They Built This City

 

This collection of short documentary portraits (accompanied by more detailed historic text) tells the stories of influential people who have shaped the history of Cape Town. The portraits represent a mix of historical and 20th-century individuals, highlighting the diverse backgrounds and ancestry of many of Cape Town’s people.

The portraits are about activists, freedom fighters and boundary breakers who lived through and fought against slavery, injustice and apartheid. All of them also have the fact in common that their contributions to the history of Cape Town have often been forgotten or underplayed. This collection, therefore, seeks to give them the recognition they deserve.

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