"In South Africa today a 'Black spot’ is an African township marked for obliteration because it occupies an area into which Whites wish to expand. The township may have been in existence for fifty years and have a settled population of twenty-five or fifty or seventy-five thousand people. Nonetheless, if Whites so decree, it can literally be wiped off the map and its people relocated to Government-built housing projects in remote areas." - Ernest Cole, House of Bondage
Footnote: From 1960–1983, the apartheid government forcibly moved 3.5 million Black South Africans, urban and rural, in one of the largest mass removals of people in modern history. Famous communities documented in our history are Sophiatown, District Six and Dimbaza. The 1980's saw a resistance to removals and 2 million people assigned for removal, never transpired.
House of Bondage (1966) by Ernest ColePhotography Legacy Project
A child’s home in an area declared a “Black spot” has been destroyed.
Ernest Cole archive : House of Bondage (1966)Photography Legacy Project
An African township is bulldozed out of existence to make way for White expansion. Government trucks will move residents and their few possessions to matchbox houses in new locations, usually in remote areas, perhaps not even named on a map.
Ernest Cole archive: South Africa (1966)Photography Legacy Project
Even to live there, people must qualify. People thus have not only had their homes razed, but have nowhere to go.
Ernest Cole archive: South Africa (1966)Photography Legacy Project
Ernest Cole archive : House of Bondage (1966)Photography Legacy Project
A community of two thousand people, uprooted before a new township was ready for them, was moved into a tent city instead.
House of Bondage (1966) by Ernest ColePhotography Legacy Project
Ernest Cole archive : House of Bondage (1966)Photography Legacy Project
A child sleeps outside, rather than under stifling canvas.
Ernest Cole archive: South Africa (1966)Photography Legacy Project
Typical location has acres of identical four-roomed houses on nameless streets. Many are hours away from city jobs.
Ernest Cole archive : House of Bondage (1966)Photography Legacy Project
A sign warns that permits are needed to enter location.
Ernest Cole's influential 1967 photobook, House of Bondage, captured the everyday hardship faced by Black South Africans during apartheid. A new edition of this pivotal book published by Aperture in 2022, preserves Cole's original writings and images, and includes contemporary perspectives on his life and lasting impact.
This digitization of Ernest Cole's archives, along with his first-person accounts, offers the opportunity to appreciate and comprehend the work of one of South Africa’s most significant photographers. This accessible digital collection makes his legacy available for educational purposes, academic study, and research, effectively integrating Cole's contributions into the global visual heritage.
Read more about Ernest Cole’s biography in the title story, Ernest Cole Archives: House of Bondage.
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