PAPER 1 - Anti-Apartheid Movement

Apartheid

A system of institutionalized racism designed to maintain white supremacy in South Africa

Petty Apartheid

Everyday segregation and domination

Grand Apartheid

Territorial segregation and separate development

Petty apartheid was characterized by

• Strict racial segregation: in public spaces and services

• Legal and social control: to ensure white dominance

Population Registration Act (1950)

• Classified all South Africans into racial categories: White, Coloured, Black, and Asian

• Created a national population registered, recording race in identity documents

Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act (1949) and Immorality Act (195)

• Banned marriages and sexual relations between whites and non-whites

• Enforced through intrusive police raids and harsh penalties

Reservation of Separate Amenities Act (1953)

• Mandated segregation of all public facilities, from buses to park benches

• Facilities for non-whites were inferior or nonexistent

  • This act did not require amenities to be equal

Pass Laws Act (1952)

• Required Black South Africans to carry passbooks at all times

• Restricted their movements and employment in urban areas

Grand Apartheid, introduced under Hendrik Verwoerd, sought to

• Create a system of territorial segregation

• Justify apartheid as a form of “separate development”

Group Areas Act (1950)

• Designated specific areas for each racial group

• Forced removals of non-whites from urban centers to townships and homelands (Bantustans)

  • The destruction of Sophiatown in 1955 is a stark example. This vibrant Black community was razed, and its residents were relocated to Soweto

Bantu Authorities Act (1951) and Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act (1959)

• Established homelands, or Bantustans, for Black ethnic groups

• Stripped Black South Africans of citizenship, making them “foreigners” in their own country

  • The Bantustans were never recognized internationally and economically unviable, serving primarily as labor reserves for white South Africa

Bantu Education Act (1953)

• Created a separate, inferior education system for Black children

• Focused on training them for menial jobs, reinforcing their economic subjugation

Impact of Apartheid Legislation: Social and Economic Disparities

• Non-whites were denied access to quality education, healthcare, and employment

• Townships and homelands were overcrowded and lacked basic services

Impact of Apartheid Legislation: Psychological and Cultural Effects

• Segregation eroded social bonds and fostered a sense of inferiority among non-whites

• Bantu education stifled the development of a unified African identity

Impact of Apartheid Legislation: Resistance and Opposition

• Apartheid laws sparked widespread resistance from peaceful protests to armed struggle

• International condemnation grew, leading to sanctions and isolation

Division and Classification

• The Population Registration Act of 1950

  • Purpose: to create a national population register classifying individuals into categories (White, Coloured, Bantu (Black African), and Indian (added in 1959 as “Asian”))

  • The Population Registration Act was one of the first laws passed by the National Party, highlighting it’s foundational role in the apartheid system

Methods of Classification

Biological criteria - based on physical characteristics rather than cultural factors

Identity Documents

Racial classification was recorded in official identity documents and ID numbers

Race Classification Board

Created to adjudicate disputes and develop sub-categories

Consequences of Racial Classification: Family Separations

Members of the same family could be classified into different racial groups, leading to forced separations

Consequences of Racial Classification: Social Stigma

• Families abandoned children born with features that did not align with their classification

• Internalized idea of “racial superiority”

Consequences of Racial Classification: Economic and Political

Reclassification could drastically alter a person’s rights and opportunities

The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act (1949) and the Immorality Act (1950)

• Purpose: to prevent miscegenation and maintain the “purity” of the white race

• Enforcement: police conducted intrusive raids to catch interracial couples, often relying on tips from neighbors

• Punishments: non-white partners received harsh penalties and their white counterparts did not

• The Immortality Act only banned sexual relations between whites and non-whites revealing the government’s sole concern with preserving white racial “purity”

The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act (1953)

• Scope: Mandates the segregation of all public amenities, including:

  • Buses

  • Trains

  • Hospitals

  • Parks

• Inequality

  • Amenities for whites were vastly superior to those for non-whites

• Social impact

  • Limited interracial interactions and restricted the educational and cultural horizons of non-whites

The Pass Laws Act (1952)

• Misleading name

  • Despite its titles, the act expanded the passbook system rather than abolishing it

