Soweto

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Johannesburg, including Soweto, from the International Space Station

Soweto is an urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the north. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships.^[1] Formerly a separate municipality, it is now united with the city of Johannesburg. The population has historically been overwhelmingly Black. The area is nowadays associated with events in the struggle against apartheid.

History

The history of African townships south west of Johannesburg that would later form Soweto was propelled by the increasing eviction of Africans by city and state authorities. Africans had been drawn to work on the gold mines that sprang up after 1886. From the start they were accommodated in separate areas on the outskirts of Johannesburg, such as Brickfields (Newtown) ^[2]. In 1904 British-controlled city authorities removed African and Indian residents of Brickfields to an "evacuation camp" at Klipspruit municipal sewage farm (not Kliptown, a separate township^[3]) outside the Johannesburg municipal boundary, following a reported outbreak of plague ^[4]. Two further townships were laid out to the east and the west of Johannesburg in 1918. Townships to the south west of Johannesburg followed, starting with Pimville in 1934 (a renamed part of Klipspruit) and Orlando in 1935. ^[5]

World War II

Industrialisation during World War II drew thousands of black workers to the Reef. They were also propelled by legislation that rendered many rural Black Africans landless. Informal settlements developed to meet the growing lack of housing. The Sofasonke movement of James Mpanza in 1944 organised the occupation of vacant land in the area, at what became known as Masakeng (Orlando West).^[6][7] Partly as a result of Mpanza's actions, the city council was forced to set up emergency camps in Orlando and Moroka, and later in Central Western Jabavu^[8]

Baragwanath Hospital

Soweto's only hospital was built during World War II. The Royal Imperial Hospital, Baragwanath, was built in today's Diepkloof in 1941 for convalescing British and Commonwealth soldiers ^[9]. John Albert Baragwanath owned a hostel, The Wayside Inn, from the late 19th century near the hospital's current location ^[10]. Field Marshall Jan Smuts noted during the opening ceremonies that the facility would be used for the area's black population after the war. In 1947 King George VI visited and presented medals to the troops there ^[11]. From this start grew Baragwanath Hospital (as it became known after 1948), reputedly the world's largest hospital ^[12]. In 1997 another name change followed, with the sprawling facility now known as Chris Hani-Baragwanath Hospital ^[13] in honour of the African National Congress leader who was assassinated in 1993 by white extremists ^[14]

Government policy from 1948

After the Afrikaner-dominated National Party gained power in 1948 and began to implement apartheid, the pace of forced removals and the creation of townships outside legally-designated white areas increased. The Johannesburg council established new townships to the southwest for black Africans evicted from the city's freehold areas of Martindale, Sophiatown, and Alexandra. Some townships were basic site and service plots (Tladi, Zondi, Dhlamini, Chiawelo, Senaoane, 1954), while at Dube middle class residents built their own houses. The first hostel to accommodate migrant workers evicted from the inner city in 1955 was built at Dube. The following year houses were built in the newly proclaimed townships of Meadowlands and Diepkloof [21].

In 1956 townships were laid out for particular ethnic groups as part of the state's strategy to sift black Africans into groupings that would later form the building blocks of the so-called "independent homelands." Spurred by a donation of R6-million to the state by Sir Ernest Oppenheimer in 1956 for housing in the area, Naledi, Mapetla, Tladi, Moletsane and Phiri were created to house Sotho and Tswana-speakers. Zulu and Xhosa speakers were accommodated in Dhlamini, Senaoane, Zola, Zondi, Jabulani, Emdeni and White City. Chiawelo was established for Tsonga and Venda-speaking residents [22].

In 1963, the name Soweto (SOuth WEstern TOwnships) was officially adopted for the sprawling township that now occupied what had been the farms of Doornkop, Klipriviersoog, Diepkloof, Klipspruit and Vogelstruisfontein.

Soweto Uprising

Soweto came to the world's attention on June 16, 1976 with the Soweto Uprising, when mass protests erupted over the government's policy to enforce education in Afrikaans rather than English. Police opened fire in Orlando West on 10,000 students[23] marching from Naledi High School to Orlando Stadium, The rioting continued and 23 people, including two white people, died on the first day in Soweto. Among them was Dr Melville Edelstein, who had devoted his life to social welfare among blacks. He was stoned to death by the mob and left with a sign around his neck proclaiming 'Beware Afrikaaners'. The impact of the Soweto protests reverberated through the country and across the world. In their aftermath, economic and cultural sanctions were introduced from abroad. Political activists left the country to train for guerrilla resistance. Soweto and other townships became the stage for violent state repression. Since 1991 this date and the schoolchildren have been commemorated by the International Day of the African Child.

