The roots of apartheid in South Africa are traced way back from the time it earned its independence in 1910. Three years later after independence, a land Act was passed full of controversies since catalyzed the onset of territorial segregation where black Africans were obliged to move to the most remote places in the country and were denied the opportunity to offer their services as sharecroppers since it was illegalized. The move of separation between the blacks and white South Africans by territory faced opposition by individuals who later formed the South African National Native Congress that later was changed to the Africa National Congress (ANC) with Nelson Mandela as its leader. Racial segregation in South Africa earned more power during the times of World War II and the Great Depression and hence it contributed to the economic strains experienced worldwide (A&E Networks 2017) 1 . During this time the government in authority cemented most of the policies that encouraged separations amongst the races in South Africa. For instance, after coming into power, the Afrikaner National Party leaders made sure that they remained in authority through diminishing political forces of other races by dividing them along racial and tribal lines. Moreover, intermarriages between races were illegalized, and the Population Registration Act classified and recorded every South African by race. The move separated family members especially parents and children born in an intermarried home.
Like most countries that have had to face the ghost of racism, South Africa had established different public utilities for purposes of making sure that these races rarely met. Blacks, who were densely populated, compared to the whites, colored and Asians were expected to carry passes to access restricted areas. Besides, the whites had acquired and occupied a vast area of the country’s land through the amended land laws making it difficult for blacks to enjoy the same privilege of land ownership.
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According to Mark Mathabane, the author of ‘Kaffir Boy’ and many other articles that criticized and commented on the political state of the country; he felt apartheid had to be abolished and done with since no law could make reforms to equally favor all the blacks, whites, and colored individuals in South Africa. His intention on publishing the articles was purposely to inform other countries, America in particular on what was happening in South Africa. Mathabane reckons that the apartheid law required black individuals to have passbooks that had all their information from their tribe, name, age, marital status, address, work, and photograph. It was illegal for the blacks to walk without these passes because it would get them into trouble. As mentioned earlier, Mathabane confirms the restrictions of the blacks from the white territory. Many of the blacks lived in isolated communities that denied them the basic needs like food, proper shelter, and clothing. As for the case of Mathabane and his younger six siblings, their parents were forced to leave them behind to fend for the family. Many blacks feared the whites and the power bestowed on them and would not dare do anything that would subject them to trouble. For instance, Mark Mathabane’s real names given by his parents were Johannes Thanyani, but he was forced to make changes to his name to keep off from the apartheid laws that required blacks to stay away from the whites’ territories. Moreover, blacks considered the whites to be so superior, and Mathabane confirmed this through the bed stories, riddles, and proverbs that their mother used to tell to her children. Through her stories, Mathabane pictured God as an old white man with blue eyes, whereas the devil was a black-tailed man (Till 2007) 2 .
Education during Apartheid
Like most of other institutes, the blacks attended a blacks-only school which was the same case with the whites and Afrikaans. Not every black parent saw the importance of education to their children since Mathabane’s mother was brutally beaten by his father after being informed that she took Mark to school. Despite the thorough beating, she continued to send Mathabane to school and encouraged him to work hard and look after his siblings. For a child to be enrolled in a school, it was mandatory for them to have a birth certificate which pushed Mathabane’s mother to rise in the wee hours of the morning to find one for her son. Schools authorities required black South Africans to pay school fees, wear a uniform and acquire required textbooks to stay in school. Failure to accomplish all these led to the severe beating of the students by the teachers. Despite the challenges faced by black South Africans during their times in school, it was tough for educated blacks to get opportunities in the government as public workers. On the contrary, some black children would be favored by some of their family employees who played a significant role in empowering the black children and helping them to soar higher in their education. For instance, in Muthabane’s case, his grandmother’s white employer would send him clothes that he used in school, textbooks, and toys that helped him advance his reading. Moreover, he had a chance to get into tennis a sport that was played by whites alone which helped him get a scholarship and a chance to compete internationally. With the extreme hardships and inferior educations systems provided in the black South African schools, some students would engage in political activism that would either result in them being arrested or expelled from the schools. As in the case of Biko, radicalism became a norm among students in the black South African schools.
Gender in Apartheid
Despite acquiring a high qualification in education, most of the black South Africans still faced discriminations from the whites. As Iris Berger (2009) 3 narrates the story of Albertina Thethiwe Nontsikelelo a young nurse in a non-European hospital, was denied time off to mourn her mother, an opportunity she deserved considering labor laws. Involvement of women in politics was mostly influenced by their spouses who were active members of the anti-apartheid movement. Women would engage in hiding and cover their fathers, brothers, husbands and sons from the authorities to keep them from being arrested or tortured. Moreover, women were trained on matters of leadership, unions and political issues at the time grooming them for the ability to be political allies who participated in the quest to fight apartheid.
According to Biko’s ‘black consciousness,’ many of the black South African children had a hatred for their origin, skin color and life in general. While some would equally hate the whites, they would on the other side admire their lifestyle, privileges, and opportunities. The onset of Bantustan was observed as a blindfold to the Black South Africans since in most cases, while there was a need to fight racism, a lot was still practiced, and blacks were denied the chance to freedom in their land. The support of some of the whites in demolishing apartheid contributed to the blacks challenging the political status quo. For instance, the Extension of University Education Act that was formulated in 1959 was purposely meant to fragment the resistance of blacks and at the same time dismantle the black – white relationships in the Universities 4 . Until 1994, South African ended apartheid under the leadership of Nelson Mandela who had a consensus with the president F.W. de Klerk and later on was elected as the president.
Bibliography
A&E Networks. History. 2017. http://www.history.com/topics/apartheid (accessed April 7, 2017).
Ally, S., & Lissoni, A. (2012). ‘Let's Talk About Bantustans’. South African Historical Journal , 64 (1), 1-4. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02582473.2012.655947
Berger, Iris. South Africa in World History. Oxford University Press, 2009.
Till, Christopher. Commentary: BIKO - THE QUEST FOR A TRUE HUMANITY. Apartheid Museum , 2007.
1 A&E Networks. History. 2017. http://www.history.com/topics/apartheid (accessed April 7, 2017).
2 Till, Christopher. Commentary: BIKO - THE QUEST FOR A TRUE HUMANITY. Apartheid Museum , 2007.
3 Berger, Iris. South Africa in World History. Oxford University Press, 2009.
4 Ally, S., & Lissoni, A. (2012). ‘Let's Talk About Bantustans’. South African Historical Journal , 64 (1), 1-4. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02582473.2012.655947
