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Stuff from Johannesburg

South Africans urged to exercise caution when swimming this festive season as drownings spike over holidays

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa in the news:

  1. South Africans urged to exercise caution when swimming this festive season as drownings spike over holidays: The two boys, both from Hartley Road Primary School in KwaZulu-Natal, got into difficulty and one drowned while swimming at the resort last weekend. Uthman died on Sunday. Sadly, this isn’t an … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  2. Booming bookings are a much-needed salve for SA’s COVID embattled tourism sector: The Gauteng Tourism Authority says bookings have boomed following the Command Council’s announcement that South Africa would remain on alert level 1. – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  3. South Africa to give J&J vaccines to other African nations: South Africa will donate just over 2 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine to other African countries to boost the continent’s COVID-19 vaccine drive, the government announced Friday. The … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  4. Watch: Team India enjoy a fun outing in Johannesburg, play ‘footvolley’: Ahead of the Test series against South Africa, the Indian cricket team enjoyed a “fun outing” in Johannesburg and the players were seen playing a game of ‘footvolley’. Headlines Today is a platform to … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  5. At 1400m, Indian Cricketers Get A Mood Uplift With A Game Of Foot Volley, #WATCH: The Indian cricket team had a fun session ahead of their first serious training day, scheduled in Johannesburg on Saturday, wherein they “recharged their batteries”, with all the cricketers and chief … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews

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Did you know this about Johannesburg? The Soweto Uprising was a series of protests led by high school students in South Africa that began on the morning of 16 June 1976. Students from numerous Sowetan schools began to protest in the streets of Soweto in response to the introduction of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in local schools. It is estimated that 20,000 students took part in the protests. The number of protesters killed by police was officially given as 176, but estimates of up to 700 have been made. In remembrance of these events, the 16th of June is now a public holiday in South Africa. A thirteen year old Black boy, Hector Pieterson, is the iconic first victim of police brutality, but Dr Melville Edelstein, who had devoted his life to social welfare among blacks, was soon forgotten. He was stoned to death by the mob and left with a sign around his neck proclaiming “Beware Afrikaners”.

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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.