Johannesburg Squatters

Johannesburg Squatters, 1947-48. Photographic image of a man in a uniform reading some papers in his hands. In front of him is another man holding a bottle in one hand and a circular metal object in the other hand. There is a group of people standing nearby. One man in the front of the group is wearing a hat, jacket and tie. From the caption on the reverse of the vintage print of this image, we discover that this man, wearing the jacket, is named Oriel. He is one of the leaders of the mass meetings against eviction in Pimville, a town on the outskirts of Johannesburg. Here, he is listening to a constable read an "ejection" or eviction order which is printed in English, Zulu and Sesuto. Photograph by Constance Stuart Larrabee, 1948.

Constance Stuart took this series of images in African squatters' settlements on the periphery of Johannesburg. They came to Johannesburg, the "Golden City," from all over southern Africa in hopes of finding employment. They were in constant danger of being evicted and having their settlements destroyed. They fought eviction through peaceful mass protest, which Stuart documented in many of these photographs.

There are two 8x10 black and white fiber-based prints of this negative in the Constance Stuart Larrabee Collection. EEPA also produced an 8x10 study print for reference purposes.