The Soweto Gospel Choir is a South African gospel group.
62-536: The Soweto Gospel Choir was formed in Soweto , South Africa, by David Mulovhedzi and Beverly Bryer, and producers Andrew Kay, David Vigo and Cliff Hocking in 2002. The more than 30-member ensemble blends elements of African gospel , Negro spirituals , reggae and American popular music . The group performed at the first of the 46664 concerts for Nelson Mandela and has since toured internationally several times. Their albums Blessed, African Spirit and Freedom won
124-443: A new emergency camp. It was called Moroka. 10,000 sites were made available immediately. Moroka became Johannesburg's worst slum area. Residents erected their shanties on plots measuring six metres by six metres. There were only communal bucket-system toilets and very few taps. The camps were meant to be used for a maximum of five years, but when they were eventually demolished in 1955, Moroka and Jabavu housed 89,000 people. In 1941,
186-459: A popular form of transport. In 2000 it was estimated that around 2000 minibus taxis operated from the Baragwanath taxi rank alone. A Bus rapid transit system, Rea Vaya , provides transport for around 16 000 commuters daily. PUTCO has for many years provided bus commuter services to Soweto residents. The area is mostly composed of old "matchbox" houses, or four-room houses built by
248-473: A squatters camp. The city council's resistance crumbled. After feverish consultations with the relevant government department, it was agreed that an emergency camp, which could house 991 families, be erected. It was to be called Central Western Jabavu. The next wave of land invasions took place in September 1946. Some 30,000 squatters congregated west of Orlando. Early the next year, the city council proclaimed
310-585: A striking mansion home for Barnato. The property was situated near to the Irene Church with its front entrance on End Street. In his biography of Barnato, Harry Raymond wrote that "as a practical proof of his faith in the permanency of the Gold Fields of the Rand he decided to build a large home for his own dwelling place and tenders were called for its erection." Afterwards the house was the residence of
372-625: A strong force amongst black South Africans. Early Career The experiences of other developing nations were examined at the Soweto entrepreneurship conference, which looked for ways to help turn the economic tide in townships. SOWETO'S entrepreneurs gathered at the University of Johannesburg Soweto Campus on 13 and 14 April to engage with experts from all over the globe about how to enhance skills and value-add in township economies. The restrictions on economic activities were lifted in 1977, spurring
434-585: A thirty-year leasehold tenure. Tenants could erect their own dwellings in conformity with approved plans. In June 1955, Kliptown was the home of an unprecedented Congress of the People , which adopted the Freedom Charter . From the onset, the Apartheid government purposed Soweto to house the bulk of the labour force which was needed by Johannesburg (1998:58). Africans used to live in areas surrounding
496-573: A workforce for Johannesburg. It experienced civil unrest during the Apartheid regime. There were serious riots in 1976, sparked by a ruling that Afrikaans be used in African schools there; the riots were violently suppressed, with 176 striking students killed and more than 1,000 injured. Reforms followed, but riots flared up again in 1985 and continued until the first non-racial elections were held in April 1994. In 2010, South Africa's oldest township hosted
558-572: Is an inner-city suburb of Johannesburg , South Africa , located to the east of the city centre. It is in Region F of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality . In the 1930s, it attracted many Jewish immigrants, becoming the main hub for the city's Jewish community. Black African residents, then a minority in the suburb, lived in slum-yards. Under the Slums Clearance Act 1934 ,
620-479: Is an annual ceremony presented by Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA), which recognise excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of the music of Australia . They commenced in 1987. Soweto Soweto ( / s ə ˈ w ɛ t oʊ , - ˈ w eɪ t -, - ˈ w iː t -/ ) is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng , South Africa , bordering
682-567: The FIFA World Cup Final and the attention of more than a billion soccer spectators from all over the world was focused on Soweto. In April 1904, there was a bubonic plague scare in the shanty town area of Brickfields. The town council decided to condemn the area and burn it down. Beforehand, most of the Africans living there were moved far out of town to the farm Klipspruit (later called Pimville), south-west of Johannesburg, where
