K-12 Outreach: Lesson Plan Modules
Module Title: South African Apartheid and the Transition to Democracy
Author: Erin Mosely, Doctoral Candidate, African Studies & History, Harvard
University
Module Overview and General information: The objective of this module is to provide
a brief introduction to apartheid (a system of racial segregation in South Africa
established in 1948), as well as an overview of some of the key moments in the struggle
to overcome apartheid, and the country’s dramatic transition to democracy that took place
in 1994. In order to make this enormously complex topic accessible and appealing to a
range of students, teachers are encouraged to take a thematic approach. Thus, in lieu of
providing extensive sample activities, we conclude this module with a selection of focus
themes, which can stand alone or be used together as part of a more comprehensive unit
on apartheid. Ultimately, our goal is to provide teachers with a variety of ideas for how to
incorporate the history of modern South Africa into their classrooms, by identifying
universal themes and by drawing connections between apartheid and numerous other
comparative topics.
K-12 Classes this could be used for: (ex. History, Literature, Current Events, etc)
World History, Social Studies, Civil Rights, Social Justice/Human Rights, the Humanities
Content:
Please note that our intention here is not to provide an extensive narrative history of the
rise and fall of the apartheid state. There are plenty of extremely valuable sources online
already providing such content, in particular www.overcomingapartheid.msu.edu and
www.sahistory.org.za, which we highly encourage you to explore. In what follows we
provide an overview of the defining features of apartheid (and the legal/bureaucratic
apparatus that made it possible), as well as a basic timeline, introducing some of the key
figures, events, and pivotal turning points in South Africa’s modern history.
Key Features of Apartheid:
 Racial Classification:
o A system of laws, upheld by Race Classification Boards, designated each
individual in South Africa as White, Native, Coloured (mixed), or Asian
(most Asian South Africans are of Indian origin)1
o A person’s racial “identity” – codified in an ID document – subsequently
determined every aspect of his/her social, political, and economic life
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Under the Population Registration Act of 1950, South Africans were divided into 3 groups: European,
Native, and Coloured. In 1959, updated legislation subdivided the “Coloured” community into several
groups, including Asian subgroups.
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Pass Laws
o Regulating and restricting the mobility of black South Africans, these laws
became increasingly harsh and led to countless arrests during the apartheid
era, until they were finally repealed in 1986
Migrant Labor System
o White-owned diamond and gold mines, as well as farms, relied on cheap,
black labor in order to be lucrative. Thus, white-owned businesses,
together with the state, developed an elaborate system of labor migrancy –
coercing men from all over southern Africa to come work on farms and in
the mines as migrant laborers with very few rights
o Eventually this system expanded to include female migrant workers, too,
who came to work primarily as domestic servants in white homes
Bantustans (Native Homelands)
o The Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act of 1959 divided black
South Africans into ten discrete ethnic groups and assigned a native
“homeland” to each
o The Bantustans constituted only 13% of the land (for approximately 75%
of the population) and eventually stripped black South Africans of even
their citizenship
Forced Removals
o In order to uphold the apartheid policy of total segregation, from the 1960s
to the early 1980s some 3.5 million blacks, Coloureds, and Asians were
forced to move into segregated townships, or to overcrowded resettlement
camps within the Bantustans, where the apartheid state would have no
responsibility for their welfare (the apartheid government referred to this
process as “black spot removal”)
Colonial Antecedents to Apartheid:
 Dutch colonial conquest (starting in 1652) and the expropriation of native lands
 Two occupying powers vying for control (Dutch/Afrikaner and British)
