Alyssa Huff, Northwestern University
“Translating Testimonies into Action: The Joe Slovo Anti-Eviction Movement”
Bio: Alyssa Huff is a senior at Northwestern University. She is triple majoring in philosophy, political science, and African studies. She recently studied abroad in South Africa and conducted the research she will be presenting here. This summer she presented this research at the International Autobiography conference and received an Undergraduate Research Grant to conduct research on informal settlements in Sierra Leone to be used in her senior thesis.
Abstract: Seeking reconciliation in the post-Apartheid Era, South Africa is faced with addressing massive inequality in a host of areas. Ranked only below Brazil as the most unequal country in the world, suitable housing and employment continue to be detriments to the ruling party African National Congress’s (ANC) quest for ‘development status’. With a substantial constituency living in informal housing, the delivery of effective and sustainable housing for the residents of informal settlements in South Africa is critical. The ANC government, however, has not followed through on its campaign promises, ignoring its urban residents, over half of who currently reside in informal settlements. In response, thousands of residents, all over South Africa, are currently refusing evictions.
This project explores the factors that have led to the mobilization of the anti-eviction movements in informal settlements. More specifically, this project uses interviews and observations of members of the Joe Slovo informal settlement anti-eviction mobilization in Cape Town, South Africa. Attempting to explore the alternative that protesters face if they choose compliance, interviews of Delft residents who have been relocated to Temporary Relocation Areas (TRAs) mandated and organized by the ANC’s Breaking New Ground Initiative. Through analysis of field data, the project seeks to parallel the struggle against evictions and for inclusion with the negritude movement expressed by Aime Cesaire and Leopold Senghor. By presenting the words of Joe Slovo residents themselves, this research contributes to the limited literature on informal settlements and gives voice to those who have often been silenced by legal, administrative, and political actions.
