RACISM IN SOUTH AFRICA (original) (raw)

Racial Segregation, Opposition: and Emancipation in South Africa

South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa, is the southernmost sovereign state in Africa. It is bounded on the south by 2,798 kilometers of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans, [9] [10] [11] on the north by the neighbouring countries of Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe, and on the east by Mozambique and Swaziland, and surrounding the kingdom of Lesotho. [12] South Africa is the 25th-largest country in the world by land area, and with close to 53 million people, is the world's 24th-most populous nation. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere. [13]

APARTHEID

MNF, 2015

“In my country of South Africa, we struggled for years against the evil system of apartheid that divided human beings, children of the same God, by racial classification and then denied many of them fundamental human rights.” – Desmond Tutu1 The twentieth century has been one of great suffering and bitterness for South Africa. The practices that took place there at the time shocked the world and represent an important, albeit horrifying, chapter of human history. From 1910 to 1994, the country was ruled by the white minority, during which period, the non-white population was subjected to boundless cruelty, humiliation and marginalisation, their basic human and political rights denied. Today, it is a nation scarred by years of oppression and discrimination against the majority of its own people. When people speak of racism and discrimination in South Africa, the first thing that comes to mind is Apartheid, the unique segregationist policy adopted by the nation after World War II. However, the oppression of and discrimination against coloured and black people by the country’s whites had started well before this policy had even been thought of. To better understand the dynamics between whites and non-whites during the twentieth century, it is worthwhile to go back to the origin of this cohabitation and subsequent segregation.

