Sophiatown was once known for its bohemian lifestyle and its multi-racial character. It was a vibrant melting pot, not just for racial and cultural integration, but also for creative expression. It boasted amongst its most renowned residents Can Themba and Bloke Modisane – the famed Drum writers, the singer and actress Dolly Rathebe, the world famous trumpeter Hugh Masikela, and the poet Don Mattera. It was also a bedrock for anti-apartheid action and sentiment, and at the centre of this were political figures and activists like Nelson Mandela, Father Trevor Huddleston, Helen Joseph, and Ruth First. This made the area especially undesirable for the government of the day, which strove for the separation of races and the enforcement of a hierarchy of colour. And so between 1955 and 1959 the apartheid government set upon Sophiatown to destroy the community and dismantle the non-racialism of the area. This tour traces the history of the forced removals in Sophiatown and the destruction of this cosmopolitan suburb.

Our first stop is the Sophiatown Park where our guide recounts the life of a recent hero, speaking about his personal connection to Jerry Masoleng, an artist and the Heritage Officer of the Trevor Huddleston Centre until his untimely death in 2007. Jerry’s links to Sophiatown were through his parents who were forcibly removed from Sophiatown in the 1950s and settled in Meadowlands where he was born. He was a central figure in the community, who taught local children art, literacy and the history of Sophiatown. Over and above this, Jerry was known for his passion for Sophiatown, always concerned with the presentation of the area’s history – from its legendary liveliness, its demise through forced removals and its recent resurrection.

The second place we visit is Christ the King Anglican Church where the ashes of Father Trevor Huddleston are scattered. Father Huddleston is known not only as a respected priest, but also as a relentless anti-apartheid activist who developed close friendships with Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo. The Trevor Huddleston Centre is fittingly named after a man who fought for the area’s preservation and who was opposed to the forced removal of its residents. The Centre houses artifacts and other pieces of history from Sophiatown before its destruction.

From the church we head over to the Odin cinema. This was one of only two cinemas in Sophiatown, and was the larger of the two and the largest in Africa at the time. The cinema was owned by a white couple – the Egnoses – who were known as the Odins. Apart from film screenings, parties and stage performances the Odins also made the cinema available for political meetings. One of these meetings was where Nelson Mandela made a speech calling for an armed struggle against apartheid.

The tour also introduces us to victims of the forced removals who recount their personal traumas of being forced out of their homes. One such person is Mme Elizabeth who was amongst the first group of people to move back to Sophiatown under the new dispensation. After the forced removals Sophiatown was renamed Triomf, Afrikaans name meaning Triumph, and was turned into an exclusively white neighborhood. It was only in 2006 that the name Sophiatown was readopted.

We conclude our visit to Sophiatown at the home of Dr. Alfred Bitini Xuma, the first black South African to become a medical doctor, and was also the president-general of the African National Congress from 1940 to 1949. His home has been transformed into a museum that houses memorabilia of life in Sophiatown prior to the forced removals. This is also where we learn about the community’s rise and its reemergence as a multi-cultural suburb.