The Destruction of Sophiatown

Tom Lodge

doi:10.1017/S0022278X00054148

The Destruction of Sophiatown

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 November 2008

Tom Lodge

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In 1955 the South African Government began to demolish a black freehold suburb in Johannesburg, and to relocate its inhabitants in a state-controlled township. Resistance to these moves by the leading black political organisation of the time, the African National Congress (A.N.C.), was short-lived and unsuccessful. Despite its abortive nature, the attempt to oppose the destruction of Sophiatown was historically significant for several reasons.

Type: Articles
Information: The Journal of Modern African Studies , Volume 19 , Issue 1 , March 1981 , pp. 107 - 132

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0022278X00054148 [Opens in a new window]
Copyright: Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1981

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References

^{page 107 note 1} Slovo, Joe, ‘South Africa’, in Davidson, Basil, Wilkinson, A., and Slovo, , Southern Africa: the new politics of revolution (Harmondsworth, 1976), p. 167.Google Scholar

^{page 107 note 1} O'Meara, Dan, ‘The 1946 African Miners' Strike’, in Bonner, P. (ed), Working Papers on South Africa (Johannesburg, 1977).Google Scholar

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^{page 108 note 4} Ibid. p. 167, and Magubane, op. cit. p. 304.

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^{page 110 note 1} I am indebted to André Proctor's sensitive ‘Class Struggle, Segregation and the City a history of Sophiatown, 1905–1940’, in Bozzoli, Belinda (ed.), Labour Townships and Protest (Johannesburg, 1979),Google Scholar for the points in the above two paragraphs.

^{page 111 note 1} Huddleston, Trevor, Naught for Your Comfort (London, 1956), pp. 121–2.Google Scholar

^{page 111 note 2} City of Johannesburg Non-European Affairs Department, ‘Report on a Sample Survey of the Native Population Residing in the Western Areas of Johannesburg, 1951’, mimeographed, pp. 15–16. Hereinafter referred to as Report on a Sample Survey, 1951.

^{page 111 note 3} City of Johannesburg Non-European Affairs Department, ‘Survey of the Western Areas of Johannesburg, 1950’, mimeographed, p. 39. Hereinafter referred to as Survey 1950.

^{page 111 note 4} See Brindley, Marianne, Western Coloured Township: problem of an urban slum (Johannesburg, 1976).Google Scholar

^{page 112 note 1} Tlali, Miriam, Muriel at Metropolitan (Johannesburg, 1975), p. 70.Google Scholar

^{page 112 note 2} Patel, Essop (ed.), The World of Nat Nakasa (Johannesburg, 1975), p. 5.Google Scholar

^{page 112 note 3} Survey, 1950, p. 63. The Survey was based on a questionnaire completed by nearly all the heads of households in the freehold suburbs and in Western Native Township.

^{page 112 note 4} Ibid. p. 50.

^{page 112 note 5} Report on a Sample Survey, 1951, p. 113.

^{page 113 note 1} Survey, 1950, pp. 87 and 101.

^{page 113 note 2} Report on a Sample Survey, 1951, pp. 190–4

^{page 113 note 3} Ibid. p. 166.

^{page 113 note 4} Survey, 1950, pp. 63 and 194.

^{page 113 note 5} Memorandum to the City Council on Western Areas Removal Scheme, A. B. Xuma Papers, University of the Witwatersrand, ABX 520401, p. 8.

^{page 113 note 6} Survey, 1950, p. 68, and Report on a Sample Survey, 1951, p. 192.

^{page 113 note 7} Survey, 1950.

^{page 114 note 1} Report on a Sample Survey, 1951, p. 110.

^{page 114 note 2} Ibid. p. 31, table 4.1.

^{page 114 note 3} Ibid. pp. 125–32.

^{page 114 note 4} Survey, 1950, pp. 17 and 27, and Report on a Sample Survey, 1951, pp. 183–4.

^{page 114 note 5} Report on a Sample Survey, 1951, p. 147.

^{page 115 note 1} Ibid. p. 17, and Huddleston, op. cit. p. 102.

