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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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