Until the 20th century the segregation that existed in South Africa was created more by economics than anything else. Blacks lived and worked in their own neighborhoods within the cities. In the early years of the last century large groups of white European immigrants arrived and the populaton grew to such an extent that more space was needed. Areas outside the cities were designated as townships, and all non white people were moved there allowing the cities to be completely white. Apartheid had begun although the name did not arrive for several decades. Land formerly lived on by non-whites was turned into residential areas for white people, and as the cities grew, so did the townships become larger and farther out. Soweto is one of those townships, and today it forms a city of over a million people. The name is a shortened version of South Western Township. Almost all of the residents of Soweto are black, but that doesn't mean it is nothing but a poverty stricken area. Of course, there are slums where people live in one room shacks with outdoor bathrooms, but there are also mansions where the wealthy Sowetans live. For the homes of the middle class, please see the next album.
Click a picture to see a larger view.
Extremely Poor Neighborhood
Kids Who Came to Greet Us
On Our Way to a Market
A Market in the Old Bus Station
Telephone Booths in Neighborhoods
Interesting Ad
Ice Cream Shop
Barbershop
On the Way to a Rich Neighborhood
The Homes of Wealthy Sowetans
School
Leaving Soweto
