District Six was so named as it was literally the Sixth
District of the Western Cape in 1867. District Six was so loved as a community
of colourful characters.
A friendly mix of artisans, freed slaves, free spirits,
labourers and locals living harmoniously were forcefully removed from their
rightful city homes and re-settled in barren Cape outskirts during an
unthinkable period in South African Apartheid history commencing in 1901. Over
60 000 residents fell victim to the government at the time who reduced homes to
rubble without cause or resurrection. An award winning community project the
District Six Museum welcomes evicted residents to make a mark in chalk on a map
hand painted on the floor to show where their home once stood and what their
hearts still mourn.
Storytelling of former residents interacts as a live history
recreating the vibrancy that turned to desolation. Tactile images of loss are
held in this old church building where slaves once worshipped. Authentic street
signs mark 75 roads that labelled paths of diverse religious acceptance. A 300m
memory cloth absorbs the ink of ex-residents contributions to memory lane.
Built on a fabric of healing so that bare recollections prevent such
devastating from repetition, this brush with a haunting past is a moving museum
experience.
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