Aerial view of Sophiatown, as it was left after removal of the population under the Western Areas Removal Scheme, Johannesburg, South Africa

Sophiatown was one of four freehold townships outside of the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. It became the symbolic center of black culture around Johannesburg in the 1940s and '50s. The township was one of the oldest black settlements in Johannesburg and held an almost symbolic importance for the 50,000 black South Africans that Sophiatown was home to, both in terms of its sheer vibrance and its unique culture. In 1950, the National Party government passed the Group Areas Act as an extension of apartheid. The law specified separate residence areas for each racial group in the country. Because Sophiatown was home to people from many groups, they were scheduled for "removal" in 1953. Removal of Sophiatown began on 9th February 1955 under the Western Areas Removal Scheme. The residents were taken to a large tract of land, thirteen miles from the city centre, to the aptly-named empty fields of Meadowlands (now part of Soweto), that the government had purchased in 1953. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon was on assignment for Life magazine and traveled to Africa from August 18, 1959 to December 20, 1959.