This is one of only two houses to escape the destruction of Sophiatown by the apartheid government in the late 1950s. It was built in 1934 for Dr. Alfred Bitini Xuma, a highly qualified medical practitioner, and named Empilweni. He lived here until 1959 together with his wife Madie Beatrice Hall, an African American social worker who served as President of the ANC Women’s League from 1943 until 1949. Elected President General of the ANC in 1940, Dr Xuma introduced a new constitution which opened membership to people of all races and gave women equal rights in the organisation.

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The original ceramic plaque was replaced by a resin plaque in 2015.