On your Left Side:
• Write down what you already know about
South Africa and/or apartheid.
• Where do you know this information from?
– Book you read
– Movie you saw
– TV program you saw
2012 Apartheid and South Africa
On your Left Side:
• Diagram or draw out a timeline and write
down the main events from the next couple of
slides.
South Africa
• In the 18th century
Dutch settlers, who
called themselves
Boers, began expanding
toward the north and
east.
• Believed they were
predestined by God to
claim this land.
• Gradually began
pushing onto the
interior.
Early History
A Time Line
•
•
•
•
1806 – British seize Cape of Good Hope
1867 – Discovery of Gold
1886 – Discovery of Diamonds
1889 – 1902 – The Boer War (British and
Dutch settlers)
• 1902 – The beginning of apartheid
• 1990’s – The end of apartheid
South Africa
• British gained possession of Cape
Colony in 1815; abolished slavery
in 1833.
• Boers felt British policy destroyed
their traditional social order, based
on racial separation,
• Also believed it would undermine
white predominance, which they
saw as God's own will.
• British intrusion precipitated the “
Great Trek.”
• Starting in 1835 10,000 Boers
(voortrekkers) moved northeast into
interior and ultimately established
Orange Free State and Transvaal.
1835: The “Great Trek”
Feeling the British policy
destroyed their political
and social order, based
on racial separation and
that white dominance
was “God’s own
will,”10,000 Boers, or
Voortrekkers, left Cape
Town to escape British
rule on a 1,000 mile
migration inland,
known as the“Great
Trek.”
South Africa
• At time of white settlement of the Cape, Xhosa
groups were living far inland.
• Since around 1770, they had been confronted with
the Trek Boers or Voortrekkers who approached
from the west.
• Both Boers and Xhosa were stock-farmers. The
competition for grazing land led first to quarrels
between the two groups, and eventually it came to
a number of wars.
• In the middle of the 19th century, all land formerly
inhabited by Xhosa was in the hands of white
settlers.
South Africa
• Towards the end of 18th century, all over southern
Africa small tribal groups were amalgamating into
larger communities.
• Not a peaceful process, but result of protracted wars.
• Rise of Zulu Kingdom falls into this period.
• Through incredible atrocities and cruelties Zulu
warrior Shaka gained control over a number of Zulu
clans.
• Expanded his territory systematically as his warriors
raided Zulu villages and burnt them down.
• Women and children gored to death; young men
called up and chiefs tortured and forced into
allegiance.
South Africa
• Voortrekkers failed to
negotiate with Zulus
secession of land for settling
and grazing.
• They had endured a number
of catastrophic assaults.
• Assembled at the Ncome
River for a decisive battle on
December 16, 1838.
• 464 Boers under command of
Andries Pretorius defeated
10,000 Zulu warriors.
• Became known as the Battle
of Blood River.
South Africa
• Boers did not ascribe military
victory to technically superior
armaments; interpreted it
instead as a sign from God.
• Before battle, they prayed and
made a vow that if God would
grant them victory over Zulus,
they would commemorate the
event annually.
• Afterward they believed even
more strongly that white
predominance over blacks is
God's own will.
Voortrekker Monument, outside Pretoria
South Africa
• Port Natal (later re-named Durban) was a frequent portof-call for sailors and merchants and in 1823 a
settlement started to develop.
• Zulus regarded Natal as their territory; tolerated white
settlers, because port was useful as a trading post.
• When Voortrekkers came to Natal in 1836 fierce battles
with Zulus occurred.
• Short-lived peace after Zulu defeat at Battle of Blood
River in 1838.
• Soon British and Voortrekkers battled for Natal.
• Ultimately, the British prevailed and in 1844, Natal
became a Crown Colony; the Voortrekkers retreated.
A Series of
Boer Struggles
1838: Boers defeat the Zulu nation in the Battle of Blood River in
their fight to obtain land the Zulu tribe was occupying.
1843:
British take over Natal.
1852-1854: Boers travel further north and establish the Orange Free
State and Transvaal as independent republics.
1870-1886: Diamonds deposits are discovered in Kimberley and
gold deposits are discovered in Transvaal causing an influx of
British immigrants and black Africans searching for work
and
fortune.
1880-1881: Anglo-Boer Wars
More struggles
1899: Boer War erupted as a result of Afrikaaners upset
over Continual British migration inland to the mining
regions.