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#1732791458181744-686: The Grammy Award for Best Traditional World Music Album in 2006, 2007 and 2019, respectively. On 7 July 2007 they performed at the South African leg of Live Earth . Also in 2007, they joined Robert Plant in contributing to Goin' Home: A Tribute to Fats Domino ( Vanguard Records ), performing their version of Domino's " Valley of Tears ". The group was featured on the Peter Gabriel / Thomas Newman song " Down to Earth ", written for Pixar 's 2008 feature film WALL-E . The song
806-542: The Native Resettlement Act , which permitted the government to remove Blacks from suburbs like Sophiatown, Martindale, Newclare and Western Native Township. Between 1956 and 1960, they built 23,695 houses in Meadowlands and Diepkloof to accommodate the evicted persons. By 1960, the removals were more-or-less complete. In 1959, the city council launched a competition to find a collective name for all
868-741: The Afrikaans word meaning separateness. They thought they could separate the various racial groups in South Africa. In those days, the Johannesburg City Council did not support the National Party. The city council and the central government competed to control the Black townships of Johannesburg. Following the election of the new government, some 7,000 new houses were built in the first two or three years, but very little
930-597: The Black Affairs Administration Act, No. 45 of 1971. In terms of this Act, the central government appointed the West Rand Administration Board to take over the powers and obligations of the Johannesburg City Council in respect of Soweto. As chairman of the board it appointed Manie Mulder, a political appointment of a person who had no experience of the administration of native affairs. Manie Mulder's most famous quote
992-572: The Black Local Authorities Act. Previously, the townships were governed by the Johannesburg council, but from the 1970s, the state took control. Black African councilors were not provided by the apartheid state with the finances to address housing and infrastructural problems. Township residents opposed the black councilors as puppet collaborators who personally benefited financially from an oppressive regime. Resistance
1054-498: The Black section of Johannesburg Hospital (known as Non-European Hospital or NEH) was transferred to Baragwanath Hospital . In 1997, the facility was renamed Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital after former General Secretary of the South African Communist Party , Chris Hani . The National Party won the general election of 1948 and formed a new government. The party's policy was called apartheid,
1116-563: The British Government built a military hospital next to the road between Johannesburg and Potchefstroom . The place was to be at the 8th milestone near the old Wayside Inn, owned by a Cornishman called John Albert Baragwanath. It was called The Imperial Military Hospital, Baragwanath . After the war, the Transvaal Provincial Administration bought the hospital for £1 million. On 1 April 1948,
1178-561: The South African government's privatization drives will worsen the situation. Research showed that 62% of residents in Orlando East and Pimville were unemployed or pensioners. There have been signs recently indicating economic improvement. The Johannesburg City Council began to provide more street lights and to pave roads. Private initiatives to tap Sowetans' combined spending power of R4.3 billion were also planned, including
1240-726: The Soweto Gospel Choir to re-record the song for inclusion on his debut album, Calling All Dawns , leading to the song's nomination and award. This marked the first time a video game composition had won or been nominated for the category. The group collaborates with American publishing company MusicSpoke to publish transcriptions of a number of its pieces, including "Balm of Gilead", "Hloholonofatsa", "Ke Na Le Modisa", "Khumbaya", "Shosholoza", "Somlandela" and "Swing Down Sweet Chariot". They appear on Peter Gabriel's tenth studio album, I/O —on its title track , " Road to Joy " and " Live and Let Live ". The ARIA Music Awards
1302-668: The Soweto Highway, links Soweto with central Johannesburg via Nasrec and Booysens . This road is multi lane, passes next to Soccer City in Nasrec and has dedicated taxiway lanes from Soweto eastwards to Booysens and Johannesburg Central. A major thoroughfare through the south-eastern part of Soweto ( Eldorado Park ) is the R553 Golden Highway . It provides access to the N1 , N12 and M1 highways. Minibus taxis are
