Apartheid

An official policy of racial segregation formerly practiced in the Republic of South

Africa, involving political, legal, and economic discrimination against nonwhites.

South Africa was colonized by the English and Dutch in the seventeenth century. English
domination of the Dutch descendents (known as Boers or Afrikaners) resulted in the
Dutch establishing the new colonies of Orange Free State and Transvaal. The discovery
of diamonds in these lands around 1900 resulted in an English invasion which sparked
the Boer War. Following independence from England, an uneasy power-sharing between
the two groups held sway until the 1940's, when the Afrikaner National Party was able to
gain a strong majority. Strategists in the National Party invented apartheid as a means to
cement their control over the economic and social system. Initially, aim of the apartheid
was to maintain white domination while extending racial separation. Starting in the 60's,
a plan of ``Grand Apartheid'' was executed, emphasizing territorial separation and police
repression.
With the enactment of apartheid laws in 1948, racial discrimination was institutionalized.
Race laws touched every aspect of social life, including a prohibition of marriage
between non-whites and whites, and the sanctioning of ``white-only'' jobs. In 1950, the
Population Registration Act required that all South Africans be racially classified into one
of three categories: white, black (African), or colored (of mixed decent). The coloured
category included major subgroups of Indians and Asians. Classification into these
categories was based on appearance, social acceptance, and descent. For example, a white
person was defined as ``in appearance obviously a white person or generally accepted as
a white person.'' A person could not be considered white if one of his or her parents were
non-white. The determination that a person was ``obviously white'' would take into
account ``his habits, education, and speech and deportment and demeanor.'' A black
person would be of or accepted as a member of an African tribe or race, and a colored
person is one that is not black or white. The Department of Home Affairs (a government
bureau) was responsible for the classification of the citizenry. Non-compliance with the
race laws were dealt with harshly. All blacks were required to carry ``pass books''
containing fingerprints, photo and information on access to non-black areas.

The History of Apartheid

Apartheid has its roots in the colonization of South Africa during the seventeenth century
by Dutch settlers. White settlers from Holland landed in South Africa in 1652 and began
the long process of oppressing the South African Kingdoms. In the 1860s, England sent a
large army equipped with rifles, cavalrymen and cannons to seize control of South
Africa. The Xhosa Kingdom had fought nine wars of resistance versus the colonizers
from Holland, so it was only natural for them to take up arms against the British. The
Xhosa were defeated in 1878 after more than 100 years of warfare against foreign
invaders.
The British suffered their first defeat at the hands of the Zulu, but British reinforcements
moved in and subsequently crushed the Zulu. By 1900, the British had conquered the
African kingdoms and controlled all of South Africa through a system of colonial
government. Dutch descendants, known as Boers or Afrikaners, revolted against English
rule around this time and engaged the British in the Boer War. The Dutch defeated the
British, and both parties were engaged in a power struggle until the 1940s. During this
period, the Afrikaner Nationalist Party gained the majority. Politicians in the Nationalist
Party created apartheid as a way to extend racial separation while maintaining white
domination. Apartheid became the system of government through the ratifying of 317
apartheid-related laws. The union of South Africa was designed with a government
acknowledging the rights of white people while denying those same rights to blacks.
Racial discrimination was associated with the enactment of the 1948 apartheid laws.
Total racial control emerged in every aspect of life including the sanctioning of "white
only" jobs and the prohibition of marriage between non-whites and whites. The 1950
Population Registration Act required the populace of South Africa to be divided into
three racial categories: white, black (African), and coloured (of mixed descent). The
organization in charge of this racial classification was the Department of Home Affairs.
Those who did not abide by the classification laws were dealt with harshly.
The Bantu Authorities Act of 1951 established homelands. Homelands were independent
states that became the basis for ethnic government in African reserves. Each African was
assigned a homeland by the government on the basis of their origin. Voting and all other
political rights were restricted to the designated homeland. The objective of creating
homelands was to force Africans to maintain loyalty to their respective homeland,
thereby relinquishing their South African citizenship. The government hoped this would
result in blacks not being able to participate in the South African Parliament. The
homeland administrators, who kept pressure for political rights within the country as a
whole, refused official independence. As a result, Africans living in these homelands
needed passports to enter South Africa. Blacks became foreigners in their own country.
In 1953, the Criminal Law Amendment Act and the Public Safety Act were passed into
law. They allowed the government to declare and enforce strict states of emergency as
well as increase penalties on those who protested/supported the repeal of a law. During
such states of emergency, a police officer could arrest anyone, most often blacks, for six
months and detain them without a hearing. While in custody, many died as a result of
torture by policemen. If someone was awarded a trial, then his or her options were
basically limited to death, banishment, or, similar to Nelson Mandela, life imprisonment.
Although apartheid is only a few generations old, it is nonetheless one of the most
outstanding violations of human freedom history has experienced. Although not as
obviously horrific as a World War or a Holocaust, apartheid exerted similar monstrosities
upon blacks solely on the basis of their skin. From a Christian perspective, we can only
hope the fires of apartheid will smolder peacefully and never again burn bright as they
once did.