1899-1902: British established Afrikaner civilian camps
where epidemics broke out and killed 26,000
prisoners.
1902: Boers surrendered to British rule
1910: British award independence to South Africa. They
believed only white to be capable of self-government.
Blacks were barred from voting and Afrikaans was
made the official language.
A Country Divided
• White South Africans made up only 21.5% of the
total population and of these, an English-speaking
minority dominated government and business in
the cities.
• Most whites were Afrikaans-speaking Boers, mostly
farmers and still bitter about the war
• The majority black population, 67%, included many
different groups of people including Zulu and Xhosa
of the Transkei region. Other groups were much
smaller.
• By 1910, black Africans owned less than
10% of a country their ancestors
completely controlled.
• 1913, the South African Parliament
passed a Native Land Act that limited the
blacks’ ownership of land even more.
– Apartheid placed restrictions on how people
could live. For example, black South Africans
were made to live in tiny clusters of homes
called townships.
Other Ethnic Groups
o Coloureds: 9% of the population.
o Indian immigrants: 2.5% of the
population.
Both groups had varying rights in the
Cape, but were not treated as equals by
most whites
The Native Homeland Act
separated different African
tribes into segregated
areas.
This act set aside
7.3% of the country’s land
Aside as reservations and
banded black Africans
from buying land outside
these areas.
Road to Apartheid
In 1912, the South African Native National
Congress (later known as the ANC – 1923)
was founded to unite black Africans and
defend their interests.
In 1913, the Afrikaaner Nationalist Party was
established.
ANC
• African National Congress (ANC) was created
to aide in the civil rights movement.
Peaceful Protest
• 1912, a young Indian Lawyer living in Cape
Town named Mohandas K. Gandhi became
outraged after being thrown off the train for
sitting in a “white’s only” seat.
• He organized a peaceful protest march,
inspiring some black South Africans to form a
civil rights organization.
Whites Asserting Control
• In 1924, the Labour Party defeats the South
African Party.
• Led by James Hertzog, South Africa became
more independent of British control and
favored the interests of whites, especially
Afrikaners.
• Afrikaans is confirmed as an official
language along with English.
South Africa: Divided by Race
• Decolonization in South Africa was tainted by the clash
between white and black citizens of the newly free
country.
• The government that declared freedom from Britain was
controlled by the white minority, largely descended
from the Dutch Boers.
• These Afrikaners practiced the policy of apartheid
(extreme racial segregation).
• South Africa is one of the world’s richest sources of gold
and diamonds.
• Between the 60’s and 90’s, the white government of
South Africa turned the country into the wealthiest,
most modern, and most industrialized on the continent.
South Africa
In the early 1900s South Africa was run by white Afrikaners—descendants
of the original Dutch settlers. Even though South Africa had received
independence from Great Britain in 1910, nonwhites in South Africa were
not free under the Afrikaner government.
Apartheid
• 1948, racial discrimination
heightened when Afrikanerdominated National Party began to
run South African government
• Instituted policy of apartheid,
“apartness” in Afrikaner language
Racial Separation
• Apartheid policy divided into four
racial groups: White, Black,
Colored (mixed ancestry), Asian
• Attempted to create greater
separation between whites,
nonwhites, impose harsh controls
Apartheid laws banned interracial marriages, and placed further
restrictions on African ownership of land and businesses.
Apartheid
• a method of “divide and rule” to
counteract the so-called "black
danger" Afrikaner rulers saw Africans
as threatening to overrun or engulf
them by their sheer numbers.
• Brutal racism: imprisonment, police
killings and murder
Apartheid
• “Apartheid” is a word meaning
“Separateness”
• Black South Africans, who made up 75%
of the population, and other non-white
People lived under government
institutionalized racial segregation from
1948 to 1994.
• Non-whites were stripped of citizenship
and necessities such as medical care and
education.
What is Apartheid?
• Apartheid= separateness
• A policy of racial discrimination
• Began in 1948 by South Africa’s
government
• Black South Africans (more than
75% of pop.) were forced to live
under strict segregation
Hendrik
Verwoerd
•Prime Minister
of South Africa
from 1958 until
his assassination
in 1966
•“Architect of
Apartheid”
On your Left Side:
• Imagine you are one of the black
non-citizens of South Africa.
