Racism in South Africa (original) (raw)

Racism in South Africa can be traced back to the earliest historical accounts of European interactions with indigenous African peoples along the coast of Southern Africa. It has existed throughout several centuries in the history of South Africa, dating back to the Dutch colonization of Southern Africa which started in 1652. Before universal suffrage was achieved in 1994, White South Africans, especially Afrikaners during the period of Apartheid, enjoyed various legally or socially sanctioned privileges and rights which were denied to the indigenous African peoples. Examples of systematic racism over the course of South Africa's history include forced removals, racial inequality and segregation, uneven resource distribution, and disenfranchisement. Racial controversies and politics remain