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#17327914581811364-613: The Technikon Witwatersrand, which is now a part of the University of Johannesburg , Ellis Park Stadium and Johannesburg (Athletics) Stadium. The Johannesburg meeting house of the Religious Society of Friends ( Quakers ) has been situated at 3 Gordon Terrace since the late 1950s. The area had undergone substantial transport renewal in 2008 in preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in soccer, especially
1426-629: The affairs of the Advisory Board for Orlando. Towards the end of World War II, there was an acute shortage of housing for Blacks in Johannesburg. By the end of 1943, the Sofasonke Party advised its members to put up their own squatters' shacks on municipal property. On Saturday 25 March 1944, the squat began. Hundreds of homeless people from Orlando and elsewhere joined Mpanza in marching to a vacant lot in Orlando West and starting
1488-479: The area. Hostels are another prominent physical feature of Soweto. Originally built to house male migrant workers, many have been improved as dwellings for couples and families. In 1996, the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality awarded tenders to Conrad Penny and his company Penny Brothers Brokers & Valuers (Pty) Ltd. for the valuation of the whole of Soweto (which at the time consisted of over 325,000 properties) for rating and taxing purpose. This
1550-703: The building in 1975 due to personal health issues. Mannie Manim, co-founder of the Market Theatre was responsible for transforming an old Doornfontein house into the Arena Theatre . At the Arena, Manim formed a theatrical group, The Company with Danny Keogh , Barney Simon , Vanessa Cooke and Janice Honeyman. The theatre was eventually demolished as the Technikon Witwatersrand expanded. Large areas of Doornfontein are now occupied by
1612-665: The call issued by African National Congress 's 1985 Kabwe congress in Zambia to make South Africa ungovernable . As the state forbade public gatherings, church buildings like Regina Mundi were sometimes used for political gatherings. In 1995, Soweto became part of the Southern Metropolitan Transitional Local Council, and in 2002, was incorporated into the City of Johannesburg. A series of bombings occurred in 2002. They are believed to be
1674-628: The chairman of the Native Affairs committee, Mr. Edwin Orlando Leake. In the end, some 10,311 houses were built there by the municipality. In addition, it built 4,045 temporary single-room shelters. In about 1934, James Sofasonke Mpanza moved to 957 Pheele Street, Orlando, and lived there for the rest of his life. A year after his arrival in Orlando, he formed his own political party, the Sofasonke Party. He also became very active in
1736-584: The city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for So uth We stern To wnships . Formerly a separate municipality, it is now incorporated in the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality and is one of the suburbs of Johannesburg . George Harrison and George Walker are today credited as the men who discovered an outcrop of the Main Reef of gold on the farm Langlaagte in February 1886. The fledgling town of Johannesburg
1798-422: The city, so the authorities felt it would be more expedient to concentrate black workers in one district that could be easily controlled (1998:58). The new sub-economic townships took off in 1956, when Tladi, Zondi, Dhlamini, Chiawelo and Senoane were laid out providing 28,888 people with accommodation. Jabulani, Phiri and Naledi followed the next year. Sir Ernest Oppenheimer arranged a loan of £3 million from
1860-571: The construction of Protea Mall, Jabulani Mall, and the development of Maponya Mall, an upmarket hotel in Kliptown, and the Orlando Ekhaya entertainment center. Soweto has also become a Centre for nightlife and culture. Well-known artists from Soweto, besides those mentioned above, include: The Soweto Wine Festival was started in 2004. The three-night festival is hosted at the University of Johannesburg 's Soweto Campus on Chris Hani Road in
1922-480: The council had erected iron barracks and a few triangular hutments. The rest of them had to build their own shacks. The fire brigade then set the 1600 shacks and shops in Brickfields alight. Thereafter, the area was redeveloped as Newtown. Pimville was next to Kliptown , the oldest Black residential district of Johannesburg and first laid out in 1891, on land which formed part of Klipspruit farm. The future Soweto
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1984-629: The discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand in 1886. The suburb was laid out in the late 1880s by Thomas Yeo, and became the first residential suburb of Johannesburg. In 1897 the freehold of the suburb was bought by the Johannesburg Consolidated Investment Company (JCI), owned by the mining magnate Barney Barnato . The suburb (and Berea ) were developed by the company and the district became known as "Millionaire's Row". The JCI also built Norman House,