• How would you feel about what
is happening in your country?
Why?
• What would you do about it?
Why?
Apartheid Laws
Laws Harsh on Blacks
Citizenship Denied
• Apartheid laws especially harsh
on blacks in South Africa
• Under apartheid, only white
South Africans could vote, hold
political office
• Required to carry passes,
identity books
• Also faced imprisonment if
police found them in an area for
more than 72 hours without
pass
• Blacks made up nearly 75
percent of population, were
denied South African citizenship
• Restricted to certain
occupations, very little pay
Looking into Apartheid…
1948-Racism
institutionalized
-Marriage between blacks
and whites prohibited
-”white-only” jobs
sanctioned
The History of Apartheid in South Africa
1950-Population
Registration Act
-Divided South Africans into
white, black (Africans), and
colored (mixed descent)
-Based on appearance, social
acceptance, and descent
-Blacks-forced to carry “pass
books” holding fingerprints,
photograph, and information
on access to non-black areas
Apartheid- Marriages and business
• Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act 55 of
1949, prohibiting marriages between white
people and people of other races
• Blacks were not allowed to run a business in
the areas that were meant for white South
Africans.
Some Rules of Apartheid
• Africans had to be
legally classified (Black,
White, Colored, Indian)
• Africans were not
allowed to have
interracial marriages
• Africans had to carry
registration cards with
their race indicated
• Africans had to be
separated publicly
(restaurants, hospitals,
beaches, theaters,
pools, restrooms, etc)
• Africans also had
separate educational
systems (lower
standards for blacks)
Images of Apartheid
Apartheid
No Rights for Non-whites
•
•
•
•
•
No right to vote
No ownership of land
No right to move freely
No right to free speech
No right to protest the
government
Apartheid
separated
the whites
from
the nonwhites
What does Kaffir mean?
• The word Kaffir is an ethnic slur that is mostly used
in Jamaica and South Africa.
• Referring to someone from Jamaica or South Africa
as Kaffir would be the same as referring to an
African-American person as the “N-word.”
• This usage and “strength” of Kaffir is fading away.
A Journey of Inequality
1939-Representation of Voters Act weakened the
political rights for Africans and allows them to
vote only for white representatives.
1946-African mine workers are paid twelve times
less than their white counterparts. Over 75,000
Africans go on strike in support of higher wages.
Over 1000 workers are injured or killed before
police violence forces them to end the strike
1948-The Afrikaner Nationalist Party gains control
of the government and passed the first of 317
Apartheid laws, separating whites from blacks.
1951-The African National Congress (ANC), a
political organization for Africans, encourages
peaceful resistance to Apartheid Laws. The
government reacts by arresting more people.
1950-1953-Multiple Apartheid laws are passed
restricting the movement and rights of blacks and
requiring pass books. From 1948-1973, over ten
million Africans were arrested because their
passes were not in order
COUNTERPARTS:
PEOPLE ON THE SAME LEVEL, DOING THE
SAME WORK
APARTHEID:
A POLICY OF SEPARATENESS
AFRIKANER:
A EUROPEAN DESCENDANT OF THE DUTCH
IN SOUTH AFRICA
Mine Workers in South Africa
Working conditions were terrible in the mines, with miners earning only
a few dollars a day and being forced to be separate from their families
for months or years at a time.
Apartheid-Public facilities and jobs
 Medical care and other public services and provided
black people with service inferior to those of Whites
Practical separation of residential areas
Separation of public institutions e.g. schools and
hospitals.
Separation of jobs, ”jobs for whites only”
Separate use of facilities like toilets, chairs, bus stops,
stair-cases etc.
Black buses stopped at black bus stops and white
buses at white ones.
Trains, hospitals and ambulances were segregated
On your Left Side:
•Which of these laws
makes you most
angry? Why?
• On your Left Side:
• What is the main
point the
cartoonist is
making about
apartheid?
• How can you tell?
1951 Bantu Authorities Act
• Created basis for
ethnic government in
African reserves or
“homelands”
• Blacks had no rights
in South Africa. Their
rights were restricted
to the so called
“homelands”.
• The White Government
had complete control
over the homelands.
