One of the tragedies of apartheid was the marginalisation of the history of the black majority of this country. Since at least the 1980s the project to recover this history, which was then called ‘People's History’, and which was driven by anti-apartheid activists and radical historians, has made great strides in redressing the imbalances of past historical accounts. The rewriting of history has gathered momentum since the advent of democracy and a considerable body of literature has been published about the key figures in the liberation struggle as well as the main events that contributed to overthrowing apartheid. And yet so much more needs to be done to uncover the hidden stories of our communities.

It is in this context that Orlando West, Soweto, an oral history documentation of the joys and struggles of the Orlando community should be understood. Orlando West is renowned for its historic contributions to the liberation of our people. It is here on 16 June 1976 where thousands of students shouted with one voice: ‘To hell with Afrikaans’ and ‘Down with apartheid’. Their courage and determination heralded the beginning of the end of minority rule.

Orlando West, and in particular Vilakazi Street, is the known home of two Nobel Peace Prize winners, the former state president, Nelson Mandela, and Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu. Orlando East is associated with the Sofasonke Party and is home to its founder, James Mpanza, the first man to own horses in the township. Orlando is indeed the home of the struggle and, perhaps, can even be referred to as the ‘political’ home of South Africa and the bedrock of our nation's march towards freedom.

The township of Orlando (the area now known as Orlando East) was established in 1932 as one of the first township settlements developed to house the increasing number of African migrant workers drawn to the burgeoning mining camp of Johannesburg. In 1937, not long after the establishment of Orlando, a group of young soccer players formed what has become one of South Africa's biggest soccer teams of all time, Orlando Pirates.

In its eighty years of existence, Orlando has represented an evolving kaleidoscope of South Africa's modern history. This book is the story of the people of Orlando, and is told largely through their accounts. It is a recollection of fond and of painful memories.