District Six

As Cape Town was formed, it was divided into different municipal districts. Each was named according to the order in which it was created. “District Six” was the sixth such municipal district and was created in 1867. The District was primarily populated with former slaves, artisans, merchants, and immigrants. By the early 1900’s, District Six was home to 10% of the population of Cape Town due, in part, to the proximity to both the busy downtown and the harbor.

On February 11, 1966, the Minister of Community Development declared District Six a “white area” under the Group Areas Act. Accordingly, all current residents were to be relocated starting in 1968. Over the next 15 years, over 60,000 people were forcibly removed from their homes and businesses. These people were moved to an area 25km away known as the Cape Flats – a sandy, barren area lacking consistent basic amenities such as electricity and running water. Since walking to work was no longer a possibility for many people, the move severely hindered the economic (and social) stability of the citizens of this area.

Government officials justified this move by claiming that District Six was crime-ridden and dangerous. They also stated, per Apartheid policies, that interracial interaction bred conflict and the races needed to be separated for the good of the country. Most residents of District Six believed that the government wanted the land due to its proximity to the city center and the harbor, precisely the reasons the current residents had enjoyed living there for decades.

The government further declared that District Six was a slum that wasn’t fit for rehabilitation. Accordingly, nearly all of the houses and businesses in this area of Cape Town were razed by bulldozers after the residents were relocated.

District Six After Bulldozers Razed the Area

Richmond Street after Relocation

In 1970, the District was renamed Zonnenbloem (after the Dutch farmstead that had originally been located in the area) to prepare the area for white habitation. The Bloemhof Flats complex in (former) District Six was refurbished, renamed, and sold to white individuals and families.

Bloemhof Flats building before relocation.

Abandoned Bloemhof Flats Buildings

Renovated Bloemhof Flats -- ready for white occupants.

A university (the Cape Peninsula University of Technology) was built on the former District Six land as well as a police barracks. But, sadly, the rest of the area remained undeveloped – after people were forcibly removed from their homes to make way for white families, the land wasn’t even used.

With the fall of Apartheid in 1994, the former residents of District Six were looking for ways to reconnect with old neighbors and friends as well as share memories of life in District Six. In December 1994, the District Six Museum opened to help people reconnect and share memories. Eventually, this museum was opened to locals and foreigners as a remembrance of the apartheid era and a memorial to a decimated community. The museum includes several maps of District Six with spaces for former residents to note where their homes had been.

The museum also includes street signs from the former District that were saved from destruction.

One particularly moving display in the museum is the embroidered namecloth.

In 1992, when former residents of District Six were starting to reconnect, a large piece of cloth was provided for people to write their names and their thoughts.

As the ink from the felt pens began to fade, residents donated their time to embroider over the written to preserve these memories.

Eventually, as the cloth grew, the embroidery became a project of female inmates in the local women’s prison. Today, the double-sided cloth is 1.5m wide and over a kilometer long!

Since the new, democratically-elected government came into power in 1994, South Africa has struggled with how to compensate for the land, the homes, and the businesses, that were taken from black South Africans during Apartheid. In District Six, ex-residents have been able to apply for land or an apartment in the (still vacant) District in order to move back.

On February 11, 2004, exactly 38 years after the relocation law was passed, former South African President, Nelson Mandela, handed the keys to the first two returning residents of District Six. Twenty-four houses were given to former residents, all over 80 years old.

1,060 families have been approved to return to the community currently under construction in the District Six area by February 2014. These families will get three-bedroom homes worth about $125,000 each but will be asked to contribute about $28,000 toward the construction. These 1,060 families will become shareholders in the new community which will include residential, commercial, retail, and community facilities. 

It is important to note that District Six is just one example of the government relocations that occurred during apartheid. This didn’t just happen in the District Six neighborhood and it didn’t just happen in Cape Town. Over 60,000 people were moved from Sophiatown in Johannesburg in 1955 to create the South Western Townships (SoWeTo). In total, it is estimated that 3.5 million people were relocated during the last three decades of apartheid.

I was moved and saddened by what I learned about District Six. More than anything, I was moved by the incredibly positive spirit of the former residents I met. The way in which some people deal with adversity and maintain a positive attitude is an inspiration, and certainly a lesson to me.

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