22 Facts About Soweto

Soweto is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south.

Soweto was created in the 1930s when the White government started separating Blacks from Whites, creating black "townships".

Soweto called for a competition to give a collective name to townships dotted around the South-west of Johannesburg.

The name Soweto was first used in 1963 and within a short period of time, following the 1976 uprising of students in the township, the name became internationally known.

Soweto became the largest Black city in South Africa, but until 1976, its population could have status only as temporary residents, serving as a workforce for Johannesburg.

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The future Soweto was to be laid out on Klipspruit and the adjoining farm called Diepkloof.

Soweto became very active in the affairs of the Advisory Board for Orlando.

The name Soweto was officially endorsed by the municipalities' authorities only in 1963 after a special committee had considered various names.

Soweto came to the world's attention on 16 June 1976 with the Soweto uprising, when mass protests erupted over the government's policy to enforce education in Afrikaans rather than their native language.

Impact of the Soweto protests reverberated through the country and across the world.

Soweto became an independent municipality with elected black councilors in 1983, in line with the Black Local Authorities Act.

In 1995, Soweto became part of the Southern Metropolitan Transitional Local Council, and in 2002, was incorporated into the City of Johannesburg.

Soweto's population is predominantly black and the most common first language is Zulu followed by Sotho and Tswana.

Soweto is credited as one of the founding places for Kwaito and Kasi rap, which is a style of hip hop specific to South Africa.

List below provides the dates when some of Soweto's townships were established, along with the probable origins or meanings of their names, where available:.

Economic development of Soweto was severely curtailed by the apartheid state, which provided very limited infrastructure and prevented residents from creating their own businesses.

Soweto was meant to exist only as a dormitory town for black Africans who worked in white houses, factories, and industries.

Marches by students in Soweto are briefly mentioned in Linzi Glass' novel, Ruby Red, which was nominated for the Carnegie Medal in 2008.

Soweto is mentioned in Sheila Gordon's novel, Waiting for the Rain .

Soweto is mentioned in the song "Burden of Shame" by the British band UB40, on their album Signing off .

Soweto is mentioned in the anti-apartheid song "Gimme Hope Jo'anna" by Eddy Grant.

American band Vampire Weekend refers to its own musical style, a blend of indie rock and pop with African influences, as "Upper West Side Soweto", based on the same description of Paul Simon's album Graceland.