• Reference books

  • 96-page booklets containing: employment records, tax payments, and police encounters

• Permits

  • Required for travel and employment in urban areas

• The Pass Laws Act criminalized significant numbers of Black South Africans, making it nearly impossible for them to live legally in urban areas

The Group Areas Act (1950)

• Purpose: to enforce residential segregation by designating specific areas for each racial group

• Impact

  • Forced removals of non-whites from inner-city areas to townships on the outskirts

• Economic displacement

  • Indian and Coloured businesses in city centers were shut down, benefiting white competitors

The Bantu Education Act (1953)

• Segregated education: schools were required to admit children from only one racial group

• Inferior curriculum: Black children received minimal education, focused on preparing them for unskilled labor

• Impact on mission schools: many closed rather than comply with the new system

• The Bantu Education Act was designed to institutionalize inferiority, ensuring that Black South Africans remained economically and socially subordinate

Bantu Authorities Act (1951)

Created regional authorities in native reserves

Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act (1959): Overview

• Divided Africans into ethnic groups, each assigned a homeland

• Black South Africans were stripped of citizenship and confined to overcrowded, impoverished homelands

• Bantustans were puppet states controlled by the minority white South African government

Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act (1959): Social Fragmentation

Apartheid laws destroyed communities and fostered divisions among racial ethnic groups

Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act (1959): Economic Exploitation

The system ensured a steady supply of cheap labor while denying non-white access to economic opportunities

Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act (1959): Psychological Effects

The dehumanization of non-whites perpetuated a cycle of poverty and oppression

The Population Registration Act (1950): Foundation of Apartheid

This act classified every South African into racial categories

The Population Registration Act (1950): Racial Classification Board

• Established to enforce these classifications, often using arbitrary and humiliating tests like the “pencil test” to determine a racial identity

The “Pencil Test”

A pencil was out into a person’s hair, if it fell out the person could be classified as white, if it didn’t they were classified as non-white

The Population Registration Act (1950): Consequences

Families were torn apart with members classified into different racial groups, leading to social and economic hardships

The Pass Laws Act (1952): Control of Movement

This law required Black South Africans to carry “reference books” at all times detailing their employment, tax payments, and police encounters

The Pass Laws Act (1952): Criminalization

Failure to produce a pass on demand led to arrest, fines, or imprisonment, criminalizing millions of Black South Africans

The Pass Laws Act (1952): Surveillance and Intimidation

The pass system allowed the government to monitor and control the Black population, while serving as a tool of political repression

The Pass Laws Act (1952): Opposition

The African National Congress (ANC)’s Defiance Campaign of 1952 involved volunteers deliberately breaking pass laws as a form of protest

The Bantu Education Act (1953): Inferior Education

This law created a separate and unequal education system for Black South Africans, designed to prepare them for menial labor

The Bantu Education Act (1953): Cultural Suppression

The curriculum emphasized tribal identity and discouraged unity among Black South Africans, undermining the development of shared political consciousness

The Bantu Education Act (1953): Long-Term Impact

Bantu education contributed to a “lost generation” of Black youth, with limited opportunities for social and economic advancement

The Bantustan System: Homelands Policy

Laws like the Bantu Authorities Act (1951) and the Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act (1959) created homelands for Black South Africans, stripping them of their South African citizenship

The Bantustan System: Political Manipulation

The homelands were governed by corrupt leaders handpicked by the apartheid regime, with no real independence of economic viability

The Bantustan System: International Rejection

The Bantustans were widely condemned as a facade to legitimize apartheid with few countries recognizing their independence

The Legacy of Segregation: Economic Disparities

Apartheid entrenched economic inequalities that persist in South Africa today

The Legacy of Segregation: Social Fragmentation

The forced separation of communities and families left deep scars on South African society

The Legacy of Segregation: Resistance and Resilience

Despite the oppressive system, non-white South Africans resisted through protests, strikes, and the formation of liberation movements like the ANC

The Group Areas Act of 1950 was

• A cornerstone of apartheid, designed to enforce residential segregation in urban areas