2046-556: The eastern boundary of Soweto. There is efficient road access for many parts of the region along busy highways to Johannesburg and Roodepoort , but commuters are largely reliant on trains and taxis. The N12 (named the Moroka Bypass) forms the southern border of Soweto, separating it from Lenasia . A new section of the N17 has been built, connecting Soweto with Nasrec as a four-lane dual carriageway. The M70 , also known as
2108-451: The first day in Soweto, 21 of whom were black, including the minor Hector Pieterson , as well as two white people, including Melville Edelstein , a lifelong humanitarian. The impact of the Soweto protests reverberated through the country and across the world. In their aftermath, economic and cultural sanctions were introduced from abroad. Political activists left the country to train for guerrilla resistance. Soweto and other townships became
2170-704: The first weekend of September. Organised by the Cape Wine Academy, the festival attracts over 6000 wine enthusiasts, over 100 of South Africa's finest wineries and well over 900 fine wines. Soweto Pride , an annual pride parade, is held in Soweto every year, on the last Saturday of September. The inaugural Pride was in 2004. The parade aims to celebrate black lesbian, queer and trans women plus non-binary people, and offer them space to voice issues affecting them. Doornfontein Doornfontein ( / ˈ d ʊər n f ɒ n t eɪ n / DOORN -fon-tayn )
2232-528: The government of the South African Republic (ZAR) bought the south-eastern portion of the farm Braamfontein. There were large quantities of clay, suitable for brickmaking, along the stream. The government decided that more money was to be made from issuing brick maker's licences at five shillings per month. The result was that many landless Dutch-speaking burghers (citizens) of the ZAR settled on
2294-503: The government, that were built to provide cheap accommodation for black workers during apartheid . However, there are a few smaller areas where prosperous Sowetans have built houses that are similar in stature to those in more affluent suburbs. Many people who still live in matchbox houses have improved and expanded their homes, and the City Council has enabled the planting of more trees and the improving of parks and green spaces in
2356-582: The growth of the taxi industry as an alternative to Soweto's inadequate bus and train transport systems. In 1994 Sowetans earned on average almost six and a half times less than their counterparts in wealthier areas of Johannesburg (1994 estimates). Sowetans contribute less than 2% to Johannesburg's rates Some Sowetans remain impoverished, and others live in shanty towns with little or no services. About 85% of Kliptown comprises informal housing. The Soweto Electricity Crisis Committee argues that Soweto's poor are unable to pay for electricity. The committee believes that
2418-496: The infamous Urban Areas Act of 1923. William Carr, chair of non-European affairs, initiated the naming of Soweto in 1949. He called for a competition to give a collective name to townships dotted around the South-west of Johannesburg. People responded to this competition with great enthusiasm. Among the names suggested to the city council was KwaMpanza, meaning Mpanza's place, invoking the name of Mpanza and his role in bringing
2480-577: The levy was used to finance basic services in Black townships. In 1954, the City Council built 5,100 houses in Jabavu and 1,450 in Mofolo. The city council's pride and joy was its economic scheme known as Dube Village. It was intended "primarily for the thoroughly urbanised and economically advanced Native". Stands, varying in size from fifty by hundred feet to forty by 70 feet, were made available on
2542-566: The mid-1930s and became light industrial manufacturing areas. In 1967, Adam Leslie, a Jewish theatrical personality took over a small theatre on End Street that had been designed by Sir Herbert Baker for Lady Farrar, wife of Sir George Farrar . The building had previously housed the South African College of Music, with a foundation stone laid in 1906. Leslie converted the building into a music hall with 200 seats and hosted musical revues. The music hall closed after Leslie sold
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2604-528: The mining industry, which allowed an additional 14,000 houses to be built. It was decided to divide Soweto into various language groups. Naledi, Mapetla, Tladi, Moletsane and Phiri were for Sotho- and Tswana-speaking people. Chiawelo for Tsonga and Venda. Dlamini Senaoane, Zola, Zondi, Jabulani, Emdeni and White City were for Zulus and Xhosas. The central government was busy with its own agenda. The presence of Blacks with freehold title to land among Johannesburg's White suburbs irked them. In 1954, Parliament passed
