Soweto
From Biocrawler, the free encyclopedia.
Soweto is an urban area in Johannesburg, in Gauteng province South Africa. The name Soweto is a contraction of "South Western Townships" and does not mean anything besides this in any South African language.
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History
In 1950 during the apartheid regime, Soweto was constructed to be self-sufficent for the specific purpose of housing African people who were then living in areas designated by the government for white settlement (such as the multi-racial area called Sophiatown). It began as a grouping of the farms Doornkop, Klipriviersoog, Diepkloof, Klipspruit and Vogelstruisfontein.
Soweto came to the world's attention in 1976, when riots broke out over the government's decision to enforce education in Afrikaans rather than English. See History of South Africa.
A series of bombs rocked Soweto in October 2002. The explosions, believed to be the work of the Boeremag, a right wing extremist group, damaged buildings and railway lines, and killed one person.
Demographics
Today's Soweto, incorporating Orlando, Dobsonville, Diepkloof and Dube, remains an overwhelmingly black-dominated city with over three million people.
Economy
Today, Soweto is among the poorest parts of Johannesburg, however there have been recent signs of economic improval and Soweto has become a centre for nightlife.
Miscellaneous
Soweto was the birthplace of:
- Cyril Ramaphosa (born 1952), lawyer, trade union leader, activist, politician and businessman
- Tokyo Sexwale (born 1953), businessman and former politician, anti-apartheid activist, and political prisoner
- Jomo Sono (born 1955), a South African soccer club owner and coach and also a former star soccer player
- Doctor Khumalo (born 1967), soccer player
- Lucas Radebe (born 1969), former soccer player and national team captain
- Mandoza (born 1978), kwaito musician
- Bonginkosi Dlamini, aka. Zola, poet, actor, and musician
Current and past residents include:
- Lilian Ngoyi (1911-1980), anti-apartheid activist
- Nelson Mandela (born 1918) spent many years living in Soweto. His Soweto home in Orlando is currently a major tourist attraction
- Desmond Tutu (born 1931), cleric and activist who rose to worldwide fame during the 1980s, through his opposition to apartheid
- Gibson Kente (1932-2004), playwright
- Aggrey Klaaste (1940-2004), newspaper journalist and editor
- Hector Pieterson (1964-1976)
See also
External Link
- "Soweto Uplifting" (http://www.monolith.com.au/soweto/index.html) Travel story by Roderick Eime
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