Charlotte Maxeke House

Table of Contents

About Charlotte Maxeke House

The damaged plaque was replaced in April 2021.

Address

1873 4th Street, Kliptown
2007

Inscription

Charlotte Maxeke (1874 Ð 1939) has been honoured as the mother of Black Freedom in South Africa. By 1901 she became the first African women from South Africa to receive a BachelorÕs Degree, graduating with a B.SC. from the Wilberforce University in Ohio, USA. She became the leading woman member of the South African Native Congress (later called African National Congress). She also founded the Bantu WomenÕs League, which fought against the extension of pass laws to women. Charlotte Maxeke lived in this house towards the end of her life, and was buried at Nancefield Cemetery, Soweto.

Photo courtesy: Kabelo Mokoena (Sunday Times)

Explore Joburg

A culmination of research gathered over many years, the Online Johannesburg Heritage Register is being launched on Nelson Mandela Day 18 July 2025.

Among the many heritage sites featured is Chancellor House, the downtown offices of Mandela and Tambo Attorneys in the 1950s. After having been vacant and shuttered for more than a decade, this iconic building is being revived and brought to life once again as offices for the Community Development Department, which oversees the City’s Arts, Culture & Heritage Services.