*** Welcome to piglix ***

Community House (Salt River, Cape Town)

Community House
Community House - Salt River.jpg
Community House (Salt River, Cape Town) is located in Cape Town
Community House (Salt River, Cape Town)
Location within South Africa
General information
Location Salt River, Cape Town
Address Salt River Road, Salt River, Cape Town, 7925
Coordinates 33°55′48″S 18°27′27″E / 33.929998°S 18.4576°E / -33.929998; 18.4576Coordinates: 33°55′48″S 18°27′27″E / 33.929998°S 18.4576°E / -33.929998; 18.4576

Community House situated in Salt River, Cape Town is a unique and historic site of living heritage. It has always been known as a site of activism from around the mid 1980s which has shaped and continues to shape the socio-political landscape of its extended communities. The building itself houses NGO’s and Trade Unions as well as a labour and community history museum centered on the Trade Union Library and its archive. It presently houses twenty-four organizations that focus on labour research, popular education, gender advocacy, HIV/AIDS education, environmental issues, youth development, media production and union organization.

In the mid-1980s, anti-apartheid trade unions and civic and service organizations began searching for a new headquarters for their resistance campaign. The Western Province Council of Churches (WPCC) and an NGO, the Social Change Assistance Trust (SCAT) met this need. They purchased a dilapidated auto-workshop in Salt River, an area known for its textile and light metal factories and which marks the origins of industrial unions in the province.

The site was declared a provincial heritage site in 2010.

As a living heritage or intangible cultural heritage site, the significance if the site has the potential to change over time as new information arises and perspectives and interpretations change.

Apartheid South Africa in the mid 1980s experienced increasing levels of repression by the state. This led to a revival of the worker’s movement and an increased effort in the struggle for liberation. Community House was the building used by the organisations that formed the backbone of the anti-apartheid and labour movement. From this site some of the largest strikes and anti-apartheid campaigns were organised. Most notably the historic Purple Rain Protest which took place in September 1989 and saw 100,000 people marching through the streets of Cape Town. This as well as many other meetings mark the building's heritage and historic significance. It is the only site in South Africa that provided and continues to provide a collective home for those involved in the broader labour movement. And, since its inception, the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU), its union affiliates and organisations servicing and supporting workers, have been the backbone of Community House.


...
Wikipedia

...