Aftermath

In response, the apartheid state started providing electricity to more Soweto homes, yet phased out financial support for building additional housing [24].

Soweto became an independent municipality with elected black councillors in 1983, in line with the Black Local Authorities Act [25]. Previously the townships were governed by the Johannesburg council, but from the 1970s the state took control [26].

Soweto's black African councillors were not provided by the apartheid state with the finances to address housing and infrastructural problems. Township residents opposed the black councillors as puppet collaborators who personally benefitted financially from an oppressive regime. Resistance was spurred by the exclusion of blacks from the newly formed tricameral Parliament (which did include Whites, Asians and Coloureds). Municipal elections in black, coloured, and Indian areas were subsequently widely boycotted, returning extremely low voting figures for years. Popular resistance to state structures dates back to the Advisory Boards (1950) that co-opted black residents to advise whites who managed the townships.

Further popular resistance: incorporation into the City

In Soweto popular resistance to apartheid emerged in various forms during the 1980s. Educational and economic boycotts were initiated, and student bodies were organized. Street committees were formed, and civic organizations were established as alternatives to state-imposed structures. One of the most well-known "civics" was Soweto's Committee of Ten, started in 1978 in the offices of The Bantu World newspaper. Such actions were strengthened by the call issued by African National Congress's 1985 Kabwe congress in Zambia to make South Africa ungovernable. As the state forbade public gatherings, church buildings like Regina Mundi were sometimes used for political gatherings.

In 1995 Soweto became part of the Southern Metropolitan Transitional Local Council, and in 2002 was incorporated into the City of Johannesburg [27]. A series of bomb explosions rocked Soweto in October 2002. The explosions, believed to be the work of the Boeremag, a right wing extremist group, damaged buildings and railway lines, and killed one person.

Demographics

As Soweto was counted as part of Johannesburg in South Africa's 2001 census, recent demographic statistics are not readily available. It has been estimated that 65% of Johannesburg's residents live in Soweto [28] (2002 figures). However, the 2001 Census put its population at 896,995 [29] - or about one-third of the city's total population.

Soweto's population is predominantly black. All eleven of the country's official languages are spoken, and the main linguistic groups (in descending order of size) are Zulu, Sotho, Tswana, Venda, and Tsonga.

Housing and transport

The area is mostly composed of old "matchbox" houses, or four-room houses built by the government, that were built to provide cheap accommodation for black workers during apartheid.

Soweto is an abbreviation, standing for "South Western Townships". Street after street in this area is lined with matchboxes; however, there are a few smaller areas where prosperous Sowetans have built houses that are more similar in stature with those in more affluent suburbs. Many people who still live in matchbox houses have improved and expanded their homes, and the City Council has enabled the planting of more trees and the improving of parks and green spaces in the area.^[30]

Hostels are another prominent physical feature of Soweto.^[15][31][32] Originally built to house male migrant workers, many have been improved as dwellings for couples and families. The N1 Western Bypass skirts the eastern boundary of Soweto. The suburb was not historically allowed to create employment centres within the area, so almost all of its residents are commuters to other parts of the city.^[33] There is efficient road access for many parts of the region along busy highways to the CBD and Roodepoort, but commuters are largely reliant on trains and taxis.

Suburbs

By 2003 the Greater Soweto area consisted of 87 townships grouped together into Administrative Regions 6 and 10 of Johannesburg Regional Spatial Development Framework.

Estimates of how many residential areas make up Soweto itself vary widely. Some say that Soweto comprises 29 townships [34], others find 32 [35]. Still others talk of 34 [36] or even 50 [37] "suburbs." The differences may be due to confusion arising from the merger of adjoining townships (such as Lenasia and Eldorado Park) with those of Soweto into Regions 6 and 10. But the total number also depends on whether the various "extensions" and "zones" are counted separately, or as part of one main suburb. The 2003 Regional Spatial Development Framework arrived at 87 names by counting various extensions (e.g. Chiawelo's 5) and zones (e.g. Pimville's 7) separately. The City of Johannesburg's website groups the zones and extensions together to arrive at 32, but omits Noordgesig and Mmesi Park.[38]

The list below provides the dates when some of Soweto's townships were established, along with the probable origins or meanings of their names, where available:

