Apartheid
by Cora Connolly and Lexie Meyer
Political
The political lives of black South Africans were greatly affected by the Apartheid. During the Apartheid, nonwhites were denied all rights, and black Africans had no political voice. There were several unfair laws against the Africans being enforced during this time. They were forced to live in set places, homelands, or bantustans. The rest of the space was for whites. Blacks were also not allowed to own land outside. This caused commotion throughout the world, and other countries were getting involved, activists in Europe and the United States protested against it. The situation did not seem fair because the Apartheid gave rights to mixed races or asians, but none to blacks. Until, Mandela was elected president in 1994, after serving 27 years in prison, for sabotage and other charges. He worked hard to gain rights for blacks, by being involved in the (ANC) and the (SANNC). Which, resulted in the Apartheid laws being repealed, and whites agreeing several years later.
Social
Black South African social lives were changed dramatically throughout the Apartheid. Throughout the Apartheid whites (Afrikaners) mainly dominated; they had greater rights, property and jobs. They were treated severally different form black during this time. Separate living areas were maintained for each race, and this put a strain on many relationships. For example, interracial marriages were not allowed. Africans had poor quality school supplies, and received less education than others. They were also forced to learn Afrikaans (the language of the Dutch) in their schools. In support of this, students would often rebel against the government but many times school kids were even killed by police when they protested government education policies. Tens of thousands of blacks were still held in official custody and man black leaders were arrested for protests. And due to the Apartheid policies, South Africans were not even allowed to participate in the Olympics. Which is hard on the social aspect of their lives.
Economic
Black South Africans suffered as the economics changed throughout the Apartheid. Laws were passed to reserve employment for white workers. A result of this was farming jobs were limited to blacks. This was because 80% of the farmable land was only allowed to be used by white farmers. This added to the reason why 50% of black South Africans lived in poverty. Surrounding countries did not support the Apartheid, so economic sanctions were placed on South Africa.
Causes/Overview
Racial segregation has caused several conflicts upon the lives of black South Africans. In South Africa, a system of segration was known as the Apartheid. The Apartheid started in 1948 and ended around 1990. This was caused because the doctrine believed that mixing races would weaken the racial community. During this time period, the majority of the population were Afrikaners, so the blacks were treated unfairly. Many black South Africans spent the majority of their lifetime facing conflicts and dealing with struggles because of the Apartheid.
Impacts
The Apartheid had many negative short term effects on the lives of black South Africans. In the contrast the long term effects were eventually changed for the better. After the Apartheid lives of black South African began to repair themselves. Eventually sanctions were lifted and laws mandating separate living areas for different races were abolished by 1991. However, inequalities of health, economies, and politics remain in South Africa. But overall, the lives of blacks in South Africa have greatly improved. The country has made great strides as a democracy since it got rid of the oppressive policies of the Apartheid.
Resistance
Black South Africans were resisting the unfair laws put against them. For example, student organizations were created to work against the Apartheid. The SASO was a student organization that worked for abolition of the Apartheid. Also, 60,000 black Africans resisted this system of racial segregation by holding a general strike in 1973. Eventually violent acts were even created to try and efface the Apartheid. For instance, blacks put together groups to attack members and key targets involved with the Apartheid.