Apartheid and South Africa

Pre Apartheid History   Apartheid Based Laws   Mandela and the ANC   Resistance and Attitudes

   This page will present a historical summary of the racially oppressive system of government which South Africa experienced and their systematic discriminatory policies known as apartheid. Apartheid in the language Afrikaans means “separateness”, and it literally is that, state enforced policies of separation in every aspect of life. Under apartheid, citizens of South Africa were designated to live in specific neighborhoods by their skin color, under the Group Areas Act of 1950. Other racist policies included the prohibition of mixed marriages as well as the Reservation of Separate Amenities Act of 1953; which states that different races must use separate restrooms, drinking fountains, etc…

Image of seperation of neighborhoods in Cape Town - courtesy Google Earth / DigitalGlobe