 Mining and the establishment of the color bar
o Prompted by the discovery of diamonds in 1867 and gold in 1886
 Development and institutionalization of the migratory labor system
 The Natives Land Act of 1913
o Reserved 93 percent of the land in South Africa for whites, created native
“reserves” that were a forerunner of the apartheid-era Bantustans
The Rise of the Apartheid State:
 In 1948 the Afrikaner nationalists (National Party, NP) assume power and begin
systematizing the uneven segregation that had existed in S. Africa for centuries
 The “architects” of apartheid – NP leaders D. F. Malan and Hendrik Verwoerd
 In practice, apartheid was a system of laws designed to fully separate blacks and
whites and to marginalize black South Africans in all sectors of society
 By 1960, sheltered by state force and fueled by international capital, the
Nationalists see their vision for the country as legitimate and successful
 British Prime Minister Macmillan gives his famous “Winds of Change” speech,
and South Africans vote in a 1960 referendum to become a republic but remain in
the Commonwealth. At the 1961 Imperial Conference in London, it is made clear
that South Africa might be forced out of the Commonwealth if it persists with its
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apartheid policies. In 1961 South Africa voluntarily leaves the Commonwealth
To further control the African majority, the NP creates the Bantustans, which
eventually strip black South Africans of even their citizenship
Successive crackdowns on African resistance and the jailing of major political
leaders during the 1960s and 1970s gives the NP a sense of confidence and
stability
Continued influxes of wealth in the late 1970s and early 1980s temporarily buoy
the apartheid state
Apartheid Legislation:
 For a comprehensive look at the legal apparatus that made apartheid possible, see
pp. 448-477 of the TRC Final Report, Vol. 1, which includes a full list of
apartheid laws: http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/report/finalreport/Volume%201.pdf
Anti-Apartheid Resistance:
o Establishment of the African National Congress (ANC) in 19122
o Aimed to defend the rights and freedoms of black South Africans
o Remained relatively conservative until the 1940s, when it gained new life
o Evolved into a mass movement in the 1950s (corresponding, not
coincidentally, with the rise of the National Party)
 Defiance Campaign of 1952
o Led to violent crackdown by South African government, but ANC
membership skyrockets
 Freedom Charter of 1955
o Vision for future of South Africa (in fact, basis for new constitution in the
1990s), but leads to more government crackdowns
 Women’s March of 1956 in Pretoria
o 10,000-20,000 women representing all racial backgrounds march on the
Union Buildings in protest of the pass laws
o Women sang the now famous song that exclaimed, “Strijdom, you have
tampered with the women, you have struck a rock” (J. G. Strijdom was
Prime Minister at the time)
 Radicalization of the movement creates a crisis of direction and methods
o In 1958 the more radical “Africanists” secede from the ANC
o Robert Sobukwe and the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC)
 Sharpeville Massacre of 1960
o Mass boycott of pass laws
o Police fire on demonstrators, 67 people killed, 187 wounded
o Captured on film, Sharpeville puts South Africa on the international stage
o Leadership of PAC and ANC are arrested
o Marks the end of passive resistance for both groups
 Creation of Umkhonto weSizwe (MK) or “Spear of the Nation” in 1961
o Armed wing of the ANC, led by Nelson Mandela and Walter Sisulu
o Rivonia Trial of 1964: Mandela and Sisulu (among others) are given life
sentences on Robben Island
o MK continues to train and operate, engaging in secret, often violent,
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The ANC was originally called the South African Natives National Congress.
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missions
Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement
o Grew out of the South African Students’ Organization (SASO) of the late
1960s and early 1970s
o Led by Steve Biko, highly charismatic and articulate spokesman
o Stressed that blacks should take their future into their own hands
o Galvanized by the Civil Rights Movement in the U.S.
