  District
Six Museum in District Six, Cape Town, South Africa: 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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