Sophiatown is one of the most loaded words in South African vocabulary. The very mention of the township conjures up visions of a rich treasure of peoples and cultures, wiped out as a result of the apartheid government's forced removal policies.
During the 1940s and 1950s Sophiatown was the heartbeat of a developing urban black culture on the Rand. Shebeens crawled with the poor and the rich, teachers, truants, journalists and street criminals alike. Toffs and neatly dressed men danced to the rhythms of lively jazz and ballroom dance music with energetic women. Music filled the air: jazz, swing kwela and penny whistle sounds.
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