o Steve Biko arrested and killed by South African security forces in 1977
Soweto Uprising of 1976
o Protest of school children against the Bantu Education Act
o Like Sharpeville, police opened fire on peaceful demonstrators, killing
two young students, Hastings Ndlovu and Hector Pieterson
o This sparks a series of uprisings in more than 100 urban and rural areas
o From 1976 onward, South Africa is considered “ungovernable”
International Anti-Apartheid Campaign
o Spread information, raised money, organized boycotts and divestment
campaigns
o South Africa effectively turned into a “pariah state”
Trade Unions and the Creation of COSATU
o Badly in need of legitimacy, the South African govt. is forced to recognize
COSATU (Congress of South African Trade Unions) by the late 1970s
o Thereafter, unions become one of the mainstays of internal anti-apartheid
activism
United Democratic Front (UDF)
o Umbrella organization formed in the late 1980s, made up of students,
church and women’s groups
State of Emergency, 1985
o As agitation persists – and becomes more violent – the government
responds by declaring a State of Emergency, which lasts for five years
o Mass arrests, repression, press black outs, demonstrations, and strikes
continue into the early 1990s
What Really Caused the Fall of Apartheid?
 Like most cases of anti-colonialism, the fall of apartheid was not only the result of
concerted, multi-racial protest and opposition, though this was crucial in delegitimizing the regime
 Equally important were the changing attitudes of the ruling party & business elites
o Unraveling of Afrikaner alliances
o A shift in economic priorities – economic downturn in the mid-1980s
o Bureaucracy of apartheid seen as too expensive and violence/instability as
bad for business
The Transition to Democracy:
 The Release of Nelson Mandela in 1990:
o Mandela’s release from prison and the lifting of the ban on the ANC and
other political associations provided the foundation for a series of
negotiations which ultimately led to a new constitution and the first free
election in South Africa’s history in 1994
 The New South African Constitution:
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o The Convention for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA) met from
1991-1992 to negotiate a new constitution. Although disagreements were
rife and the talks broke down on numerous occasions, Mandela and thenPresident F. W. de Klerk succeeded in reaching a Record of
Understanding, which led to the creation of a Multi-Party Negotiating
Forum in 1993. In November of that year, the Forum agreed on an interim
constitution, paving the way toward democratic elections and the
establishment of a Government of National Unity
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC):
o To be sure, the TRC was the result of intense political compromises
between the NP and the ANC
o Enacted into law in 1995, it remains one of the most high profile examples
of how a society might effectively make amends with a violent past. As a
mechanism for investigating apartheid, the TRC was tasked to assemble
“as complete a picture as possible of the nature, causes, and extent of
gross violations of human rights committed between 1 March 1960 and 5
December 1993” (TRC Mandate)
o South Africa’s TRC was the first truth commission to offer conditional
amnesty, a decision it defended in the name of “restorative justice”
o Archbishop Desmond Tutu served as the chairperson of the TRC,
alongside 17 commissioners appointed by Nelson Mandela
o The TRC proceedings were broadcast live on radio and television, making
them widely accessible to the majority of the country
o Despite its success, the TRC faced numerous criticisms
 Overlooking the issue of structural violence, imposing what many
considered to be a confining “reconciliation” framework, and
reducing the highly gendered experiences of living during the
apartheid era to a series of civil and political rights violations, the
TRC ultimately restricted, and on a certain level pre-determined,
the overall story that would be told about the past.
