Apartheid was a system of institutionalized racial segregation enforced by the South African government from 1948 to 1994. It was designed to maintain the political and economic control of the white population over the country’s non-white population. The effects of this policy were devastating, leading to the displacement of millions of people and the creation of a deeply divided society. This article will explore the impact of apartheid on people’s lives and how they responded to it.
Impact of Apartheid
Apartheid affected all aspects of life in South Africa. It denied basic human rights such as the right to vote, to own property, and to access education. It also enforced strict laws that limited the freedom of movement and association of non-white people. This resulted in the displacement of millions of people, as well as a deep-rooted racial inequality that persists to this day.
Apartheid also had a devastating economic impact on non-white people. The government implemented economic policies that were designed to benefit the white population at the expense of non-white people. This resulted in a huge disparity in wealth between white and non-white people, which has had long-lasting effects on the country’s economy.
People’s Responses to Apartheid
The people of South Africa responded to apartheid in a variety of ways. Many non-white people organized protests, strikes, and other forms of civil disobedience in order to challenge the laws and policies of the government. Some of the most prominent anti-apartheid activists include Nelson Mandela and Steve Biko.
Others chose to resist apartheid through creative means, such as art and music. Artists used their work to express their opposition to the system and to spread awareness about its effects. Music in particular became a powerful tool for expressing resistance to apartheid and for uniting people across racial lines.
Apartheid had a devastating impact on the lives of people in South Africa. It denied them basic human rights and created a deep-rooted inequality that persists to this day. People responded to this injustice in a variety of ways, from civil disobedience to creative expression. The legacy of apartheid is still felt in South Africa today, but its people continue to fight for a more just and equitable society.
Apartheid, derived from the Afrikaans language, translates to “apartness” in English. The system of racial segregation that South Africa was subjected to from 1948 to 1994 not only divided the country’s population into distinct racial groups, known as “red” and “black”, but determined people’s daily lives, where they lived, and even their marriage and education rights, often with devastating effects.
The institutionalized discrimination of apartheid affected the vast majority of South Africans, including those of European, African, Indian, and Asian origin. Although there were some differences in treatment of the various racial groups, Africans were the most severely restricted. From being excluded from the franchise to having their freedom of movement, often in the form of the pass laws, tightly controlled, discriminated access to education and land had a particularly profound impact the quality of life of South Africans, with the vast majority of them living in poverty.
The response of South Africans was threefold: peaceful protest, opposition through legal channels, and civil disobedience. South Africans were confined to protesting within the bounds of the law or there were serious consequences. Individuals had to resort to civil disobedience for their grievances to be heard, even if that meant breaking the law. Perhaps the most famous examples of non-violent civil disobedience initiatives were those of Nelson Mandela and his formation of the African National Congress (ANC), initially committed to peaceful protest.
Opposition to the apartheid system through legal channels started with the introduction of the Defiance Campaign in 1952, in part inspired by Gandhi’s campaigns of satyagraha – the strategy of peaceful but active resistance used in India’s fight for independence. It attracted 8,000 volunteers and was officially aimed at undermining “unjust laws” not just in South Africa, but around the world. As this example shows, South Africans were not only unified in their opposition to the apartheid system, but globalized it.
Ultimately, after decades of peaceful demonstrations, boycotts, strikes, civil disobedience, and legal advocacy, the apartheid system was abolished in 1994. Mandela, who had previously been indicted in 1962 for inciting people to strike and leaving the country without a valid passport, was released and soon after elected President of South Africa. After such long and hard-fought periods of struggle, the results of such efforts achieved the goal of ending racism and apartheid in South Africa, although some of its effects continue to linger today.