2666-577: The mining magnate, John Dale Lace . It was subsequently converted into an institution known as Dale Lace house, a residence for senior citizens. The building has since been demolished. Following the Anglo-Boer War , many of the wealthier residents moved north to Parktown , and Doornfontein, or "Doorie", became home to many Jewish immigrants. In Doornfontein and New Doornfontein , there were nine synagogues, several Talmud Torah and Cheder schools, as well as Jewish organisations. Yiddish
2728-459: The plight of Orlando sub tenants to the attention of the city council. The city council settled for the acronym SOWETO (South West Townships). The name Soweto was first used in 1963 and within a short period of time, following the 1976 uprising of students in the township, the name became internationally known. Soweto became the largest Black city in South Africa, but until 1976, its population could have status only as temporary residents, serving as
2790-409: The polite term for Africans or Blacks) lawfully employed and resident within the area of their jurisdiction. Pursuant to this Act, the Johannesburg town council formed a Municipal Native Affairs Department in 1927. It bought 1 300 morgen of land on the farm Klipspruit No. 8 and the first houses in what was to become Orlando Location were built there in the latter half of 1930. The township was named after
2852-485: The property and started making bricks. They also erected their shacks there. Soon, the area was known either Brickfields or Veldschoendorp. Soon other working poor, Coloureds , Indians and Africans also settled there. The government, who sought to differentiate the white working class from the black, laid out new suburbs for the Burghers (Whites), Coolies (Indians), Malays (Coloureds) and Black Africans (Africans), but
2914-669: The situation because it did not apply to land situated within municipal boundaries. In 1923, the Parliament of the Union of South Africa passed the Natives (Urban Areas) Act . The purpose of the Act was to provide for improved conditions of residence for natives in urban areas, to control their ingress into such areas and to restrict their access to intoxicating liquor. The Act required local authorities to provide accommodation for Natives (then
2976-418: The slum-yards were cleared and many residents were relocated to Orlando, Soweto . Since the late 1970s, Doornfontein and other inner-city suburbs of Johannesburg have underdone high levels of white flight to the city's northern suburbs. The area, whose name means "thorn fountain", was originally the southern part of a farm owned by Frederick Jacobus Bezuidenhout, and was proclaimed a public diggings after
3038-534: The stage for violent state repression. Since 1991, this date and the schoolchildren have been commemorated by the International Day of the African Child . In response, the apartheid state started providing electricity to more Soweto homes, yet phased out financial support for building additional housing. Soweto became an independent municipality with elected black councilors in 1983, in line with
3100-522: The townships south-west of the city's centre. It was only in 1963 that the city council decided to adopt the name Soweto as the collective name. The name Soweto was officially endorsed by the municipalities' authorities only in 1963 after a special committee had considered various names. The apartheid government's intention was for Soweto to house black people who were working for Johannesburg. Other names considered included "apartheid Townships" and "Verwoerdstad" (Gorodnov 1998:58). In 1971, Parliament passed
3162-472: The townships. In Soweto, popular resistance to apartheid emerged in various forms during the 1980s. Educational and economic boycotts were initiated, and student bodies were organized. Street committees were formed, and civic organizations were established as alternatives to state-imposed structures. One of the most well-known "civics" was Soweto's Committee of Ten , started in 1978 in the offices of The Bantu World newspaper. Such actions were strengthened by
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#17327914581813224-459: The whole area simply stayed multiracial. Soweto was created in the 1930s when the White government started separating Blacks from Whites, creating black "townships" . Blacks were moved away from Johannesburg, to an area separated from White suburbs by a so-called cordon sanitaire (or sanitary corridor) which was usually a river, railway track, industrial area or highway. This was carried out using
