PODCAST | Black teen's pioneering journey at King Edward School in 1994

In 1994, as South Africa embraced democracy and put an end to apartheid, Lungi Dolamo embarked on his high school journey at King Edward School, also known as KES.

Founded in 1902, KES was one of Johannesburg's first state high schools for English-speaking boys, initially located in a vacant cigar factory at the corner of Good and Kerk streets in Hillbrow. Originally named Johannesburg High School for Boys, the school changed its name to King Edward VII School when it relocated to Houghton in 1911.

In this episode of the TimesLIVE original podcast 30 Years of Democracy, Dolamo shares the ups and downs of his experiences as one of the first black pupils at a newly multiracial school.

Listen to the interview here:

Before Dolamo attended KES, he went to school in Bramley for three months in 1992, where he recalled how the principal at the time was racist and ironically gave him the name “Edward”.

“The worst thing I remember, he sat me next to this girl in his class who was awful. She went out of her way to make sure I knew I was black, this is pre-1994. She was threatened because there was now an influx of black learners entering model C schools,” he said.

For more episodes of the 30 Years of Democracy Podcast listen below: 

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