In 1948, the National Party gained power in South Africa which was the all-white government that started enforcing existing policies of racial segregation under a system of legislation known as apartheid. “Apartheid kept blacks, Coloureds (people of mixed race), and Indians apart from whites and made sure that whites retained control. Apartheid was a series of laws that separated where people lived, worked, and went to school based on race. It also prevented black people from voting”(Rallis, 1994). Even with strong and consistent opposition to apartheid outside and within of South Africa, the effects and laws lasted for the better part of 50 years.
However, racial segregation and white supremacy were in effect in South African policy much before the birth of apartheid. The beginning of territorial segregation began with the controversial 1913 Land Act, passed three years after South Africa gained its independence. It forced black Africans to live in reserves and oppressed them from working as sharecroppers by deeming it illegal. Additionally, the Great Depression and World War II played a role in increasing economic struggles of South Africa, resulting in the government strengthening its policies of racial segregation. For instance, by 1950 the government banned marriages between whites and other races and sexual relations between separate race South Africans were prohibited. The basis of The Population Registration Act of 1950 served as the basic classification system for apartheid. “It classified all South Africans by race, including Bantu (black Africans), Coloured (mixed race) and white. A fourth category Asian (meaning Indian and Pakistani) was later added”(History.com, 2003).
A person could not be considered white if any of his or her parents were non white and determining a person as white took in account their habits, speech, education, and demeanor. A black person was accepted as a member of an African tribe or race, and a neither black nor white person was categorized as colored. Non-compliance with the race laws had harsh consequences, and all blacks had to carry ‘pass books’ that contained fingerprints and photo id information in order to gain access to non-black areas. Further government actions were enforced to limit the contact between races like separate public facilities for whites and non-whites, and denial of non-white participation in national government.
Apartheid policy further ventured into a system referred to as “separate development” stemming from, South Africa’s prime minister in 1958, Dr. Hendrik Verwoerd. “The promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act of 1959 created 10 Bantu homelands known as Bantustans. Separating black South Africans from each other enabled the government to claim there was no black majority, and reduced the possibility that blacks would unify into one nationalist organization”(History.com, 2003). The Bantustans was a system designed supposedly to provide every black South African with full political rights, but instead managed to remove them from the nation’s political body. At one point, the government removed blacks by force from rural areas designated as “white” and sold their land at unfairly low prices to white farmers. “From 1961 to 1994, more than 3.5 million people were forcibly removed from their homes and deposited in the Bantustans, where they were plunged into poverty and hopelessness”(History.com, 2003).
In terms of resistance to apartheid within South Africa there was an array of non-violent demonstrations, protests, strikes to political action, and eventually armed resistance over the years. For instance, attendees at a South Indian National Congress and ANC meeting burned their pass books. There was another organization that called itself the Congress of the People and adopted a Freedom Charter in 1955 proclaiming, “South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black or white. The government broke up the meeting and arrested 150 people, charging them with high treason”(History.com, 2003). Also, Nelson Mandela played a pinnacle part in the resistance by inspiring new hope for change. He primarily developed his resistance efforts when working with the ANC (African National Council) and began to realize that passive resistance was not the answer to winning the fight. He was eventually sentenced to life imprisonment in 1964 and this became very significant in the battle against the apartheid.
Mandela served nearly 27 years in prison under apartheid but never gave up as he continued his work and teachings even while imprisoned at Robben Island. His imprisonment would draw international attention and help gather a following and support for the anti apartheid cause. “After his release in 1990, Mandela traveled throughout the world trying to earn money to support the anti-apartheid movement. Mandela continued to advocate equality for all South Africans regardless of their ethnic backgrounds and in 1993, earned the Nobel Peace Prize for his work in improving human rights”(Anonymous, 2009). He then became the first black South African to be elected president of his country. Through his presidency he was credited for successful negotiation of a new constitution for South Africa, but his prominent focus was bringing back the country from the damage of the apartheid. He served as the voice of the people and strived to spread the message of apartheid resistance around the world. “Certainly Mandela did not act alone but his voice and actions held real power and the battle was eventually won”(Anonymous, 2009).
Ultimately, apartheid was finally brought to an end and a couple elements led it to closure. For example, in 1976, there was a mass protest of thousands of black children in a township called Soweto. The students rallied against an Afrikaans language requirement for black African students, and the police retaliated with tear gas and bullets. Thus, protests and government crackdowns rose from the massacre and this combined with a national economic recession, drew more international attention to South Africa. This terminated all illusions that apartheid had brought peace and stability to the nation. “The United Nations General Assembly had denounced apartheid in 1973, and in 1976 the UN Security Council voted to impose a mandatory embargo on the sale of arms to South Africa”(History.com, 2003). Following, in 1994 a new constitution was instated, which enfranchised blacks and other racial groups. The official end of the apartheid system was marked with the elections that led to a coalition government with a nonwhite majority. The apartheid will never be forgotten by South Africans or the rest of the world and has stemmed a whole series of memorable artwork, opinions, music, and literature. It is evermore important that society learns from events such as the apartheid and progresses into the future guided by the actions and passions of Nelson Mandela.
South African Apartheid 