Key Figures in the Apartheid/Anti-Apartheid Movement

Pro-apartheid
Louis Botha became the first Prime Minister of South Africa in 1910 and held that
position until 1919. Jan Christaan Smuts succeeded Botha as Prime Minister from
1919-24. He was a major player at Versailles and was instrumental in forming the League
of Nations. His coalition with the Nationalist Party led to the formation of the United
Party. He served as Prime Minister once again from 1939-48. J.G.H. Hertzog founded
the Nationalist Party in 1914, advocating complete South African independence. He
served as Prime Minister from 1924-39. In 1933, he entered into coalition with Smuts in
the United Party. Daniel F. Malan formed the Purified Nationalist Party in 1934 and
became Prime Minister in 1948. He held this post until 1954. Malan introduced a
controversial apartheid policy and was a strong believer in a strict white supremacy and a
very rigid hierarchical society. J.G. Strijdom succeeded Malan as Prime Minister from
1954-58. He became the leader of the Nationalist Party. Strijdom is noted for establishing
an Afrikaner Republic outside of the Commonwealth and altering the balance of the
Senate in order to gain the necessary vote for his apartheid policies. H.F. Verwoerd was
Prime Minister from 1958-66. Along with his predecessor Strijdom, Verwoerd introduced
much of the apartheid legislation in a highly controversial policy. Under his leadership,
South Africa was established as a republic in 1961. Verwoerd was assassinated in Cape
Town in 1966. John Vorster became Prime Minister after Verwoerd's death and held the
position until he was elected President of South Africa in 1978. He was forced to step
down nine months later after an investigation committee found him to be responsible in a
scandal involving misappropriation of government funds. Pieter Botha was Prime
Minister from 1978-84 and the First State President (1984-89). He suffered a stroke in
1989 and was forced to succeed his state presidency to his successor, F.W. de Klerk.
President from 1989-94, de Klerk brought about many reforms including the release of
Nelson Mandela from prison, lifting the state of emergency, repealing the principle
apartheid laws, instituting constitutional talks, bringing victory in a white-only
referendum, and lifting international sanctions. Despite his reforms there was still great
violence occurring in the community, especially between the African National Congress
and the Zulu Inkatha Freedom Party. In 1993, to bring an end to the violence, de Klerk
signed a constitutional agreement with Mandela and in the same year, the two men shared
the Nobel Peace Prize. In 1994, de Klerk became vice-president in the Mandela
administration.

Anti-apartheid
Albert Lutuli was president of the African National Congress from 1952 to 1960. He
received the Nobel Peace Prize for his opposition to racial violence in 1960.
Mangosuthu Buthelezi, known as Chief Buthelezi, founded Inkatha, a politico-cultural
body aiming to achieve a non-racist democratic system of government. Mandela
appointed Chief Buthelezi minister for home affairs in 1994. Oliver Tambo joined the
ANC in 1944 and was appointed vice-president of the youth league. With Nelson
Mandela in prison, Tambo became the acting president of the ANC in 1967 and was
elected president in 1977. Stephen Biko was founder and leader of the Black
Consciousness Movement. He was also founder and first president of the all-black South
African Students Organization in 1969. He died while in police custody as a result of
severe beatings. Biko was the subject of the film Cry Freedom, directed by Sir Richard
Attenborough in 1987. Desmond Tutu is an Anglican clergyman who became the first
black bishop of Johannesburg in 1984 and Archbishop of Cape Town in 1986. He chose
to seek peaceful negotiations between blacks and whites as a means of bringing an end to
apartheid. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984. Joe Slovo was one of the most
influential white South Africans associated with the national liberation movement. He
was a member of the Communist Party and held high positions in both the Communist
and African National Parties. Mandela appointed him minister of housing in 1994. Thabo
Mbeki is a leading member of the ANC. In 1975, he was elected to the National
Executive Committee of the ANC and became one of its most influential leaders. In
1994, he was appointed the first deputy president in the Mandela administration. Nelson
Mandela is the leading figure in the anti-apartheid movement. He joined the ANC in
1942 and formed the ANC Youth League in 1944. Mandela directed a campaign of
defiance against the South African government and its racial policies. This campaign was
executed through mass civil disobedience instead of violence. As a result of leading this
campaign as well as others similar to it, the ANC was outlawed and Mandela was
banned, arrested and imprisoned. In 1964, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for
sabotage. Over the next two-and-a-half decades, Mandela's neglect to concede his anti-
apartheid position became the symbol for black resistance. On February 11, 1990,
Mandela was released from prison and the ANC was officially reinstated. In 1991, he was
elected president of the ANC and in 1993, he shared the Nobel Peace Prize with de Klerk
for their efforts in dismantling apartheid. Mandela was elected President of South Africa
in 1994 and currently retains that position.