A Visit to the District Six Museum

Naomi and I went into Cape Town yesterday during lunch, and spent a little time at the "District Six Museum." District Six was a very integrated urban community, that started in the mid-1800s, as a home for freed slaves, artisans, merchants, new immigrants, and many other dis-affected residents of the city. Unlike most other neighborhoods, District Six was highly integrated. There were Africans, and "Coloureds," and newly arrived Italians, and Jews living together in a very lively urban setting. There was a vibrant Jazz music scene, Yiddish theatre, and lots of other cultural events. The photo on the left comes from the 1950s.

District Six is located on a little bluff, just outside the old center of downtown Cape Town, with some nice views of the harbor. As a result, during the Apartheid era, District Six was declared a "whites only" neighborhood. Beginning in the mid-1960s, the government demanded that the 30,000 residents be re-located to townships in the Cape Flats, a group of un-inhabited sand dunes, miles away, and in the middle of nowhere. People resisted. But ultimately, the government got its way, sort of. The residents were all forcibly removed, and the neighborhood was buldozed. However, given the tension that remained, the re-development process never really happened.



Today, nothing much remains of District Six. But, it came to be one of the most powerful symbols of apartheid injustice in Cape Town. The space looks like a jumble of rolling fields right on the outskirts of downtown (as you can see in the photo on the right). The government has plans to build 4,000 new homes there, for the families of the residents that were displaced. But you can imagine that this is not a simple process. To date, only 50 homes have been built.


The museum is located a few blocks away in downtown Cape Town. It is an attempt to keep the past alive, and to provide a venue where people can learn some lessons about tolerance, community, and inclusion. There were lots of personal stories documented, and lots of photos from daily life.

We'll definitely be going back, as we went without the girls (which was quite nice. We also had a nice lunch at a funky place called Dias Tavern right down the street). Here is a link to the District Six Museum website: http://www.districtsix.co.za/frames.htm. It's worth looking at.

Blog ya later.

Seth./.