District Six – Cape Town
In 1867 the Sixth Municipal District of Cape Town was established. This area was home to community of immigrants, laborers and freed slaves which made it a lively and animated part of the city of Cape Town. The area was referred to as District 6 and most of the inhabitants were colored people including a number of Malays who had been brought to the Cape by the Dutch East India Company. There were also smaller numbers of whites, both Afrikaans and English speaking and some Xhosa’s and Indians.
In the early years District 6 was extremely overcrowded and the residents generally very poor but due to its central location it had become a vibrant multi-racial working class centre. For all that, District 6 is remembered fondly because, despite the hardship, the community was tolerant and found joy in music and dance and was strongly linked to the annual Coon Carnival (now called the Minstrel Carnival) which is comparable to Mardi Gras with an exciting and colorful Cape flavor. This carnival takes place every year on January 2nd which is traditionally a holiday.
The Apartheid Government declared District 6 to be a whites only area and in 1965 forcible removals of the local residents began. So began the tearing apart of this vibrant community and more than 60,000 people were taken away from the homes, livelihoods and the community they had been part of for so many years and relocated to the desolate and bleak Cape Flats outside the City of Cape Town.
As part of a program to clear slum areas District 6 was bulldozed. leaving only a very few churches standing and for 30 years that is how it remained. In 1986 a Foundation for the District 6 museum was established and in 1994 the Museum was opened.
Today District 6 in Cape Town is slowly being rebuilt and plans are being made to return the land to the descendants of the original owners, or in some cases to the owners themselves if they are still living.