• It aimed to remove non-whites from inner city areas, designating these as “white only zones”

  • This act was referred to as the “essence of apartheid” by Malan

  • This act was based on the racist belief that Africans were naturally rural and that urban life would disrupt social order

The Sauer Report (1947)

• Reinforced the idea of Africans should reside in native reserves and only be in urban areas for economic purposes

• Initially, the act targeted Indian and Coloured communities, forcing many to close businesses in city centers

• Africans were relocated to townships far from city centers but close enough for community

The Natives Resettlement Act (1954) and Group Areas Development Act (1955)

Provided legal framework for forced removals

Forced removals led to the rapid expansion of townships, which became the primary urban landscape for Black South Africans

These areas were characterized by:

• Overcrowding: small “matchbox” houses often housed 7-14 people

• Poor infrastructure: lack of sanitation, running water, and basic amenities

• Crime and social disruption: the absence of police and the breakdown of traditional social structures led to increased crime

Native Laws Amendment (1952)

These laws further fragmented African families and communities, exacerbation of social and economic hardships

Key Features of the Bantu Education Act (1953)

• Separate school boards: each racial group had distinct boards and curriculum

• Inferior education for Africans: minimal academic content, focused on basic literacy, numeracy, and skills for domestic or unskilled labor

• Resource disparities

  • Black children attended overcrowded schools with minimal resources

  • Government spending favored white children at a ratio of 1:7

• Unqualified teachers: nearly 85% of Black teachers lacked professional qualifications

Impact on Mission Schools

• Closure of compliance: mission schools, which had provided quality education to Africans, were forced to adpat the Bantu system of lose funding

• Loss of educational opportunities: many mission schools closed, further limiting access to quality education

ANC Boycott

• The ANC called for a boycott of Bantu education in 1955

• The boycott was only partially successful due to government threats to close schools and exclude students

Critiques by Steve Biko

Biko argued that Bantu education dehumanized Black people, leading to the rise of the Black Consciousness Movement

Legacy of Bantu Education

• A “lost generation” of undereducated youth

• Contributed to violence and instability in the 1980s and 90s

The Bantustan system was a cornerstone of apartheid

designed to enforce racial segregation and economic exploitation

The Bantustan system aimed to create

independent homelands for Black South Africans, stripping them of citizenship and confining them to impoverished areas

Bantustan Ideology

Same as apartheid, seeking to justify racial segregation through pseudo-scientific and religious arguments

Apartheid theorists claimed

that racial groups were biologically distinct and should develop separately

• This ideology was codified in laws like the Popular Registration Act of 1950, which classified South Africans into racial categories

Bantu Authorities Act (1951)

• Established regional authorities in the reserves, replacing the Natives Representative Council

• Laid the groundwork for self-governing homelands

Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act (1959)

• Divided Black South Africans into ten ethnic groups, each assigned a homeland

• Aimed to create independent states, stripping Black South Africans of their citizenship

Forced Removals

• Millions of Black South Africans were forcibly relocated to Bantustans, often losing their homes and livelihoods

• Urban areas like Sophiatown were destroyed to make way for white-only neighborhoods

• By the 1980s, up to 55% of South Africa’s Black population lived in Bantustans, despite these areas comprising only 13% of the country’s land

Bantustans Economic Exploitation

• Bantustans served as labor reservoirs for South African industries

• Workers were classified as “foreigners”, denying them labor rights and benefits

The Bantustan system was part of a broader strategy to maintain white supremacy by

• dividing Black South Africans along ethnic lines to prevent unified resistance

• Justifying apartheid to the international community by claiming to promote “self-determination”

• Ensuring a steady supply of cheap labor for South African industries

The Bantustan system left a lasting legacy of inequality and underdevelopment in South Africa

• Even after apartheid ended in 1994, the former homelands remained some of the poorest and most marginalized areas in the country

• The system also fostered ethnic divisions that continue to affect South African Society

Nonviolent Protest: Bus Boycotts in South Africa Roots

• Economic hardships

  • Low wages and high unemployment in Black townships made even smaller fare increases unafforability

