Passage from Can Themba's The Urchin

Macala suddenly felt in the mood for the jargon of the townships. The near‐animal, amorphous, quick‐shifting lingo that alarms farm‐boys and drives cops to all branches of suspicion. But it marks the city slicker who can cope with all its vagaries.✏

Sad Afrika - a country without a name

This meditation inspired my own thoughts in critique of the South African identity.. read on:
https://phehellowabotho.blogspot.com/2019/04/sad-afrika-country-without-name.html?m=1

Constitutional abolitionist

philosopher, Ndumiso Dladla exposing the fraudulent constitution

History & language...Sophiatown musings

So ko kasi we adorn our female counterparts with several appellations. "Cheri", "Thikin'", "Ntsaiza", etc... another popular term "Medi", apparently originated in praise-reference to Maddie Hall Xuma, an American-born Activist, Educationist and Social Worker who became the first ANC Womens League president. She was also wife of Dr A.B Xuma, ANC president-general, 1940 - 1949. They lived in Sophiatown.

Trapped in history

People are trapped in history and history is trapped in them. 💼

James Baldwin (1953)

A little history from Kofifi

In the 1950’s under the Native Laws Amendment Act, the Nationalist Party government sought to begin entrenching their apartheid policies and an end to the multiracial Sophiatown was of symbolic importance for the party. Forced removals began in 1955 and would last for the next seven years as residents resisted being removed from their homes. The majority of black people were moved to Meadowlands, but some would move to other areas such as Orlando, Dube, Pimville and in the eastern townships like Alexandra. Coloureds were moved to areas like Eldorado Park, Westbury, Noordgesig, etc.., while Indians were moved to Lenasia. The successful removals of Sophiatown residents culminated in a new area for white municipal workers and it was christened Triomf, Afrikaans for triumph, in celebration of Sophiatown’s destruction. The nerve!

(Read more from yours truly by clicking on the link below)

http://www.joburgpost.com/articles/14788

My current obsession, Charles Mingus

Goodbye Pork Pie Hat - Live At Montreux (1975)