Apartheid: ancient, past and present

1999

By Nisrccn Balliish and Anthony Ldwsledt (Webster University. Vienna) I. Introduction The Afrikaans term apartheid, which originally means 'apartness' or 'separateness', has become a globally used, household word for ethnic and ethnicist oppression. There is some irony in this, since South Africa's National Party, which ruled the country from 1948 until 1994, itself coined the term to veil or mask the oppressive elements of its policies and practices. The concept of separateness in itself does not imply any group being favored over any other Segregation per se of ethnic entities, after all, was supported by some South African Blacks 2 Now in common usage all over the world, apartheid has drifted away from its original lexical meaning to denote physically repressive, economically exploitative and ideologically racist or ethnicist segregation. This paper focuses on three apartheid societies, Graeco-Roman Egypt, South Africa and Israel, and offers conceptual reflections on possible frameworks for future Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, especially with regard to present day Israel Apartheid in comparative focus Throughout this century, the unique developments in South Africa have often confounded political theorists by proving to be exceptions from otherwise global trends. For instance, whilst race in apartheid South Africa became more decisive than economic class, Marxism's central tenet of class struggle was suspended. Ever since the repeal of the apartheid laws in this decade, however, Marxism could be said to have been vindicated "in the last resort" From that perspective, the highly artificially racist society of South Africa is now being replaced by a "conventionally" capitalist class society ' The same Marxist analysis in this regard could be applied to the USA from I86S (abolition of slavery) and 1964 (legislation against segregation), respectively. The US laws of segregation between Blacks and Whites, the non-violent struggle against them and the violent White backlash and reaction to that struggle in themselves manifest strong parallels to South African developments, especially as many formative events in this regard took place around the same time, in the 1950's and the 1960's. Albert Luthuli could indeed be compared to Martin Luther King whilst Robert Sobukwe and Nelson Mandela could be likened with Malcolm X (the latter two at least with regard to strategies of resistance). Blacks in the USA and in the preceding North American colonies, however, were always a minority, as opposed to South Africa. ' We arc indebted to the Austrian Ministry or Science and Traffic (Oslcrreichisches Bundcsniinislerium fur Wisscnschaft und Verkchr) and to VOEST-ALPINE Induslrieanlagcnbau GmbH., Litiz. Tor grants sponsoring the presentation or this paper at the conference. "The TRC Commissioning the Past", jointly organized by the History Workshop at the University of the Wilwalcrsnind and the Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation, in Johannesburg. June 11-14. 1999. 2 Lester. Alan: From Colonization to Democracy: A new historical geography of South Africa. London & New York: Tauris Academic Studies. 1996: 87ff. Without segregation, many South African Blacks may indeed not have been able to keep so many of their cultural traditions-including language-and proud resistant attitudes in defiance of Whiles and their cultures. Of course, this was not part of the Whites' plan. The indigenous culture was supposed to just fade away, due merely to being in the proximity of superior' While culture. Cf, for instance. Jaspers. Karl: Voin Ursprung und Ziel der Geschichte. Zurich, 1949: 69, 88. Similarly, the physical separation of races was favored by a Black US emancipationist like Malcolm X. and it still is today by Louis Farrakhan. ' Lester 1996: 2ff Along with Australia and New Zealand, South Africa also stands out as a prominent exception to the "North-South Divide" of rich and poor countries, respectively. It is, for example, an often forgotten fact that the electric power station in Johannesburg in 1914 was the largest and most modern one in the world. Ever since the industrialization of South Africa, it has been one of the richest and technologically most advanced countries in the world. The first ever open heart surgery on a human patient was performed there in 1967 Only a few years later, the NP government procured the country's first nuclear weapons, less than 30 years after the USA. Other comparative attempts to make sense of South African political developments have included comparisons with Nazi Germany, on the one hand, and the Soviet Union, on the other. The National Party (NP) had close ties with the Nazis and openly supported them, but the former were not yet in power when the World War II broke out. The slightly less racist Union Party formed the government at the time, and South Africa joined the war on the allied side. After the war, however, the NP unexpectedly won the 1948 (ail-White) elections-they were to stay in government until 1994. Already in their first few years in power, the NP rehabilitated South African Nazi supporters and introduced racist laws and covert operations reminiscent of Hitler's "master race" policies. 5 Ideology was also similar in these cases: The centuries-old Afrikaner idea of being "God's Chosen People" 6 (which of course goes back to the millennia-old Jewish idea) was mirrored in the Nazi notion of Aryans or Germans being "Nature's Chosen People", the be-all and end-all of natural selection. Especially anthropology and biology were misused to a great extent in order for Whites in Germany and South Africa to attempt to prove these ideas. The parallel with the Soviet Union could also be argued convincingly. Both apartheid South Africa and the Soviet Union created a giant state apparatus and undertook massive social engineering programs, including large, forced removals of millions of people, whole segments of the population. These costly adventures-in financial as well as human termswere made possible only by industrialization, the advent of which nearly coincided in the two countries at the beginning of this century. Yet, both states, it has been argued, were rendered obsolete by further industrialization. The further development of globalized capitalism demanded a state with less expenditure and less market intervention and control. 7 Indeed, only half a year lies between the demise of the apartheid state and the end of the Soviet Union The two countries are at present also facing similar restructuring problems manifesting themselves primarily as high unemployment and high crime-rates. Apartheid in an historically wide sense In this paper, we will compare the South African apartheid system as well as the oppressive structures which preceded and influenced it, with Egypt under Greek and Roman rule, from 332 BC continuously until AD 642, on the one hand, and with modern Palestine under Israeli rule since 1948, on the other. Both of these societies have repeatedly been compared to apartheid South Africa in sweeping terms. What we wish to do here is to provide an analysis to match those generalizations, without shying away from the differences. What the parallels of Graeco-Roman Egypt and modern Israel 8 (until the late 1970's, when the Jews