Nonviolent Protest: Bus Boycotts in South Africa Spontaneous Origins

Boycotts were often unplanned, emerging as grassroots responses to fare hikes by bus companies

Nonviolent Protest: Bus Boycotts in South Africa Community Organization

Activists and community leaders formed committees to negotiate with bus companies and coordinate protests

In 1944 a boycott in Johannesburg

involved over 20,000 people forcing the bus company to reverse fare increases

The Alexandra Bus Boycott: Trigger

PUTCO raised fares from four to five pence, sparking widespread anger

The Alexandra Bus Boycott: Scale and Impact

• Hundreds of thousands participated, walking miles to work daily

• The boycott spread to other areas, including Sophiatown and Pretoria

The Alexandra Bus Boycott: Organization

The Alexandra People’s Transport Action Committee (APTAC) coordinated the boycott, with ANC leaders like Oliver Tambo and Alfred Nzo playing key roles

The Alexandra Bus Boycott lasted

over three months, with approximately 70,000 people walking daily from Alexandra to Johannesburg

Successes of Bus Boycotts (General)

• Economic pressure: boycotts disrupted businesses reliant on Black labor, forcing the government to intervene

• Government Concessions: the Native Services Levy Act of 1957 subsidized bus fares, marking a rare victory for Black South Africans

• Cross racial solidarity: white South Africans offered rides to boycotters, and liberal newspapers covered the protests sympathetically

Limitations of Bus Boycotts (General)

• Reactive nature: boycotts depended on fare increases, limiting their strategic use

• Lack of political control: the ANC and other groups struggled to direct these spontaneous movements

• Short-term focus: while effective in addressing fare hikes, boycotts did not challenge the broader apartheid system

Impact of Bus Boycotts (General)

• Inspiration for future protests: the success of boycotts demonstrated the power of mass action, influencing later campaigns like the Defiance Campaign

• Increased government repression: the apartheid regime responded with harsher laws to prevent future boycotts and protests

• Rising political consciousness: boycotts highlighted the interconnectedness of economic and political struggles, galvanizing broader resistance to apartheid

The Defiance Campaign

A mass protest movement launched by the African National Congress (ANC) in 1952 to challenge apartheid laws through nonviolent civil disobedience

The Freedom Charter

A visionary document adopted in 1955, outlining the democratic aspirations of South Africans and calling for equality, justice, and human rights.

The Defiance Campaign (2)

• By 1952, apartheid laws such as the Pass Laws Act and the Group Areas Act had intensified racial oppression

• The ANC under the influence of its Youth League, adopted a more militant approach, inspired by global movements like Gandhi’s nonviolent resistance in India

• It was the first large-scale, coordinated national protest against apartheid, marking a shift from isolated actions to a unified strategy

The Defiance Campaign: Strategies and Methods

• Civil Disobedience: volunteers deliberately broke apartheid laws, such as using “whites-only” facilities or ignoring curfews

• Mass Mobilization: the campaign aimed to involve ordinary people with support from the South African Indian Congress (SAIC) and other groups

• Nonviolent Resistance: the ANC emphasized peaceful protests to highlight the brutality of the apartheid regime

  • In 1935 the UN established a Commission on the Racial Situation in South Africa, marking the start of international pressure against apartheid

The Defiance Campaign: Limitations

• Failure to repeal laws: none of the targeted apartheid laws were overturned

• Government repression: the regime responded with harsher laws, such as the Criminal Law Amendment Act (1953), which increased penalties for protestors

• Limited support: the campaign struggled to mobilize rural populations and poorer urban Africans

The Freedom Charter (2)

• In 1953, ANC leader Z.K Matthews proposed a national convention to unite all racial groups against apartheid

• This led to the formation of the Congress of the People (COP), a coalition of anti-apartheid groups, including the ANC and SAIC, and the South African Congress of Triade Unions (SACTU)

  • The COP aimed to draft a “Freedom Charter” that would articulate the democratic aspirations of all South Africans

• The COP culminated in a mass rally at Kliptown on June 25-26, 1955, attended by nearly 3,000 delegates

