aug 1, 1954 - The Natives Resettlement Act
Description:
Many towns across South Africa had so-called "onderdorpe", or mixed-population areas.
Many cities also contained "Black spots", or mainly African enclaves, situated in the midst of White suburbs.
To deal with this problem, the government passed the Natives Resettlement Act in 1954 and the Group Areas Development Act in 1955.
These laws complemented the 1950 Group Areas Act and armed the government with the bureaucratic machinery that would finally allow it to carry out its policies of forced urban resettlement of Africans.
The authorities were now permitted to remove Blacks forcibly from the magisterial district of Johannesburg.
The creation of the Natives Resettlement Board, a body established to coordinate forced removals from the western inner suburbs of the city, meant that the authorities were now free to focus on the most celebrated of all the Black spots: Sophiatown.
Added to timeline:
Apartheid in South Africa
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