts the monotonous daily lives of a family of poor white Afrikaners, showing how apartheid failed even those it was ideologically designed to benefit.
Well-known residents
- Trevor HuddlestonTrevor HuddlestonErnest Urban Trevor Huddleston CR, KCMG was an English Anglican bishop. He was most well known for his anti-apartheid activism and his 'Prayer for Africa'...
- Desmond TutuDesmond TutuDesmond Mpilo Tutu is a South African activist and retired Anglican bishop who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s as an opponent of apartheid...
- Hugh MasekelaHugh MasekelaHugh Ramopolo Masekela is a South African trumpeter, flugelhornist, cornetist, composer, and singer.-Early life:Masekela was born in Kwa-Guqa Township, Witbank, South Africa. He began singing and playing piano as a child...
- Percy QobozaPercy QobozaPercy Peter Tshidiso Qoboza was an influential black South African journalist, author, and outspoken critic of the apartheid government in South Africa during the early periods of world recognition of the problems evident in the racially divided land...
- Bloke Modisane
- Can ThembaCan Themba-Overview:He was born in Marabastad, near Pretoria, but wrote most of his work in Sophiatown, Johannesburg, South Africa before it was destroyed under the provisions of the apartheid Group Areas Act....
- Don MatteraDon MatteraDonato Francisco Mattera , better known as Don Mattera, is a South African poet and author.- Overview :...
- Thandi KlaasenThandi KlaasenThandi Klaasen is a jazz musician from Sophiatown, Gauteng. Her career as a singer and dancer began in the mid-1950s. In 1961 she moved to London to work in the musical King Kong. She has since performed with Dolly Rathebe, Miriam Makeba, Dorothy Masuka, and others.When she was a teenager, her face...
- Aggrey KlaasteAggrey KlaasteAggrey Zola Klaaste was a South African newspaperjournalist and editor. He was best known for being editor of the Soweto-based newspaper, the Sowetan, from 1988 to 2002...
- Mongane Wally SeroteMongane Wally SeroteMongane Wally Serote is a South African poet and writer. He was born in Sophiatown, Johannesburg and went to school in Alexandra, Lesotho and Soweto. He first became involved in Black Consciousness when he was finishing high school in Soweto...
- Mzwakhe MbuliMzwakhe MbuliMzwakhe Mbuli, a devout former Deacon at Apostolic Faith Mission Church in Naledi Soweto South Africa, known as "The People's Poet, Tall man, Mbulism", is a popular poet and mbaqanga singer in South Africa...
- Popo MolefePopo MolefePopo Simon Molefe is a South African politician, and the former Premier of the North West Province....
See also
- SophiatownSophiatown (2003) filmSophiatown is a 2003 film. Sophiatown in the 1950's was a suburb of Johannesburg South Africa that was similar to Harlem in that all races mixed in defiance of apartheid...
, a 2003 film about Sophiatown
- DrumDrum (2004 film)Drum is a 2004 film based on the life of South African investigative journalist Henry Nxumalo, who worked for the popular Drum magazine, called "the first black lifestyle magazine in Africa." It was director Zola Maseko's first film and deals with the issues of apartheid and the forced removal of...
, a 2004 film about Sophiatown
- Come Back, AfricaCome Back, AfricaCome Back, Africa is the second feature-length film written, produced, and directed by American independent filmmaker Lionel Rogosin. The film had a profound effect on African Cinema, and remains of great historical and cultural importance as a document preserving the unique heritage of the...
, a film shot underground in Sophiatown in the 1950s by Lionel Rogosin with writing credits by Bloke Modisane, Lewis NkosiLewis NkosiLewis Nkosi was a South African writer and essayist. He was a multifaceted personality, and attempted every literary genre, literary criticism, poetry, drama, and novels.-Later life:...
, and Lionel Rogosin. - The Official Lionel Rogosin website
- Come Back, Africa, Lionel Rogosin & Peter Davis, STE Publishers, ISBN 1-919855-17-3 (The book of the film)
- 1955 Time magazine article - Toby Street Blues about the forced removals
- Sophiatown - the play