South Africa: Addressing the Unsettled Accounts of Apartheid

De Gruyter eBooks, 2023

The period of apartheid rule in South Africa officiallyl astedf rom 1948 until April 1994,when democratic elections took place. The policy of apartheid (Afrikaans for separateness) was formallyi ntroduced in South Africa by the National Party (NP) when it came to power in the whites-onlyelections of 1948. This culmination of apolitical, economic and social system of raciald iscrimination was, however,basedo n policies of racialdiscrimination practiced and legislated since the first European settlement in South Africa in 1652. Colonial rule in South Africa by Dutch and British administrations involved wars of conquest,enslavement of local peoples, the deprivation of land and political control of indigenous populations. Colonialism also saw the establishment of numerous waveso fD utch, French and Britishs ettlers occupying various parts of the country (particularlythe Cape Provinceand Natal) in subsequent centuries. Dutch settlers who were unhappy with British rule of the Cape Province (includingt he abolishment of slavery) moved into the country'si nterior and established independent 'Boer'¹ republics,the OrangeF ree State and the Transvaal. This migration alsoinvolvednumerous battles resulting in the conquest of land and the forced displacement of local populations. Violent conflicts between indigenous people and European settler populations continued until the earlyt wentieth century.T he last major military confrontation was the Bambatha Rebellion (1906-1907), when the Zulu Chief challenged the introduction of ap oll tax by the Natalg overnment. The whole period of colonial control of South Africa involved various raciallydiscriminatory laws and the denial of political rights. In the earlytwentieth centurythis gave rise to am ore united African movement of protest and resistance, particularly through the leadership of the African National Congress (ANC), which was founded in 1912 (initiallya st he South African Native National Congress). The ANC led various protests against discriminatory laws and campaigned for full democracy.I nt he 1950s these campaigns became increasingly confrontational while retaining aprincipled stance of non-violence. In March 1960 the Pan Africanist  Boer is the Dutch word for farmer,which is how the majority of Dutch settlers referredt ot hemselves. Their descendants were subsequentlyc alled Afrikaners.

The Narratives of Racism in South Africa

12 Lenses into Diversity in South Africa, 2021

The early promises of a unified South Africa as a rainbow nation after its first democratic election in 1994 and a breakaway from minority rule, has certainly in its delivery, in the main, been forgotten, side-lined, faded or adjusted, 27 years on. A major part of the country’s centuries-old colonial history, Apartheid history and post-Apartheid/democratic history have always been intertwined with race. In 1994, the democratically-elected tripartite alliance – the African National Congress (ANC), the Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) and the South African Communist Party (SACP) – introduced legislative measures to eradicate racism. One research participant for this book chapter (P4, Camissa, identifying as female) reflected on the promise: “I was so excited that I was finally going to be considered a full human… at work, in the shops, on the road, when travelling… without the accompanying filters through which other people viewed me. I believed that there would be no more racism… I could get any job, if I was qualified for it. I could live anywhere, if I could afford it. I could go to museums and restaurants with other people, if I paid for it. I could openly date and marry people from other races, if I was in love and inclined to do so. The stares would stop. The suspicion would stop. I could stop pretending… I could be me and be accepted for being me”. In addition to scrapping the Apartheid legislation, an extensive policy and legal framework was developed to promote affirmative action in education, employment, sport and other areas of life, including a far-reaching programme of Broad-Based Black Economic Empowerment (B-BBEE). B-BBEE has attempted to move diversity from being a political ideal to a practical business mandate. The belief in the end of racism in the nation, as well as the promise of a non-racial society, have endured in the minds of many citizens, however researchers and writers have, over the years, highlighted some of the enduring social, political and economic obstacles to the development of a mature, non-racial democracy in South Africa. These include low levels of industrialisation; poor public service delivery; ailing state-owned enterprises; widespread poverty; high levels of unemployment; violence; homelessness; weakened governance structures, particularly at municipality levels; considerable inequality in the distribution of wealth; skewed land ownership; low skills levels of the majority of the population; and a low educational level of large segments of the population. These latter issues are not the substantive focus of this chapter however, as they have been extensively explored and written about in relation to race, and are still being written about by researchers and journalists alike. Instead, this chapter will seek to shine a light on the less-mentioned aspects of racism in South Africa, specifically the changing narratives and therefore outworking of racism, and the resulting psychological and behavioural effects on those who reside in the country.

The Apartheid Experiences in South Africa: A Review

The evils and atrocities of the apartheid government had far reaching effects that can be imagined. To capture the essence of negative effects and impact of the apartheid system is a daunting task, because the apartheid government committed evils above what may be perceived as genocide or any form of harm to the black citizens of South Africa. To many people and the world, the evils of Apartheid are perceived to have been affecting the black South Africans than any race in the country. little do some people know how terrible Apartheid was to all South Africans including the white minority citizens. The white minority government that crafted segregatory laws which were enforced to suppress and dehumanise black South Africans, did not realise how toxic and deadly those laws were to the white community and how these would play themselves in the future democratic South Africa, which was in any way not expected by white communities. This paper scrutinises the Apartheid laws and how they impacted on the entire South African citizenry, including the white communities.