Apart•heid: (noun) racial segregation

specifically: a former policy of segregation and political and economic discrimination against non-European groups in the Republic of South Africa

“UNITE! MOBILISE! FIGHT ON! BETWEEN THE ANVIL OF UNITED MASS ACTION AND THE HAMMER OF THE ARMED STRUGGLE WE SHALL CRUSH APARTHEID!”

-Nelson Mandela (letter from prison)

Racial segregation in South Africa existed long before Apartheid. In 1913, the Land Act was passed, the first of many operations to spatially segregate white and non-white Africans. This act forced black Africans to live in reserves, while prohibiting them from working as sharecroppers. Many, including Nelson Mandela, opposed the Land Act, and these individuals formed the South African National Native Congress, now known as the African National Congress (ANC).

Note: Non-white Africans made up nearly 70% of the South African population during this time, but their power was threatening and consequently limited by the white African government.

In 1948, the Afrikaner National Party gained power. Winning the election with the slogan “apartheid,” their goal was to continue to racially segregate the country. Under their leadership, marriages and sexual relations between whites and non-whites were banned, a classification system was created to label citizens by their interpreted race (Bantu, Colored, White, Asian), over 80% of the land was designated to the white minority, non-whites were required to carry authorization documents in restricted areas, public facilities were separated by race, non-white labor unions were limited, and non-whites were denied any participation in national government. This government not only separated whites from non-whites, they divided non-white tribal lines to further oppress their potential political power.

Prime minister in 1958, Hendrik Verwoerd developed a system he called “separate development.” Arguably the most devastating operation of Apartheid, this system created 10 Bantu homelands (known as Bantustans) of which black South Africans were assigned. These citizens would be effectively removed from the nation’s political body and supposedly given full political rights within their designated Bantustan. However, nearly all were thrown into poverty and despair. Over 3.5 million black South Africans were removed from their homes to live in a Bantustan, and their former land was sold to white farmers at an extremely low price.

For nearly 50 years, the country lived by way of white supremacists. During this time, resistance to Apartheid took many forms.

Non-violent demonstrations, protests and strikes, political action, and eventually armed resistance all often resulted in blacks being arrested and charged with high levels of treason. In 1960, the police in Sharpesville opened fire on a group of unarmed blacks associated with ANC, killing 67 and injuring 180. In 1976, thousands of black children in Soweto demonstrated against Afrikaans as the only designated language taught in their schools, and police began shooting at them with rubber bullets and tear gas.

By 1961, most leaders associated with ANC were captured and given long prison sentences or executed. Nelson Mandela was among these leaders, and his imprisonment from 1963 to 1990 drew international attention. It was clear to international leaders that the long-held illusion that Apartheid brought peace and prosperity to South Africa was simply not true. This was understood through the countless protests and governmental uproar, combined with a national economic recession.

Finally, in 1990 under President F.W. de Klerk, Nelson Mandela was released from prison, and most of the legislation that allowed for Apartheid was repealed. The two men worked together to create a new constitution for South Africa, which won them the Nobel Peace Prize.

Although the end of Apartheid culminated the work of countless black South Africans and provided much relief to the country, the effects of racial segregation remain.

Land redistribution remains a major point of inequality in South Africa. Although there was a plan to return a third of the land back to non-whites by 2014, that date has since been pushed to 2025 with only about 10% currently returned.