ABOUT US
The Trevor Huddleston CR Memorial Centre exist to inspire communities and young people, and enable them to live, realise and achieve their dreams and thrive with dignity.
Our approach is bespoke: it encompasses leadership, service and value-based methods aligned to those of Fr Huddleston, and those who continue to work for social justice and a non-racial society.
Fr Huddleston was nicknamed 'Makaliphile', meaning 'dauntless one'. We seek to be dauntless in the pursuit of a more equitable economy, non-racialism, and opportunities for youth to thrive as active and responsible citizens.
We also preserve and share the history of this area, and the histories of the multi-cultural communities and individuals who inspired Fr Huddleston. We do this through arts, culture and heritage programmes on our Sophiatown site and with partners across the Province. Fr Huddleston believed, as do we, that art connects us to each other and roots us in our common humanity.
Why Sophiatown?
Sophiatown and the western area neighbourhoods were historically famous particularly for their racially-mixed communities which were a hive of artistic, political, business and intellectual and cultural innovations from the early 1930s until apartheid legislation destroyed them beginning in 1955. Sophiatown was a celebrated freehold and the first area in South Africa to feel the force of apartheid’s Native Resettlement Act and Group Areas segregation.
Father
Huddleston was sent to Sophiatown in 1943 to continue the education and
pastoral work of his religious community , known as 'CR', which stands for
Community of the Resurrection, based in the UK. He was 30 years old and
found a vibrant community which instantly took him to its heart. You can
hear more about people who affected Fr Huddleston, and about his impact on
their lives
By
the time he was 42 years old, he had written a book about apartheid called 'Naught
for Your Comfort'. It was banned in South Africa but sold 250,000 copies
all over the world, so many people came to hear about apartheid. When Fr
Huddleston returned to the UK in 1956 he committed to the struggle in new ways,
and was one of the founding members of the 'Boycott Movement' - the
pre-cursor to the Anti-Apartheid Movement in the UK.
Our
new home in Sophiatown, the Trevor Huddleston CR Memorial Building, was
officially opened in September 2015, by elders and youth with links to Fr
Huddleston, in the presence of families who had lived in Sophiatown before the
forced removals, and residents who live there today.
Opening the building, music composer and icon Jonas Gwangwa cut the ribbon with Khadija Kgoleng whose grandfather was priest and Archdeacon of the area in Fr Huddleston’s day;
Fr Huddleston
Mama Dorothy Masuku – Africa’s most prolific composer and performer- joined him with Mr Ali Hlongwane from the City of Johannesburg , partner to THMC in the national heritage house we operate as the Sophiatown Heritage centre (next door to the new building). Sihle Zwane, a young current resident and Grace Mogorisi – a former resident, joined Isaac Meletse (chair of THMC) in welcoming people into the new spaces. Over 400 people attended this special day with music, dancers, theatre and poetry
The
building was funded through grants from the National Lotteries Commission, the
national Department of Arts & Culture; donations from William Kentridge,
Peter Vundla, Mr and Mrs Douglas Board, Zerbanoo Gifford, and many
others; and an enabling loan from Lord Joel Joffe, without which the
project would not have succeeded. Deep thanks to all who contributed to
this new phase of the Huddleston Centre’s life.
The
building is an environmentally ‘green’ building which showcases
alternatives – it’s the first community designed building in South Africa
with a focus on sustainable enterprise and celebrating diversity of culture.
Sophiatown
today is probably one of the most diverse suburbs in Johannesburg, with long
time residents from the 1960s, returned residents from the 1950s, and new
families and students who know little of the area's rich past.
Our school visiting programmes share stories about people who once lived here, and encourage young people to find out more about the suburb's recent history and current mixed population.
Heritage
Team Leader, Tshepo Letsoalo introduces the Biko commemorative exhibition
Photo:
school learners gather for history talk in the Sophiatown garden of the
historic A B Xuma house