The Fight Against Discrimination in South Africa

By

Ms. Garnes

Significant Events in South African History (1880-1948)• In the 1890s, Mahatma

Ghandi, originally from India, becomes a civil rights leader to gain better rights for Indians.

• Using a concept known as passive resistance, or civil disobedience, he succeeds in gaining some rights for Indians

• This shows African civil rights leaders that fighting for rights is possible.

Significant Events in South African History (1880-1948)

• In the 1890s, a conflict called the Boer War occurs. Once again, , the British government tried to get the Boer republics under their rule. Eventually, the British win.

Significant Events in South African History (1880-1948)

• Running an empire becomes too expensive for the British, so they allow for the creation of the Union of South Africa in 1910.

• They would receive British protection during wars as long as they remained loyal to the British.

• Boers are now allowed to be part of the government.

Significant Events in South African History (1880-1948)

• In the early 1900s, many Boers lost their farms due to war and began moving into cities. They became better educated and take modern jobs.

Significant Events in South African History (1880-1948)

• A greater sense of national pride develops among educated Boers.

• They see the word Boer as archaic and call for people formerly of Dutch decent to call themselves Afrikaners.

• Historians emphasize past events and suggest that they are a special people.

Discrimination Toward Africans

• The Miners Work Act of 1911 limit black workers to menial work.

• To give a little hope to Africans, particular Africans who show potential are allowed work in white jobs as interns.

• Some Africans become highly educated, but realize that protesting could cause them to lose their positions.

Discrimination Toward Africans• Protests groups are

formed, eventually leading to the formation of the African National Congress in the 1910s, but it is a weak and poorly organized group and is unable to stop policies of the white government.

• Similar to Ghandi, the ANC calls for peaceful protest, including protests, boycotts, and writings.

The Beginning of Apartheid (1948-1960)

• After World War II ends, the Nationalist Party, made up of Afrikaners, wins control of the South African government.

• Hendrik Verwoerd, and influential member of the Nationalist Party, argues that races in the world will never be able to coexist, and he recommends a system called apartheid, meaning “apartness” in Afrikaans.

The Beginning of Apartheid (1945-1960)• Apartheid begins in 1950 and slowly over time does the following:

– Races are classified based on skin color. The lighter the skin, the more rights you receive (Whites, Colored, Bantus)

– Segregation, or the separation of races, begins, with all facilities separated between white and colored.

– Africans are no longer citizens, and they are responsible for themselves. Africans must now live in townships designated by the government. These places will be located closely to places of work, but will not be close to white neighborhoods.

– The movement of Africans will be strictly enforced by the police and the military. Blacks must carry passes with them at all times. Curfews are set, calling for blacks working in white neighborhoods to be off the streets at a certain hour, and movements of minorities are restricted.

Results of Apartheid• In effect, South Africa is still

a republic, but blacks can’t vote, since they are not citizens. For blacks, South Africa becomes a police state, where the police and military use strong forms of violence and surveillance to keep Africans and white protesters in line.

• Those who break the law often face interrogations to give information about leaders, or are forced to become informants to spy on other Africans.

Results of Apartheid • Whites, living in

comfortable surroundings, know nothing about the suffering of the blacks in the townships. The media, controlled, for the most part by the government, releases propaganda, or information that is not entirely truthful. Whites who are unaware of the suffering, are told that Africans are being influenced by agitators. Whites assume that everything is fine and blacks are happy that they are separated.

Results of Apartheid• Black activists are seen as

terrorists who stir up trouble and endanger the public safety. They are imprisoned, tortured, and in some cases, killed.

• Some Afrikaners and some British disagree with the harsh treatment of Africans. But since they are a minority and have little influence on the government, their calls for change are ignored.

Results in Apartheid• Writers like Alan Paton,

who wrote the book Cry the Beloved Country, which criticized apartheid, find themselves banned or forced into exile. British newspapers cover the cruelties of the regime, but are largely ignored by the Afrikaners and seen as too sympathetic towards Africans.

The ANC and Its Response to Apartheid

• Peaceful methods do not appear to be working, as shown by the Sharpesville Massacre, where large numbers of blacks protesting pass laws were killed by police.

ANC and the Response to Apartheid• Nelson Mandela and

others consider the use of violence to get the government to meet their demands and create Spear of the Nation, a military wing of the ANC.

• The initial goals of the Spear of the Nation are to attack military and communication installations, and not to harm innocent civilians.

The ANC and Its Response to Apartheid

• The Gang of Eight, who headed the Spear of the Nation, are caught by the police. Mandela and the others are charged with treason, or crimes against the state. The punishment for this crime is death by hanging.

The ANC and Its Response to Apartheid

• Mandela makes a speech before his sentencing, saying that he is willing to die for the cause of freedom.

• For fear of possible riots and a revolution, the court sentences the Gang of 8 to life imprisonment on Robben Island, a prison on an island off the coast of South Africa.

The ANC Response to Apartheid• The ANC and other protest

organizations are banned, and high-level members of these organizations are forced to leave South Africa.

• With the loss of leadership, protests in the late 1960s die down.

• ANC bases are set up in neighboring countries to help civil rights leaders send arms within South Africa.

The Black Consciousness Movement

• Steven Biko, a medical student, gives up his education to be a civil rights activist.

• He begins writing criticisms of the government and writes about a new philosophy he calls Black Consciousness.

The Beliefs of the Black Consciousness Movement

• Africans need to have their own sense of identity, which has been taken away by the white man.

• African need to have pride and a purpose to fight for freedom.

• Africans need to help themselves with little or no support from whites. That way, they can say they did it themselves.

The Black Consciousness Movement• His writing caused him

to become a banned person, resulting in the following:– He is restricted to a

certain area of the country, and all of his movements are watched by the police

– He is not allowed to write anything down

– He is only allowed to see one person at a time.

The Black Consciousness Movement

• Biko is arrested when trying to secretly go to a city outside his banned area, and mysteriously, like many others, dies in prison.

• The government says he died to due to a hunger strike, but later reports suggest that he was killed by the police.