^{page 115 note 2} Ibid. pp. 102–6.

^{page 115 note 3} Carter, Gwendolen M., Gerhart, Gail, and Karis, Thomas, From Protest to Challenge, Vol. IV, Political Profiles, 1882–1964 (Stanford, 1977), p. 163.Google Scholar

^{page 115 note 4} Feit, op. cit. pp. 65–73.

^{page 116 note 1} Vundla, Kathleen, PQ: the story of P. Q. Vundla (Johannesburg, 1973), pp. 24–6.Google Scholar

^{page 116 note 2} Informal discussions with former Sophiatown residents, Johannesburg, November 1979.

^{page 116 note 3} Proctor, loc. cit.

^{page 117 note 1} See de Villiers, Richard, ‘The State, Capital, and Labour Allocation’, in Africa Perspective (Johannesburg), 12, 09 1979, pp. 29–30.Google Scholar

^{page 117 note 2} Native Affairs Commission, Report for 1 January 1948 to 31 December 1952, UG 36/54.

^{page 117 note 3} For details of these riots, see Report of the Commission to Enquire into Acts of Violence Committed by Natives at Krugersdorp, Newlands, Randfontaine and Newclare (Pretoria, 1950).Google Scholar

^{page 118 note 1} See Rand Daily Mail (Johannesburg), 14 and 15 February 1950, and The Star (Johannesburg), 14 February 1950.

^{page 118 note 2} Rand Daily Mail, 2 May 1950.

^{page 119 note 1} The statistics in the Report on a Sample Survey, 1951, suggest that most people living in Sophiatown were born in an urban area and lived on below-subsistence incomes.

^{page 119 note 2} van Onselen, Charles, ‘The Witches of Suburbia’, History Workshop Conference,University of the Witwatersrand,Johannesburg,February 1978.Google Scholar

^{page 119 note 3} Pinnock, Dom, ‘From Argie Boys to Skolli Gangsters: the lumpenproletariat challenge of the street corner armies of District Six’, History Workshop Conference,University of Cape Town, 1979.Google Scholar

^{page 119 note 4} Hobsbawm, Eric, Bandits (Harmondsworth, 1969), ch. 1.Google Scholar

^{page 120 note 1} ‘The Americans’ in Drum (Johannesburg), 09 1954.Google Scholar

^{page 120 note 2} Venables, L. I., ‘Report on Crime in Johannesburg’, in Journal of Racial Affairs (Stellenbosch), II, 2, 01 1951, p. 5.Google Scholar

^{page 120 note 3} Davies, R., Capital, State and White Labour in South Africa (Brighton, 1979), p. 332.Google Scholar

^{page 120 note 4} Details on the ‘Gestapo’ from ‘The Americans’, in Drum, September 1954.

^{page 120 note 5} Ibid. Interview with Don Mattera, Johannesburg, 28 October 1979.

^{page 120 note 6} Keswa, E. R. G., ‘Outlaw Communities’, typescript, 1975.Google Scholar

^{page 120 note 7} Interview with Mattera. Also Drum, September 1954.

^{page 121 note 1} Report of the Commission to Enquire into Acts of Violence…, p. 10.

^{page 121 note 2} Keswa, op. cit. p. 30.

^{page 121 note 3} Feature on the ‘Torch Gang’, in Drum, April 1955, p. 31.

^{page 122 note 1} Annual Survey of Race Relations, 1951–2 (Johannesburg, 1952), p. 43.Google Scholar

^{page 123 note 1} Ibid.1952–3 (Johannesburg, 1953), p. 57.

^{page 123 note 2} This inconsistency was pointed out, inter alia, by the ratepayers in a memorandum to the joint City Council/Government committee. See A. B. Xuma Papers, 521008, p. 3.

^{page 123 note 3} Huddleston, op. cit. p. 189.

^{page 123 note 4} Annual Survey of Race Relations, 1954–5 (Johannesburg, 1955), p. 95.Google Scholar

^{page 124 note 1} See A. B. Xuma Papers, 510531 and 510613.

