The Roads to Hillbrow

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This accessible portrayal of a post-apartheid neighborhood in transition examines the interplay of identity, migration, and place. Established in 1894 during Johannesburg's evolution from a mining town to southern Africa's largest city, Hillbrow has long been a migrant community. As wealth accumulated from migrant labor, Jewish Eastern Europeans fleeing pogroms joined other Europeans and white South Africans in this developing suburb. Post-World War II, Hillbrow transformed into a high-rise landscape, attracting Western and Southern Europeans seeking prosperity in South Africa's booming economy. By the 1980s, it became home to vibrant queer spaces and a refuge for Indian and Black South Africans defying apartheid laws. Filling a gap in literature on migration within the Global South, the narrative explores Hillbrow's evolution from a white suburb to a "grey zone" and eventually a "port of entry" for migrants from over twenty-five African countries. Authors Ron Nerio and Jean Halley blend sociology, history, memoir, and queer studies, drawing from over 100 interviews. They address employment, housing, support for unaccompanied minors, and queer expression, alongside challenges like inequality, xenophobia, and the economic impacts of COVID-19. Many interviewees sought better futures for themselves and their families, engaging in justice work, LGBTQ+ support, and community initiatives, illustrating how the people of Hillbrow conn