World Affairs Council
of
Houston
LESSON PLAN: Apartheid in South Africa
Background and Activities
Time
Subject: World History, Human Geography, Government
Background:
Apartheid was the social and political segregation of the non-white
population by white minority government officials in South Africa, which
lasted from 1948-1994. "Apartheid" is Afrikaan for "apartness." Under
Apartheid, the population was classified into 4 groups: Blacks, Whites,
Asian and Colored. The white minority controlled over 80% of South
American land. Apartheid also had a major effect on women, who
suffered from both gender and racial discrimination Strict apartheid laws
dictated where people were allowed to live, where they could go to school,
what occupations they could hold and who they could interact with. Social
contact between members of different ethnic groups was prohibited and
non-whites were denied governmental representation.
Introduction
Start out by reviewing with the students the history of colonized South
Africa. They should know the Dutch were the first to colonize the area,
but were pushed out by the British, creating a struggle for power between
these two groups. Dutch nationalists won control of the government in
1948 and began instituting laws that went beyond racial separation
underneath the British.
Use a K-W-L chart to find out what students ‘Know about apartheid. Next,
they will be looking up apartheid laws to answer ‘What’ were the
characteristics of apartheid. Third, they will be critically assessing
neighborhood maps of South African cities to see how the races were
divided.
Finally, the students will be watching the video ‘A Dry White Season’ to
look at daily life under apartheid. To complete the ‘Learn” of the chart,
each student will answer essay questions about apartheid.
Three to Four class
periods
Objectives
In
this
lesson,
students will become
familiar with some of
the
primary
legislation
passed
under
Apartheid.
Students
will
visually assess the
impact of Apartheid
on
South
African
society.
Students
will understand both
the
legal
and
physical barriers to
integration in South
Africa.
Materials
Apartheid laws
http://africanhistory
.about.com/library/bl
/blsalaws.htm
Maps of South Africa
showing the division
of whites and
coloreds attached
below.
Copy of the video ‘A
Dry White Season’
Activities
The Students will be using the internet to find out information about laws passed under apartheid.
Legislation can be found at http://africanhistory.about.com/library/bl/blsalaws.htm. Assign each student a
different law to look up.
Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, Act No 55 of 1949
Immorality Amendment Act, Act No 21 of 1950; amended in 1957 (Act 23)
Population Registration Act, Act No 30 of 1950
Group Areas Act, Act No 41 of 1950
Suppression of Communism Act, Act No 44 of 1950
Bantu Building Workers Act, Act No 27 of 1951
Separate Representation of Voters Act, Act No 46 of 1951
Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act, Act No 52 of 1951
Bantu Authorities Act, Act No 68 of 1951
Natives Laws Amendment Act of 1952
Natives (Abolition of Passes and Co-ordination of Documents) Act, Act No 67 of 1952
Native Labour (Settlement of Disputes) Act of 1953
Bantu Education Act, Act No 47 of 1953
Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, Act No 49 of 1953
Natives Resettlement Act, Act No 19 of 1954
Group Areas Development Act, Act No 69 of 1955
Natives (Prohibition of Interdicts) Act, Act No 64 of 1956
Bantu Investment Corporation Act, Act No 34 of 1959
Extension of University Education Act, Act 45 of 1959
Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act, Act No 46 of 1959
Preservation of Coloured Areas Act, Act No 31 of 1961
Terrorism Act of 1967
Bantu Homelands Citizens Act of 1970
Bring the students back to class and share the information together. The information they gathered
can be put in the ‘What’ column on the K-W-L chart.
Next, critically assess maps that show what South Africa looked like after the Group Areas Act.
Image No. 4: Apartheid was a legalized form of segregation implemented in South Africa to achieve a
complete or nearly complete separation of races. Here we see examples of urban apartheid. Apartheid
involved a forced movement of groups to accomplish the desired segregation. These illustrations show
the ideal pattern and the changes that occurred in two cities. Figure 2A shows the ideal form with
total separation, each group living in a sector. The tip of the sector pointed to the center city and the
broad portion opened onto the countryside. The black population was to be on the side of the city
toward the black homelands. Other illustrations show Pretoria and Durban before and after the
implementation of segregation.
Image No. 5: A close-up of the model. Apartheid designers called for sharp landscape barriers
between the racial groups such as the CBD, railways, highways and other features of the landscape. In
this case, physical barriers such as the river were used to divide the groups. The coloured and Asian
populations were a ‘buffer” that separated whites from blacks. Blacks were separated from the Indians
by the industrial landscape and from the coloreds by a physical barrier.
Image No. 6: Pretoria in 1951 before the implementation of urban apartheid. You can see the
scattered patterns of racial settlement.
Image No. 7: Pretoria in 1970 after the implementation of apartheid. There was a large-scale
movement of people of color to produce consolidated patterns.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
What groups are identified in the maps?
Where were whites predominately located? Why?
Why is map 2a ‘ideal’?
Why were Indians and Mixed often placed between White and Black?
Compare map 1a to 2c, what changes happened in Pretoria, South Africa between 1951 and 1970.
Next, the students will be watching “A Dry White Season’ about apartheid in South Africa. Periodically
stop the video to discuss what is happening, especially when laws that the students looked up are
applicable.
Close
As a class, complete the ‘Learn’ part of the K-W-L chart. To check for understanding, assign two
essay questions that each student must answer in complete sentences.
1. Describe how Blacks were treated by the justice system in South Africa. Mention at least two
laws enacted and examples from the video “A Dry White Season”.
2. Describe the difference in the lifestyle of Blacks and Whites, such as jobs, homes,
transportation and schools. Specifically include the effect of the Group Areas Act.