3286-485: The work of the Boeremag , a right-wing extremist group, damaged buildings and railway lines , and killed one person. In 2022, 15 people were killed in a mass shooting at a bar. Soweto's population is predominantly black and the most common first language is Zulu . Soweto landmarks include: Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as subtropical highland (Cwb). The suburb
3348-639: Was done thereafter. In 1952, there was a breakthrough. Firstly, the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research came up with a standard design for low-cost, four-roomed, forty-square-metre houses. In 1951, the Parliament passed the Building Workers Act , which permitted Blacks to be trained as artisans in the building trade. In 1952, it passed the Bantu Services Levy Act, which imposed a levy on employers of African workers and
3410-708: Was given to the Rand Daily Mail in May 1976: "The broad masses of Soweto are perfectly content, perfectly happy. Black-White relationships at present are as healthy as can be. There is no danger whatever of a blow-up in Soweto." Soweto came to the world's attention on 16 June 1976 with the Soweto uprising , when mass protests erupted over the government's policy to enforce education in Afrikaans rather than their native language. Police opened fire in Orlando West on 10,000 students marching from Naledi High School to Orlando Stadium . The rioting continued and 23 people died on
3472-526: Was laid out on a triangular wedge of "uitvalgrond" (area excluded when the farms were surveyed) named Randjeslaagte, situated between the farms Doornfontein to the east, Braamfontein to the west and Turffontein to the south. Within a decade of the discovery of gold in Johannesburg, 100,000 people flocked to this part of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek in search of riches. They were of many races and nationalities. In October 1887,
3534-755: Was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song at the 66th Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Award for Best Original Song at the 81st Academy Awards . The group performed at the 2010 FIFA World Cup final draw on 4 December 2009 in Cape Town , South Africa. In 2010, composer Christopher Tin 's song " Baba Yetu ", which featured the group, won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocalist(s) . The song had originally been produced for Firaxis Games 's 2005 videogame Civilization IV , but Tin enlisted
3596-438: Was not historically allowed to create employment centres within the area, so almost all of its residents are commuters to other parts of the city. Metrorail operates commuter trains between Soweto and central Johannesburg . Soweto train stations are at Naledi, Merafe, Inhlazane, Ikwezi, Dube, Phefeni, Phomolong, Mzimhlophe, New Canada, Mlamlankunzi, Orlando, Nancefield, Kliptown, Tshiawelo and Midway. The N1 Highway skirts
3658-479: Was spurred by the exclusion of blacks from the newly formed tricameral Parliament (which did include Whites, Indians and Coloreds). Municipal elections in black, coloured, and Indian areas were subsequently widely boycotted, returning extremely low voting figures for years. Popular resistance to state structures dates back to the Advisory Boards (1950) that co-opted black residents to advise whites who managed
3720-564: Was the single largest valuation ever undertaken in Africa. Being part of the urban agglomerations of Gauteng , Soweto shares much of the same media as the rest of Gauteng province. There are however some media sources dedicated to Soweto itself: Soweto is credited as one of the founding places for Kwaito and Kasi rap, which is a style of hip hop specific to South Africa. This form of music, which combined many elements of house music , American hip-hop, and traditional African music, became
3782-465: Was to be laid out on Klipspruit and the adjoining farm called Diepkloof . In the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek and the subsequent Transvaal Colony , it was lawful for people of colour to own fixed property. Consequently, the township of Sophiatown was laid out in 1903 and Blacks were encouraged to buy property there. For the same reasons, Alexandra, Gauteng was planned for Black ownership in 1912. The subsequent Natives Land Act of 1913 did not change
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#17327914581813844-705: Was widely spoken and there was a predominantly Eastern European Jewish character and identification with both Zionism and Yiddishkeit . Many of the Jewish residents came from Ferreirasdorp and Marshalltown . Doornfontein Synagogue was completed in 1906 and remains in use. The synagogue has been documented and photographed by David Goldblatt . During the Great Depression large parts of Doornfontein were bought up by property speculators and turned into slum housing or "yards". These areas were cleared in
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