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DISTRICT SIX MUSEUM
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District Six Museum
in District Six, Cape Town, South KAfrica: When the apartheid
government swooped on District Six, Cape Town in 1965, forcibly removing
its occupants and declaring the area a "whites-only" zone, the rich fabric
of an impoverished but vibrant community was torn to shreds. Over 60 000
people were wrenched from their homes, livelihoods, community centres and
societal networks, and relocated to the bleak plains of the Cape Flats,
several kilometres away ....
District Six in Cape Town and Sophiatown in Johannesburg, both sites of
diverse and vibrant subcultures, posed similar threats to the apartheid
government, which was intent on enforcing "separate development" for
different ethnic groups. Sophiatown was razed to the ground in 1957 to
make way for the "white area" of Triomf (meaning "triumph" in Afrikaans).
In an effort to preserve the memories of District Six and create a
monument to the thousands of people around the country forcibly relocated
under apartheid, the District Six Museum Foundation was established in
1989. In 1994, the District Six Museum came into being.
The museum "came into being as a vehicle for advocating social justice, as
a space for reflection and contemplation, and as an institution for
challenging the distortions and half-truths which propped up the history
of Cape Town and South Africa.
"The Museum is committed to telling the stories of forced removals, and
assisting in the reconstitution of the community of District Six and Cape
Town by drawing on a heritage of non-racialism, non-sexism, anti-class
discrimination and the encouragement of debate". The District Six Museum
is a heritage project in itself. Part of its mission is to provide the
space for former inhabitants of District Six to share and explore their
memories and develop new interpretations of both the past and the present.
The museum also functions as a forum where debate and policy development
is initiated.
District Six Museum houses an impressive collection of historical
materials including photographs, paintings, artefacts, physical remains
like street signs, books and studies as well as audio-visual recordings of
District Six, most which were donated by its former residents.
The museum has formed several partnerships with dispossessed communities,
both in South Africa and around the world. It is a founder member of the
International Coalition of Historical Site Museums of Conscience. The
museum, the Stepping Stones Children’s Centre and Ons Plek, a shelter for
girls, are all housed together in a building belonging to the Central
Methodist Mission in Cape Town. The museum is geared for individuals as
well as group and school tours, and is open from 9am to 4pm Mondays to
Saturdays. There is also a bookshop and coffee shop, and the museum’s
Memorial Hall is available for hire for conferences or other gatherings. |
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