Hosted by the City of Joburg, the Sophiatown Revival concert brought visitors and Kofifi culture back to the historic Dr. AB Xuma House.

This past Saturday, May 7, 2022, the jazz concert, headlined by Sophiatown diva Abigail Kubeka, signalled an upturn in the fortunes of the facility, which closed its doors two years ago under pressure of the Covid-19 lockdown.

“As the concert commences today, we bring to remembrance the travesties of the past when our dignity as a people was stripped away, and we remember those that were separated, shoved, and forced out. Let us not remember with an air of unforgiveness and bitterness, but let us remember with new hope for the future, a shared society that upholds human rights – a hope for a South Africa regarded as ‘Empilweni’,” said Cllr Ronald Harris, the Member of the Mayoral Committee for Community Development in the City of Johannesburg.

Dr. Xuma was a medical doctor, leading black intellectual and president of the ANC in the 1940s. In 1993, his house on 71 Toby Street, was officially declared a national monument. He lived there until 1959 with his wife, Madie Hall, an African-American social worker, who served as the first president of the ANC Women’s League.

The home was one of the very few buildings of the old Sophiatown to escape demolition by the apartheid government during forced removals in the late 1950s.

The legendary sounds of old Sophiatown filled the air throughout the day. The line-up included poet and playwright Billy Langa and pianist Josh Mokoena. Kubeka and her band performed popular African jazz songs from the 1940s and 1950s.

When asked about their experience at the concert, one of the local community members said: “Being present today at the concert has truly touched my heart. I believe if the walls of Dr. Xuma’s home could talk, they would tell you of South Africa’s potential for a multicultural society, where people of all ethnic groups could live together in the early decades of the 20th century.”

Looking to the future, the heritage house in Sophiatown is to be revived as a City of Johannesburg museum and cultural centre. The concert marked the start of efforts to have the heritage site activated and re-opened.

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