 Despite its notable achievements, the Commission was heavily
faulted, both for its overemphasis on symbolic redress and for its
perceived failure to convey a meaningful “truth” about apartheid
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Recommended Resources: (Books, films, websites, etc)
a. General List
Selected Books:
 Peter Alegi, Laduma! Soccer, Politics and Society in South Africa, 2004
 Kader Asmal, Louise Asmal and Ronald Suresh Roberts, Reconciliation through
Truth: A Reckoning of Apartheid’s Criminal Governance, 1997
 William Beinart and Saul Dubow (eds.), Segregation and Apartheid in TwentiethCentury South Africa, 1995
 Steve Biko, I Write What I Like, 1978
 Nancy L. Clark and William Worger (eds.), South Africa: The Rise and Fall of
Apartheid, Second Edition, 2011 (Includes primary source documents)
 Annie E. Coombes, History After Apartheid: Visual Culture and Public Memory
in a Democratic South Africa, 2003
 Margaret Daymond et al. (eds.), Women Writing Africa: The Southern Region,
2003 (Includes fiction, newspaper articles, songs, praise poems, etc. by women)
 Jacob Dlamini, Native Nostalgia, 2010
 Saul Dubow, The African National Congress, 2000
 Mark Gevisser, A Legacy of Liberation: Thabo Mbeki and the Future of the South
African Dream, 2009
 Hermann Giliomee, The Afrikaners: Biography of a People, 2003
 Lyn S. Graybill, Truth And Reconciliation In South Africa: Miracle Or Model?,
2002
 Priscilla Hayner, Unspeakable Truths: Facing the Challenge of Truth
Commissions, 2002
 Jonathan Hyslop, The Classroom Struggle: Policy and Resistance in South Africa,
1940–1990, 1999
 Daniel R. Magaziner, The Law and the Prophets: Black Consciousness in South
Africa, 2010
 Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, 1994
 Shula Marks, Not Either an Experimental Doll: The Separate Worlds of Three
South African Women, 1987. Includes primary source letters between a troubled
schoolgirl in the early years of apartheid and two of her mentors.
 Shula Marks and Stanley Trapido (eds.), The Politics of Race, Class, and
Nationalism in Twentieth-Century South Africa, 1987
 Darren Newbury, Defiant Images: Photography and Apartheid South Africa, 2009
 Lauretta Ngcobo (ed.), Prodigal Daughters: Stories of South African Women in
Exile, 2012
 Sarah Nuttall and Carli Coetzee, Negotiating the Past: The Making of Memory in
South Africa, 1998
 Grant Olwage (ed.), Composing Apartheid: Music for and against Apartheid,
2008
 John Peffer, Art and the End of Apartheid, 2009
 Fiona Ross, Bearing Witness: Women and the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission in South Africa, 2003
 Robert Ross, A Concise History of South Africa, Second Edition, 2008
 Albie Sachs, The Strange Alchemy of Life and Law, 2009
 Judy Seidman, Red on Black: The Story of the South African Poster Movement,
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2007
South African Democracy Education Trust, The Road to Democracy: South
Africans Telling Their Stories, 2008
Leonard Thompson, A History of South Africa, Third Edition, 2001
Desmond Tutu, No Future Without Forgiveness, 1999
David Welsh, The Rise and Fall of Apartheid, 2009
Sue Williamson, Resistance Art in South Africa, Cape Town: David Philip, 1989
Richard A. Wilson, The Politics of Truth and Reconciliation in South Africa:
Legitimizing the Post-Apartheid State, 2001
Nigel Worden, The Making of Modern South Africa: Conquest, Apartheid,
Democracy, Fifth Edition, 2011
Diana Wylie, Art and Revolution: The Life and Death of Thami Mnyele, South
African Artist, 2008
Selected Documentaries and Films:
 21 Up South Africa: Mandela’s Children, 2007
 Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony, 2003
 Courting Justice, 2008
 Cry the Beloved Country, 1995
 The Deadline, 1996
 Fahrenheit 2010: Warming up for the World Cup, 2009
 Have You Heard from Johannesburg? (five-part PBS documentary series on the
global anti-apartheid movement), 2012
 Jerusalema, 2008
 Invictus, 2010
 Long Night’s Journey into Day, 2000
 Mapantsula, 1988
 Maids and Madams, 1986
 RFK in the Land of Apartheid: Ripple of Hope, 2009
 Rhythm of Resistance: The Black Music of South Africa, 2000
 Skin, 2011
 Sarafina, 1987 (musical), 1992 (film)
 South Africa: Building Democracy, 1999
 Tsotsi, 2006
 Voices from Robben Island, 1994
 Zandile: In the Light of Ubuntu, 1997
Selected Novels:
 Mark Behr, The Smell of Apples, 1993
 Troy Blacklaws, Karoo Boy, 2005
 André Brink, A Dry White Season, 1979
 J. M. Coetzee, Disgrace, 1999
