MyJHB

Stuff from Johannesburg

EDITORIAL | Shopping for excuses and apologies after the fact doesn’t cut it

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa in the news:

  1. EDITORIAL | Shopping for excuses and apologies after the fact doesn’t cut it: Thando Mahlangu’s experience of social intolerance for wearing traditional garb at a shopping mall is unacceptable … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  2. South Africa 1-1 Ghana: Black Stars book AFCON qualification: The Black Stars of Ghana have booked their place at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) tournament, set to be hosted in Cameroon next year. – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  3. EWN Weather Watch: Jozi set for some sunshine, CT cools off: JOHANNESBURG – The sunshine comes back over most of Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal keeps the thundershowers and the Western Cape cools down somewhat on Friday. Partly cloudy weather is forecast for most … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  4. South Africa’s ex-president should be jailed, argues lawyer: JOHANNESBURG (AP) — Lawyers for a commission investigating corruption in South Africa have asked the country’s highest court to jail former president Jacob Zuma for two years for failing to cooperate … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  5. Ntumba postmortem ‘shows police were violent and cruel’, says Ipid investigator: Mthokozisi Ntumba’s postmortem confirmed that he died of a firearm injury to the chest, according to an affidavit from an Ipid investigator. – “Johannesburg” – BingNews

Click here to submit your Johannesburg, Gauteng News – free.

Have you tried: Whale and Dolphin Watching in Algoa Bay?

Did you know this about Johannesburg? Mponeng Gold Mine is the world’s deepest mine: The mine is located on the outskirts of Johannesburg (near Westonaria). The mining shaft of this mine extends down to 4 kilometres below the surface. A trip to the bottom of the mine takes about an hour.

Category: Tag: , , , , , ,

From Sophiatown to Triomf

By 1963, Sophiatown had been physically razed to the ground. In a final act of psychological warfare, the government built a white working-class suburb over the rubble and named it Triumph (Triomf). They wanted to erase the very memory of Sophiatown from the landscape. For decades, the name Sophiatown disappeared from maps, replaced by the neat, sterile streets of the victors.

The “resurrection” of Sophiatown began officially in 2006, when the City of Johannesburg formally restored the original name to the suburb. Today, the neighborhood is a quiet, leafy residential area, but the ghosts of the “Paris of the Transvaal” are everywhere. The Sophiatown Heritage Centre, housed in the former home of Dr. A.B. Xuma (a former ANC president), is one of the few original buildings that escaped the bulldozers. Walking through the streets today, you can still find small markers of the past: a lone Victorian pillar, a specific tree mentioned in a poem, or the rebuilt St. Joseph’s Church.

The legacy of Sophiatown is not just one of tragedy, but of an indestructible cultural spirit. The music, the slang (Tsotsitaal), and the “Drum” era aesthetic continue to influence South African fashion and film today. It serves as a reminder that while you can bulldoze a house and rename a street, you cannot kill the soul of a place that once danced to the sound of a thousand saxophones.