• Chiawelo (1956), "Place of Rest" (Venda)
• Dhlamini (1956), Unknown, Nguni family name. Michael Mabaso also comes from here.
• Diepmeadow, comprising
  • Diepkloof (1957; "Deep Ravine", Afrikaans), originally a farm
  • Meadowlands (1958), Originally Meadowlands Small Holdings (1938)
  • Meadowlands West
• Dobsonville including Dobsonville Gardens
• Doornkop, "Hill of Thorns" (Afrikaans)
• Dube (1948), Named for John Langalibalele Dube (1871-1946), educator [39], newspaper founder, and the first ANC president (1912-17) [40]
• Emdeni (1958), "At the family" (Zulu, from umndeni - family), including extensions
• Jabavu (1948), Named for Davidson Don Tengo Jabavu (1885-1959), educator and author
• Jabulani (1956), "Rejoice" (Zulu)
• Klipspruit (1904), "Rocky Stream" (Afrikaans), originally a farm map
• Kliptown
• Mapetla (1956), including Mapetla Extension (1962), someone who's angry
• Mmesi Park sotho name for somebody who burns things on fire
• Mofolo (1954), including (Mofolo Central, Mofolo North, Mofolo South), Named for Thomas Mofolo (1876-1948), Sotho author, translator, and educator
• Molapo (1956), Name of a Basotho tribe, sotho name for fetique
• Moletsane (1956), Name of a Batuang chief
• Moroka (1946), including Moroka North (1955), Named for Dr James Sebe Moroka (1891-1985)[41], later ANC president (1949-52) during the 1952 Defiance Campaign
• Naledi (1956), "Star" (Sotho/Pedi/Tswana), originally Mkizi
• Noordgesig, "North View" (Afrikaans)
• Orlando (1932), including (Orlando East, Orlando West, 1946), Named for Edwin Orlando Leake (1860-1935), chairman of the Non-European Affairs Department (1930-31), Johannesburg mayor (1925-26)
• Phiri (1956) and Phiri Extension, "Hyena" (Sotho/Tswana)
• Pimville (1934), Named for James Howard Pim, councillor (1903-07), Quaker [42], philanthropist, and patron of Fort Hare Native College [43]; originally part of Klipspruit
• Power Park, in the vicinity of the power station
• Protea Glen, Unknown (The protea is South Africa's national flower)
• Protea North
• Protea South
• Senaoane (1958), Named for Solomon G Senaoane (-1942), first sports organiser in the Non-European Affairs Department
• Tladi (1956), "Lightning" (Sotho)
• Zola (1956), "Calm" (Zulu/Xhosa)
• Zondi (1956), Unknown family name(Zulu)

Other Soweto townships include Braamfischerville, Killarney, Mzimhlope, Phefeni, Phomolong, Snake Park, and White City [44].

A full description of the origins of the names of these suburbs can be found at Urban legends - what's in a name?.

Economy

Slums, Soweto.

Many parts of Soweto rank among the poorest in Johannesburg, although individual townships tend to have a mix of wealthier and poorer residents. In general, households in the outlying areas to the northwest and southeast have lower incomes, while those in southwestern areas tend to have higher incomes.

The economic development of Soweto was severely curtailed by the apartheid state, which provided very limited infrastructure and prevented residents from creating their own businesses. Roads remained unpaved, and many residents had to share one tap between four houses, for example. Soweto was meant to exist only as a dormitory town for black Africans who worked in white houses, factories, and industries. The 1957 Natives (Urban Areas) Consolidation Act and its predecessors restricted residents between 1923 to 1976 to seven self-employment categories in Soweto itself. Sowetans could operate general shops, butcheries, eating houses, sell milk or vegetables, or hawk goods. The overall number of such enterprises at any time were strictly controlled. As a result, informal trading developed outside the legally-recognized activities [45].

By 1976 Soweto had only two cinemas and two hotels, and only 83% of houses had electricity. And up to 93% of residents had no running water. Using fire for cooking and heating, resulting in respiratory problems that contributed to high infant mortality rates (54 per 1,000 compared to 18 for whites, 1976 figures [46]

Housing development project, Kliptown.

The restrictions on economic activities were lifted in 1977, spurring the growth of the taxi industry as an alternative to Soweto's inadequate bus and train transport systems [47].

In 1994 Sowetans earned on average almost six and a half times less than their counterparts in wealthier areas of Johannesburg (1994 estimates). Sowetans contribute less than 2% to Johannesburg's rates [48]). Some Sowetans remain impoverished, and others live in shanty towns with little or no services. About 85% of Kliptown comprises informal housing, for example [49]. The Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee argues that Soweto's poor are unable to pay for electricity. The committee believes that the South African government's privatization drives will worsen the situation. Research showed that 62% of residents in Orlando East and Pimville were unemployed or pensioners [50].