 Achmat Dangor, Bitter Fruit, 2001
 Athol Fugard, The Blood Knot, 1963
 Lisa Fugard, Skinner’s Drift, 2006
 Nadine Gordimer, A World of Strangers, 1958
 Nadine Gordimer, The Pickup, 2002
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Alex La Guma, A Walk in the Night, 1962
Sindiwe Magona, Living, Loving, and Lying Awake at Night, 1991
Zakes Mda, Ways of Dying, 1995
Niq Mhlongo, Dog Eat Dog, 2004
Phaswane Mpe, Welcome to Our Hillbrow, 2001
Njabulo S. Ndebele, The Cry of Winnie Mandela, 2003
Njabulo S. Ndebele, Fools and Other Stories, 1983
Lauretta Ngcobo, And They Didn’t Die, 1991
Alan Paton, Cry, the Beloved Country, 1948
Gillian Slovo, Red Dust, 2000
Miriam Tlali, Muriel at Metropolitan, 1979
Zoë Wicomb, You Can’t Get Lost in Cape Town, 1987
Selected Memoirs:
 Peter Abrahams, Tell Freedom, 1954
 Edwin Cameron, Witness to AIDS, 2005
 F. W. de Klerk, The Last Trek: A New Beginning, 1998
 Antjie Krog, Country of My Skull, 1999
 Ellen Kuzwayo, Call Me Woman, 1985
 Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, 1994
 Mark Mathabane, Kaffir Boy, 1986
 Bloke Modisane, Blame Me on History, 1963
 Es’kia Mphahlele, Down Second Avenue, 1959
 Mamphela Ramphele, Across Boundaries: The Journey of a South African
Woman Leader, 1996
Selected Websites:
 African National Congress (ANC) Official Website: http://www.anc.org.za
 South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission Official Website:
http://www.justice.gov.za/trc/index.html
 Overcoming Apartheid, Building Democracy:
http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu
 South African History Online: http://www.sahistory.org.za/grade-11/apartheidrace-segregation-and-human-rights
 H-NET South African History Module (from the “Exploring Africa” Series):
http://exploringafrica.matrix.msu.edu/teachers/curriculum/m29/activity2.php
 South Africa: The Struggle for Democracy (includes an interactive timeline):
http://southafricaproject.facinghistory.org/
 The Apartheid Museum: http://www.apartheidmuseum.org/
 The District Six Museum: http://www.districtsix.co.za/
 Constitution Hill: http://www.constitutionhill.org.za/
 The Nelson Mandela Museum: http://www.nelsonmandelamuseum.org.za/
 Robben Island Museum: http://www.robben-island.org.za/
 Rise and Fall of Apartheid (International Center of Photography Exhibit):
http://www.icp.org/museum/exhibitions/apartheid
 Excerpts from Nelson Mandela’s Long Walk to Freedom:
http://archives.obs-us.com/obs/english/books/Mandela/Mandela.html
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Traces of Truth: Documents Relating to the South African TRC:
http://truth.wwl.wits.ac.za/
South African TRC Videotape Collection (Yale Law School):
http://trc.law.yale.edu/
Historical Documents Online (Fordham University):
o The National Party’s Colour Policy, 1948:
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1948apartheid1.asp
o “The Case for Apartheid,” speech given by A. L. Geyer, 1953:
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1953geyer.asp
o “The Question of South Africa,” by Desmond Tutu, 1984:
http://www.fordham.edu/Halsall/mod/1984tutu.asp
The Life and Times of Nelson Mandela: Speeches, Interviews, Etc:
http://www.nelsonmandela.org/content/landing/life-times-of-nelson-mandela
AIDS Foundation of South Africa: http://www.aids.org.za/
South African Music (compiled by Stanford University):
http://library.stanford.edu/depts/ssrg/africa/southafrica/rsamusic.html
b. Example of how to incorporate one resource
Screen the documentary RFK in the Land of Apartheid: Ripple of Hope, which follows
Kennedy to the site of his famous “Ripple of Hope” speech at the University of Cape
Town in 1966, as a way to encourage students to draw connections between the struggle
to end apartheid and the Civil Rights Movement here in the U.S. – how were these two
movements similar in their goals and tactics? How did they differ? In what ways were
they connected and/or directly feeding off one another? See the film’s website to view a
trailer: http://www.rfksafilm.org/html/about.php
Take your students on a fieldtrip to New York to see the new ICP exhibit (Sept. 14, 2012Jan. 6, 2013): Rise and Fall of Apartheid: Photography and the Bureaucracy of Everyday
Life. Visit the International Center of Photography website for more details and to
preview some of the exhibit’s photos: http://www.icp.org/museum/exhibitions/apartheid
Potential Activities or Discussions: (could include ideas for games, creative projects,
discussion questions, etc.)
