A triumph over Triomf
SOPHIATOWN - A community steeped in the past, Sophiatown was a popular, multicultural hub until the apartheid government demolished it.
Commemorating Heritage Day in our area is synonymous with remembering the vibrant culture, controversial demolition and ultimate rebuilding of Sophiatown.
The Sophiatown Heritage and Cultural Centre at the AB Xuma House on Toby Street carries the thick and colourful history which lives on in the pictures, stories and hearts of its former residents.
Established in 1898 by developer Herman Tobiansky, Sophiatown was originally built as a white-only neighbourhood. By 1920 most of the white residents had moved out as the area became less attractive when the City of Johannesburg established a sewage plant nearby.
Sophiatown was left as this uniquely multi-cultural community, so much so that a common language developed among the different peoples there called Tsotsitaal.
As heritage practitioner Mbali Zwane explained, Sophiatown was also the cultural hub of a burgeoning artistic scene, giving it the status of 'the Chicago of South Africa.'
Notable creatives like Hugh Masekela, Thandie Klaasen and Mongane Wally Serote were fixtures on the Sophiatown scene. It was the pinnacle of 'cool' to be from Sophiatown.
The story takes a gloomy turn after the victory of the apartheid government in 1948.
With other white-only suburbs developing close to Sophiatown, the multi-ethnic neighbourhood became a threat to white suburbia.
Under the Natives Resettlement Act of 1954 the government forcibly removed people from their homes and bulldozed the community to develop another white-only suburb similar to close by Westdene. The area was renamed Triomf.
“The apartheid government's aim was to divide the people of Sophiatown because here, people used to see each other as just human beings. Not Zulu's, not Xhosa's, not Indian- just human beings,” remarked Zwane.
The building which houses the cultural centre is one of four original structures that was not destroyed and the only one open for public use.
The St Joseph's Home for Children survived as the church opposed its demolition noting that it was on farm land not in the official layout of Sophiatown and Christ the King Anglican Church on Ray Street remained because of the iconic bell tower designed by famous Johannesburg architect Frank Flemming. It is unknown why the third building, a privately owned homed, along with the A. B. Xuma house were spared being razed.
When the apartheid regime ended, the City of Johannesburg decided to revert the name change and reinstate some of Sophiatown's cultural pride.
On 11 February 2006 Sophiatown was reborn- a triumph over Triomf.
“You can bulldoze the houses and shebeens,” says a passionate Mbali Zwane, “but you can never demolish the memories and you cannot bulldoze the spirit of Sophiatown.”
