District Six Museum — Local services in Cape Town Ward 115

The museum is beautiful- a lot of thought and love went into it. The quotes and stories were focused more on the love and resilience within the community. They talk about what a community is at its fundamental level and the disastrous consequences of displacement. Its impactful yet hopeful yet devastating yet courageous. This is a complex story. I wish however that they could explain in layman's terms what happened here, for guests who are not from this country. I left with many questions because they talk about race designation and focus on “whites”, “coloreds” “Indians” and “blacks” but who exactly are the “coloreds?” What about the “ Malay” population? Are the “coloreds” the “Malays”? Its all so confusing. Last week I explored Malay culture and I am trying to understand how all these designations would work so its like at one museum they focus on one population and in another museum they focus on another population but I’m having difficulty envisioning this as a cohesive whole. Also, theres no mention of the indigenous peoples known as the khoi-khoi peoples. Where do they fit in here? SA’s history is so incredibly vast and fascinating- I love that there are many individual museums focusing on different aspects and I fully support the venture hence my rating but I wish it was organized in such a way as to provide a clear picture as a whole. For example a museum for each designation during apartheid and then a museum for the 90’s focusing on the tumult and eventual release and election of Mandela, and finally a museum for the journey of a new nation exploring democracy for the first time. Its all such an amazing story! And a story worth telling a million times over ✊🏽 I love that there are so many words here and things to read, it was interesting but as a person not privy to SA culture, I left with limited perspective. I did look around to see if any of the staff was up for a chat because I had questions but no one appeared too engaging 😂 I think it’s time to book an actual guide. The museum is only $2.50 so it was time and money...

We came to this museum after several recommendations we read online and got from locals. The museum itself is built in a a building that used to be a church during the story of District Six.

On February 11, 1966, the apartheid government declared Cape Town's District Six a whites-only area under the Group Areas Act of 1950. From 1968, over 60 000 of its inhabitants were forcibly removed to the Cape Flats, over twenty five kilometers away. Except for the local houses of worship, the buildings were systematically bulldozed throughout the 1970s, and by 1982, almost all evidence of the district had been destroyed.

I strongly recommend taking a tour guide, since the museum itself is full photos and information but it might be hard to get the real experience I had. Our tour guide was a lovely lady name Suzan who was actually leaving in district six and was one of the 60K people who were forcefully taken out and sent to the townships.

Today she is 79, but still has a spark in her eyes and a captivating personality. She told us her personal story and the story of district six from the 60s and until today. Suzan took us throughout the museum and shared so much with us, also by showing how people lived back in the days and explaining us about the exhibitions. I was left with mixed feelings since it was really sad but there was a good ending although it won’t change the past.

I really recommend visiting and taking a tour guide...

The topic of this museum is tragic, but the organization is also tragic, in entirely different ways.

I felt like I was browsing a Google Images search. That is to say, there were tons of photos on every wall, each with captions, but with no clear organizational structure. I got bored quite quickly, and my R30 admission price ended up lasting me about 15 minutes.

In the last week, I have been to 3 other museums in Cape Town, and this was by far the worst experience. There was no clear path to follow through the museum, aside from the first display, to which I was directed by the woman who took my admission fee. After I read the initial 3-4 panels, I wandered around, hoping to find some sort of order, but found none.

To enjoy this museum, I believe you must already have a solid grasp on the history of District 6, and go here to continue your research, or have hours to spend, and have a very high level of self-motivation to build a narrative in your head--one won't be handed to you...