In lieu of providing extensive sample activities and discussions, we offer a selection of
focus themes. By offering a set of thematic entry points into the topic (which can stand
alone or be used together as part of a more comprehensive unit on apartheid), our goal is
to provide teachers with a diverse range of ideas on how to incorporate the modern
history of South Africa into their classrooms.
Sample Focus Themes:
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Making Apartheid Legal: The Creation of Racialized Legislation
Forced Removals: Spotlight on District Six
The Role of Music in the Struggle Years
Women and Apartheid
Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement
Anti-Apartheid Activism and the American Civil Rights Movement
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Passive Resistance vs. Armed Struggle: The Evolution of the ANC
Global Solidarity: The International Campaign to End Apartheid
Apartheid and the Cold War
South African Artists during the Struggle Years and Beyond
Truth, Justice, and Reconciliation: The TRC and its Critics
Literature, Autobiography, and Memory in the Aftermath of Apartheid
Continuing Struggles in the “New” South Africa: Crime, Poverty, and HIV/AIDS
Afrikaner Nationalism, Then and Now
Focus Theme Example #1: The TRC and its Critics
Screen Long Night’s Journey Into Day as an introduction to the TRC. Break your
students into small groups and have them peruse the South African TRC Videotape
Collection (http://trc.law.yale.edu/). Ask each group to watch a different testimony from
the “Teaching Episodes” section and have them take notes on the bigger themes that
emerge from the various encounters they are seeing. Then bring everyone back together
for a class discussion on the themes they identified: blame, guilt, forgiveness, amnesty,
truth, justice, reconciliation, revenge, etc. Show the class a selection of cartoons by the
famous satirical artist Zapiro (available online at http://truth.wwl.wits.ac.za/), as a way to
prompt further discussion of the kind of critiques that emerged during the TRC process.
Focus Theme Example #2: Afrikaner Nationalism, Then and Now
Most introductory lessons on apartheid tend to gloss over Afrikanerdom, which is
actually an incredibly complex identity – forged over many centuries and subject to
continuous change, even today. As a way to probe more deeply into the history of
Afrikaner identity (What is it? Where does it come from? What are the key moments that
defined and redefined Afrikaner nationalism?) we suggest a number of multimedia
activities, including having students explore the “White Identities” section of the website
South Africa: Struggle for Democracy (http://southafricaproject.facinghistory.org/), and
having them watch the short video Afrikaner Blood, which documents the fringe group
Kommandokorps, led by former apartheid leader Franz Jooste (available online at
http://vimeo.com/33522581). We also recommend playing some contemporary Afrikaner
music for your students (such as the song “De la Rey,” by Bok van Blerk), with
translations of the lyrics. What are the primary themes, images, and concerns expressed
through these songs? And how do those themes relate to Afrikaner history?
Visuals: (any additional maps or pictures that can be used to supplement the lesson)
See above-listed websites, all of which contain very good images.
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