There have been signs recently indicating economic improvement. The Johannesburg city council began to provide more street lights and to pave roads. Private initiatives to tap Sowetans' combined spending power of R4.3 billion were also planned, [51] including the construction of Protea Mall, and Jabulani Mall , the development of Maponya Mall, an upmarket hotel in Kliptown, and the Orlando Ekhaya entertainment centre. Soweto has also become a center for nightlife and culture.

In popular culture

Popular music

Kwaito and Hip hop

Soweto is credited as one of the founding places for kwaito, which is a style of hip-hop specific to South Africa.^[16][17] This form of music, which combined many elements of house music, American hip-hop, and traditional African music, became a strong force amongst black South Africans. The spread of Soweto in popular culture worked both ways, as American hip-hop artists Hieroglyphics rap about the terrible conditions and changing social order in their song "Soweto," saying that cowardice has ruled this area, but how now the "gems," or black youth, need to express themselves.^[18] This appears to be Hieroglyphics attempt to urge a critical, political version of hip-hop in South Africa.

Soweto is said to be one of the major townships where kwaito and South African hip hop music were formed. These music types are associated with Black South African youth who inhabit the ghettos of Soweto. According to Zine Magubane, kwaito and rap music are, quite intentionally, marketed to Black South African youth between the ages of 14 and 20. Magubane draws many connections to the consumerism patterns of African-American and South African youth. She notes that: “There is a segment of Black South African children who demonstrate many of the consumer characteristics displayed by their American counterparts, and they are therefore definitely worth targeting as primary consumers”.^[19] African-American popular culture, manifested through soft drink ads, NBA stars, movies, and rap music, all seem to influence the consumerism patterns of Black youth in Soweto. In essence, Black South African consumer habits are strongly orientated towards American products.^[20]

In her article, Is Kwaito South African Hip Hop?, Sharlene Swartz highlights the ways in which the kwaito music industry in South Africa has expanded and acted as a form of Black empowerment by giving Black youth an “economic identity.”^[21] The thriving music industry is allows for Black South Africans to participate in an economy that was long inaccessible to them during apartheid ruling. Swartz highlights the impact that Black Africans now have in the music industry when she notes: “The $130 million dollar a year industry is almost entirely black--artists, record labels, production companies, clubs, and Yfm, an almost exclusively kwaito radio station” (Swartz 9).^[22]

New York City's indie rock band Vampire Weekend has described their musical sound as "Upper West Side Soweto," as it mixes preppy, well-read indie rock with joyful, Afro-pop-inspired melodies and rhythms.^[23]

Songs alluding to Soweto

Late singer/songwriter Joe Strummer, formerly of the band The Clash, referenced Soweto in his solo album, Streetcore (song: "Arms Aloft")^[24], as well as in The Clash track, "Where You Gonna Go (Soweto)", found on the album London Calling (Legacy Edition)^[25].

The UK music duo, Mattafix, has a song called Memories Of Soweto on their 2007 album Rhythm & Hymns.

Soweto is mentioned in the anti-apartheid song Gimme Hope Jo'anna by Eddy Grant. The line "While every black mother in Soweto fears the killing of another son" refers to police brutality during apartheid.

Dr. Alban's song "Free Up Soweto" was included in the 1994 album Look Who's Talking.

Mexican group Tijuana No! recorded the song "Soweto" for their first album "No". In reference to the city and the movements.

It is also the name of a song by the rap group Hieroglyphics.

Fiction and cinema

The marches by students in Soweto are briefly mentioned in a novel by Linzi Glass named Ruby Red, which had been nominated for the Carnegie Medal in 2008. Soweto is also mentioned in the novel, Waiting for the Rain by Sheila Gordon.

Soweto was characterized in the American film Stander. The film presented the story of Andre Stander, a rogue police captain who sympathized with the irrational state of apartheid and its corruption by becoming a bank thief. The Soweto uprising riots provided Stander's breaking point in the film.

In 2006, Sara Blecher and Rimi Raphoto made the popular documentary "Surfing Soweto", about young kids "surfing" in the roof of Soweto trains, and the social problem this represents.

The 2009 film District 9 was shot in Soweto, specifically Chiawelo. The plot involves a species of aliens who arrive on Earth in a starving and helpless condition, seeking aid. The originally benign attempts to aid them turn increasingly oppressive due to the overwhelming numbers of aliens and the cost of maintaining them, and to increasing xenophobia on the part of humans who treat the intelligent and sophisticated aliens like animals while taking advantage of them for personal and corporate gain. The aliens are housed in shacks in a slum-like concentration camp called "District 9", which is in fact modern-day Soweto; an attempt to evacuate the aliens to another camp leads to violence and a wholesale slaughter by South African mercenary security forces (a reference to historical events in "District 6", a black neighborhood subjected to forced segregation during the apartheid years). The parallels to apartheid South Africa are obvious but not explicitly remarked on in the film.