Despite police raids, the Freedom Charter was adopted, declaring that

• South Africa belongs to all who live in it, Black and white

• The people shall govern through democratic elections

• The land shall be shared among those who work it

• All shall be equal before the law

The Defiance Campaign: Historical Significance and Lessons Learned

• Catalyst for mass mobilization: demonstrating the potential of coordinated nonviolent resistance

• Exposure to state brutality: the campaign highlighted the moral bankruptcy of apartheid, drawing international condemnation

• Strategic lessons: the ANC learned the importance of broader grassroots support and the need to adapt tactics in the face of state repression

  • The campaign’s failure to repeal apartheid laws underscored the regime’s intransigence, paving the way for more radical strategies, including the armed struggle

The Freedom Charter: Historical Significance and Lessons Learned

• Visionary Framework: the charter articulated a democratic and inclusive vision that inspired future generations

• Enduring significance: its principles were echoed in South Africa’s post-apartheid constitution, adopted in 1996

• Symbol of resistance: despite government attempts to suppress it, the charter became a rallying cry for the anti-apartheid movement

The Defiance Campaign AND Freedom Charter: Reflection and General Implications

• The defiance campaign and the freedom charter were pivotal in transforming the anti-apartheid struggle into a mass movement with a clear vision for the future

• These events remind us that the fight for justice and equality requires courage, sacrifice, and a shared vision of a better world

Increasing violence: The Sharpeville Massacre (1960) and the Decision to Adopt the Armed Struggle

• The Sharpeville Massacre of March 21, 1960, marked a turning point in South Africa’s history

  • Exposing the brutality of the apartheid regime and forced the ANC to reconsider its strategy of nonviolent resistance

Role of the PAC

• The Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) - a breakaway faction from the ANC, organized the protest

• The PAC aimed to outmaneuver the ANC by launching its anti-pass campaign on March 21, 1960, just days before the ANC’s planned protests

• The PAC led by Robert Sobukew emphasized African nationalism and rejected the ANC’s multiracial approach

The Protest at Sharpeville

• On the morning of March 21, approximately 5,000 demonstrators gathered outside the Sharpeville police station

• The protest was initially peaceful, with participants singing freedom songs and chanting slogans

  • Crowd largely UNarmed

Escalations of Tensions at Sharpeville Protests

• As the crowd pressed closer to the police station, tensions rose

• Police sources claimed that stones were thrown, but eyewitnesses disputed this, arguing that the crowd remained nonviolent

Police Response to Sharpeville Protests

• Without warning, the police opened fire on the crowd using submachine guns and rifles

• The shooting lasted approximately 2 minutes leaving 69 dead and 186 injured

  • The numbers are something that vary from source to source and white South Africans will try to claim that it was less

• Most victims were shot in the back as they tried to flee

State of Emergency at Sharpeville

• The government declared a state of emergency on March 30, 1960, granting itself sweeping powers to suppress dissent

• Thousands of ANC and PAC leaders were arrested, crippling the leadership of both movements

Banning of Political Organizations

• On April 8, 1960, the government passed the Unlawful Organizations Act banning the ANC and PAC

• They forced both movements underground or into exile

  • The Sharpeville Massacre was not an isolated incident. On the same day, police opened fire on protesters in Langa, near Cape Town, further escalating tensions across the country

Why did the ANC Abandon Nonviolence: Failure of Peaceful Protests

• The Sharpeville Massacre demonstrated the futility of nonviolent resistance in the face of a regime willing to use lethal force

• The government’s refusal to negotiate or repeal apartheid laws left the ANC with few options

Why did the ANC Abandon Nonviolence: Influence of Younger Leaders

• Younger leaders like Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, and Oliver Tambo had long debated the need for armed resistance

• The massacre convinced even moderate leaders such as Chief Luthuli that peaceful methods were insufficient

  • In July 1961, at a secret ANC congress, Mandela successfully persuaded the leadership to adopt armed struggle as a complementary strategy to political activism

Why did the ANC Abandon Nonviolence: Competition with the PAC

• The PAC had already formed its armed wing, Poqo, in the aftermath of Sharpeville

• The ANC risked losing support if it failed to respond withOUT similar decisiveness