Apartheid

Apartheid Defined

• South Africa’s policy of “separate development”– a system designed to maintain white

supremacy

• Instituted in 1948 by the Nationalist party of South Africa

• Led by D.F. Malan

Conditions in South Africa after World War II• Population was

divided into two groups: Whites and Non-whites– Afrikanners (British

descendants of Colonists) 15% of population

– Non-Whites 85% of population

• Black Africans - 75%

Population Distribution in South Africa in 1948

Afrikaners (Whites)

15%

Non-White (Black South

Africans)75%

Other Non-Whites

(Indian or Colored)

10%

Apartheid Policies

Resettlements• In 1954, official homelands were created

for Non-Whites• Non-Whites were forced to move into these

new “tribal reserves” called Bantustans

Resettlement Continued

• 3 million Non-Whites were moved

• new homelands had little or no agricultural value or infrastructure

• the Bantustans made up approximately 13% of all South African Land

• Afrikaners moved into former non-white land rich in agriculture and minerals (gold and diamonds)

Resettlements

• Non-whites lost their family lands and are forced to live in extremely poor townships

• White Afrikaners reap positive economic benefits

Loss of Political Power

• In 1910, Act of Union is initiated– It excluded all non-whites from politics

• In reaction the African National Congress or ANC is created– ANC worked to create political independence

from white domination

African National Congress Aims and Objectives

• To unite the African people in a powerful and effective instrument to secure their own complete liberation from all forms of discrimination and national oppression

• To promote and protect the interests of the African people in all matters affecting them

• To strive for the attainment of universal adult suffrage and the creation of a united democratic South Africa

Non-White Passbooks

• Non-Whites had to carry a passbook detailing your racial grouping, your employer, your place of dwelling, and if you had permission to be in a white area

Education

• Bantu Education Act– forces black students to follow an education

system designed to teach only basic skills necessary for menial labor

Some Apartheid Laws• 1949 Prohibition of Mixed

Marriages Act– outlaws marriages between

members of different classified races

• 1950 Immorality Act– prohibits sexual relations

between whites and non-whites

• 1950– Population Registration

Act, Group Areas Act, Bantu Authorities Act

• 1952: Abolition of Passes and Coordination of Documents Act– forces all Africans to carry a

single pass book

• 1953: Promotion of Bantu Self Governing Act– set up ethnic homelands

• 1954: Resettlement of Natives Act– allowed government to

move entire long established communities

Defenders and Symbols of Non-Whites in South Africa

Nelson Mandela• Leader of the ANC

Youth Wing in 1944• used pacifist

techniques to gain equality for all South Africans

• However, this pacifism was put aside when he became leader of the ANC’s Military wing

Mandela

• The Nationalist government tries to discredit Mandela as a Communist and a Terrorist

• 1962- Mandela leaves the country for Military training in Algeria

• 1962- arrested for leaving the country illegally and for incitement to strike

• 1964- sentenced to five years and later to life in prison on Robben Island

Mandela as a Symbol

• Mandela becomes a symbol against oppression throughout the world

• Jail sentences handed out to people with Mandela’s writing or pictures

Steven Biko• Leader of the Black

Consciousness Movement in the late 1970s

• Banned from speaking in public

• Arrested for being out of his banning area

• Beaten to death by police who claimed that he died from a hunger strike

• Becomes a symbol against Apartheid

The World Responds by Boycotting South African Goods

and Protesting the Policy of Apartheid Diplomatically

Apartheid Comes to an End

The Government Reforms

• South African President F.W. Deklerk fought for abolition of Apartheid

• South Africa’s government institutes deregulation of segregation laws

Non-Whites gain political power

• South Africa has its first Universal Suffrage elections in 1994

• African National Congress wins majority in South African Parliament

Nelson Mandela Freed• Nelson Mandela is

released from imprisonment

• becomes the new South African president

Apartheid is over, but its effects still linger among the population

-Inequitable distribution of Land

-Unemployment

-Extreme Poverty

-Spread of Aids and other Diseases

-Rampant Crime

-Lack of Political Unity