Famous Sowetans

Native Sowetans

Soweto was the birthplace of:

• Frank Chikane (born 1951), anti-apartheid activist and life-long resident
• Bonginkosi Dlamini, aka" Zola", poet, actor, and musician
• Doctor Khumalo (born 1967), soccer player
• Bakithi Kumalo, bass guitar player.
• Jack Lerole musician, famous for penny whistle performance
• Lebo M.
• Mandoza (born 1978), kwaito musician
• Richard Maponya businessman, anti-apartheid activist
• Kaizer Motaung (born October 16, 1944), is founder and pastor of Kaizer Chiefs Football Club.
• Lucas Radebe (born 1969), former soccer player and national team captain
• Cyril Ramaphosa (born 1952), lawyer, trade union leader, activist, politician and businessman
• Tokyo Sexwale (born 1953), businessman and former politician, anti-apartheid activist, and political prisoner
• Jomo Sono (born 1955), a South African soccer club owner and coach and also a former star soccer player

Other residents

Mandela's House in Orlando

• Gibson Kente (1932-2004), playwright.
• Irvin Khoza (born January 27, 1948, is a South African soccer administrator and Chairman of Orlando Pirates.
• Aggrey Klaaste (1940-2004), newspaper journalist and editor.
• Nelson Mandela (born 1918) spent many years living in Soweto. His Soweto home in Orlando is currently a major tourist attraction.
• Lilian Ngoyi (1911-1980), anti-apartheid activist, who spent 18 years under house arrest in Mzimhlope [52].
• Steven Pienaar (born 1982), Everton F.C. and national team soccer player
• Hector Pieterson (1964-1976), the first student to be killed during the 1976 uprising in Soweto. A picture where the dying Hector is carried away by a man became a famous press photo. Today a memorial named after him in Orlando East reminds of the 1976 Student Uprising.
• Percy Qoboza (1938-1988), newspaper journalist and editor.
• Gerard Sekoto (1913-1993), artist who lived in Kliptown before emigrating to France in 1947 [53].
• Desmond Tutu (born 1931), cleric and activist who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s, through his opposition to apartheid.

Other interest

Well-known artists from Soweto, besides those mentioned above, include:

• The Soweto Gospel Choir. Songs and interview from NPR's All Things Considered Soweto Gospel Choir: 'Voices from Heaven', February 4, 2005.
• The Soweto String Quartet

Films that include Soweto scenes:

• Tau ya Soweto (2005).
• Tsotsi (2005), Oscar, Best Foreign Language Film of the Year.
• Sarafina(1992).
• Hijack stories (2000)

Landmarks

Orlando Power Station Cooling Towers

Soweto landmarks, apart from those mentioned above, include^[26] :

• Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, Diepkloof
• Orlando Towers
• Credo Mutwa village, Central Western Jabavu
• Walter Sisulu Square, Kliptown ^[27]
• Hector Pieterson Museum, Orlando West
• Nelson Mandela National Museum, Orlando West ^[28]
• Regina Mundi Catholic Church, Rockville ^[29]
• Freedom Towers ^[30]

See also

• The World (South African newspaper)
• Region 6 (Johannesburg)
• Region 10 (Johannesburg)
• Soweto riots
• The Sowetan
• Norweto
• Stompie Moeketsi

References

• Beavon, Keith S. O. Johannesburg: A city and metropolitan area in transformation, in Carole Rakodi (ed.) (1997) The Urban Challenge in Africa: growth and management of its large cities. Tokyo: United Nations University Press

External links

• BBC video of the Soweto uprisings
• Chronology of Events in the Making of Soweto
• Egoli - A History of Black Johannesburg
• Fraser, Neil. 2005. "Exciting plans for Soweto," July 4.
• Guardian Unlimited audio recording of Antoinette Sithole on the Soweto uprising
• How one photograph changed the world By Jerome Cartillier, Mail & Guardian, June 16, 2006.
• Maps: Large PDF Map; Soweto Map
• "Soweto Uplifting" Travel story by Roderick Eime
• Soweto uprisings . com, an extensive mashup with loads of info on the events on June 16 1976.
• [54]
• Township Vibes - Taking The Townships To Another Level. Blog.

Coordinates: 26°15′58″S 27°51′57″E / 26.26611°S 27.86583°E / -26.26611; 27.86583