^{page 124 note 2} Horrell, Muriel, Group Areas: the emerging significance (Johannesburg, 1966), p. 93.Google Scholar

^{page 124 note 3} South African Institute of Race Relations Memorandum, RR 131/53.

^{page 124 note 4} Handwritten report by W. B. Ngakane; R.J. Hoernlé Papers, University of the Witwatersrand, Urban Affairs, AD 843 B4. 2.

^{page 125 note 1} Feit, op. cit. pp. 97–8.

^{page 125 note 2} Ibid. p. 97.

^{page 125 note 3} Ibid. p. 98.

^{page 126 note 1} A. B. Xuma Papers, 540321.

^{page 126 note 2} Ibid. 540627.

^{page 126 note 3} The World (Johannesburg), 28 01 1956, previously Bantu World.Google Scholar

^{page 126 note 4} ‘What Will Happen in the Western Areas?’, in Drum, February 1955, p. 17.

^{page 126 note 5} ‘How Yellow is Congress?’, in ibid. May 1955, p. 27.

^{page 126 note 6} ‘Masterpiece in Bronze’, in ibid. January 1956, p. 59.

^{page 126 note 7} See Patrick Duncan Papers, University of York, 5.45.15 and 5.45.39.

^{page 127 note 1} Freedom Square Congress meeting reported in Bantu World (Johannesburg), 22 01 1955.Google Scholar

^{page 127 note 2} Robert Resha in Treason Trial Record, p. 7492. See also ‘ANC Decided on Mahatma Gandhi Type Resistance’, in Bantu World, 02 1955.Google Scholar

^{page 127 note 3} Treason Trial Record, pp. 1202 and 7498.

^{page 127 note 4} Interview with Mattera.

^{page 127 note 5} Treason Trial Record, p. 2479.

^{page 127 note 6} Ibid. p. 7498.

^{page 127 note 7} Ibid. p. 7472.

^{page 128 note 1} Ibid. p. 7500.

^{page 128 note 2} Ibid. p. 7492.

^{page 128 note 3} Bantu World, 12 February 1955.

^{page 128 note 4} Treason Trial Record, pp. 7484 and 7500.

^{page 128 note 5} See, for example, ‘Vundla at Property Owners' Meeting’ and ‘Vundla's Call to Africans’, in Bantu World, 26 and 12 February 1955, respectively.

^{page 128 note 6} Ibid. 12 February 1955.

^{page 129 note 1} The World, 19 February 1958.

^{page 129 note 2} Drum, June 1955.

^{page 129 note 3} Feit, op. cit. pp. 126–32.

^{page 129 note 4} Bantu World, 22 January 1955.

^{page 129 note 5} Sampson, Anthony, Drum: adventure into the new Africa (London, 1956), pp. 236–9.Google Scholar

^{page 129 note 6} The World, 22 February 1958.

^{page 130 note 1} Bantu World, 25 March 1955.

^{page 130 note 2} Treason Trial Record, p. 1289.

^{page 130 note 3} The World, 3 December 1956.

^{page 130 note 4} Rand Daily Mail, 13 January 1957.

^{page 130 note 5} Fighting Talk (Johannesburg), 04 1955.Google Scholar

^{page 131 note 1} See Bantu World, 22 January and 19 February 1955.

^{page 131 note 2} Feit, op. cit. especially chs. I, IV and IX.

^{page 131 note 3} Interview with William Letlalo, Soweto, 10 December 1979.

^{page 131 note 4} The World, 27 July 1957.

^{page 131 note 5} Treason Trial Record, p. 7492.

^{page 132 note 1} Both Vundla and Resha had trade-union experience with some of the most underprivileged members of the workforce, the migrant mine-workers. Neither was wealthy, even in relative terms. Vundla, in his capacity as an Advisory Board member, used to keep ‘open house’, so that all those with any kind of difficulty or problem could visit him. Also, though in a rather different way from Resha, Vundla had certain contacts with the gangster world, and in later years was to play an important arbitration rôle in their internecine disputes.

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