In 1950, the National Party government passed the Group Areas Act. Under this act, it was legal to keep racial groups completely separate. Many white families stayed in their homes, but the government forced all blacks and coloured people out of the city centers.

District Six is a community in Cape Town where the government forced over 60,000 people to leave.

In 1966, the government called District Six a whites-only area. Before this, it was a neighborhood with diverse people. This community was an example of what the Apartheid government didn’t want: people of all races living together.

It took the government 11 years to bulldoze District Six. Everyone had to move into different communities called townships. This happened all over South Africa.

From the start, homes in townships were poorly built. Some people didn’t have running water or electricity. Many thousands of people lived in these townships. Alex is one example of these crowded black communities.

In Alex, I saw many tiny one-room shacks made of large sheets of tin. Rocks and bricks sat atop the tin roofs. Someone told me this keeps roofs from blowing away during storms. I know that slums exist, but this was the first time I met people who live in these conditions.

Even though the townships are improving, it is taking a long time to fix the damage done by Apartheid.

I often hear about poverty in the news, but I forget how much we all have in common. Around the world people want homes, jobs, an education, food, and hope for a better future. Everyone I met welcomed me with a smile. It reminded me that we are all the same.

Looking at History: The Soweto Uprising.

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