Trafalgar High School, District Six. Photographer: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers
Cape Town - Trafalgar High School in District Six will host a reunion this weekend, bringing together former teachers and learners from the late 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s, to gather for an afternoon of reminiscing and reconnection, as well as to forge new connections.
The reunion will take place tomorrow at the school from 2pm until 8.30pm.
The school, considered the first for learners of colour in Cape Town, was founded in 1912.
Instrumental in its formation was the African People’s Organisation President, Dr Abdullah Abdurahman, and education activist Harold Cressy, the school’s first principal and the first person of colour to graduate in the country.
Since its establishment, the school has been synonymous with having produced prominent persons in the areas of social justice, politics, the legal fraternity, and the arts, with notable alumni including Zainunnisa Abdurahman “Cissie” Gool, opera singer Vera Gow (Adams), retired judge Siraj Desai, composer Abdullah Ibrahim, former minister of Justice Dullah Omar, and political activist lawyer Benjamin Kies, among many others.
Activist and alumni, Osman Shabodien, who matriculated in 1978, said: “From 1975 to 1980, that five years is the most important five years, not only in our history but in the history of Cape Town, it was the last of District Six that we saw.
“It was actually very traumatic for us to walk through District Six at that time. Seeing the bulldozers finishing the job that was started in 1965, enforcing the group areas act in District Six, which we were very much a part of, as young students.”
He said the learners’ political awakening was largely due to the teachers Trafalgar High.
“Many of the teachers that came there suffered political repression in the sense of what they were doing. And this actually also gave us an indication that it was much more than coloured education.”
He added that the gathering was also more than just coming together to socialise on the day.
“What is more important is the question of Trafalgar as a school, what did Trafalgar mean to us, and how can we transfer that same type of ethos to the new generation of Trafalgar.”
One of the organisers, Aziza Ismail, who matriculated in 1979, said an entrance fee of a minimum of R20 at the door will be charged with the funds used for the development of the school.
There will also be a donation box for larger donations to be made.
Food items and complementary eats will be available on the day.
Learners at the school will also take part in the day, by showcasing their talents.
Adams said there will also be a register for alumni to leave their details and areas of interest and expertise, should they wish to give back to the school.
“This reunion is to actually come out and make some more memories. This is a golden opportunity to meet everybody who you don't know whether you’re going to see them again in the future.”
Lawyer and social activist, Waheed Badrodien, part of the Working Committee and who matriculated in 1979, said some of the greatest legal and intellectual minds in our community had come from Trafalgar.
shakirah.thebus@inl.co.za