By Mzoli Mncanca
Homelands
Townships
Further Segregation
• Apartheid placed limits on
where blacks could live
• Restricted businesses allowed
in townships, kept people poor
• Required to live in impoverished
areas of cities called townships
• 1950s, created rural
“homelands” for tribes, groups
Citizenship
• Did not include good farmland,
resources
• Used homelands as excuse for
depriving blacks of citizenship
Aliens
• Men forced to migrate without
families to work in mines,
factories, farms
• Homeland policy made millions
resident aliens in own country
• “Reservations” or
Homelands
“Bantustans”
• Verwoerd established 9
African groups
• Each was to become a nation
within its own homeland
• Africans had rights and
freedoms
• Outside the homelands,
treated as aliens
• Poor quality land with
erosion
• Completely incapable of
supporting large populations
Typical Homestead
Homelands
• Covered 13% of South Africa’s land area
for 75% of its population.
• Economic development was outlawed.
• The only work was in the white areas
• Blacks were forced to live apart from
their families to work in the white areas
where they had to carry Passes at all
times.
Rural vs. Urban
• Group Acts of 1950
& 1986
• 1.5 Million Africans
were forced from
urban areas to rural
reservations
• 1961 – Pressure
from UN caused
South Africa to
withdraw from the
Commonwealth of
Nations
Houses in Soweto, a black township.
Typical Squatter’s Camp
Umbulwana, Natal
in 1982.
Called "a black spot"
because it is in a
"white" area.
Eventually
demolished and the
inhabitants forced to
move to identically
numbered houses in
"resettlement"
villages in their
designated
"homelands.“
Millions of black
South Africans were
forcibly "resettled" in
this way.
On your Left Side:
• Using the previous pictures,
imagine what a day living in the
homelands would be like from
getting up to going to bed.
• Explain.
Pass Checks
• Checks were
performed at random
of any/all black
Africans.
• Those without Pass
were arrested and
fined. If they couldn’t
pay the fine, they were
sent to work camps.
Courtesy of www.unitedstreaming.com
Checking Passbook
The Pass Book
• Needed special permits to live outside
of reservations, but not with family
• Lived in Townships (the city’s perimeter)
• Curfew regulations
• Passbook raids
• Failure to meet curfew or have passbook
= subject to arrest
1953- Public Safety Act and
Criminal Law Amendment Act
• Gave government power to
declare states of emergency,
increasing punishments for
protesting against or
supporting repeal of a law:
fines, imprisonment, whippings
• 1960-Government declared
state of emergency when
large group of blacks in
Sharpeville refused to carry
their passes
– Emergency lasted for 156 days,
69 people dead and 187 people
wounded
Photo and History: The History of Apartheid in South Africa
Repression (a general intro):
• 1950s- more than 500,000 pass-law arrests
annually
• 1950s- more than 600 inhabitants jailed as
communists; nearly 350 people “banned”
• Increasingly ruthless methods used
starting in 1960s including routine torture,
political assassination, house arrests, etc.
• Around 10,000 people arrested in early
1960s for political offenses, etc.
On your Left Side:
• Are there any rules we have
today that you can relate to
apartheid? What are they?
• Why do you think these types of
rules keep on being created in
various countries?
Bantu Education Act
• The 1953 Bantu Education Act was one of apartheid's most
offensively racist laws.
• It brought African education under control of the
government and extended apartheid to black schools.
• Previously, most African schools were run by missionaries
with some state aid.
• South Africans were to receive an education designed to
provide them with skills to serve their own people in the
homelands, to work as maids, or to work in labouring jobs
under whites.
Separate Unequal Education
Bantu Education Act of 1953
• HF Verwoerd : “Natives (blacks) must be taught from an
early age that equality
with Europeans (whites) is not for
them.”
• Student/teacher ratio
46:1-1955, 58:1 -1967
• Overcrowded classrooms,
poor facilities,
under-qualified teachers
Apartheid Education
 Bantu Education Act (1953) gave the central
government control over African education
 "Native education should be controlled . . . in
accord with the policy of the state . . . If the
native in South Africa today in any kind of
school in existence is being taught to expect
that he will live his adult life under a policy of
equal rights, he is making a big mistake . . .
There is no place for him in the European
community above the level of certain forms
of labor." -Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister
By Mzoli Mncanca
Education Under Apartheid
• Black people were not to receive an education
that would lead them to aspire to positions
they wouldn't be allowed to hold in society.
• Instead they were to receive education
designed to provide them with skills to serve
their own people in the homelands or to work
in labouring jobs under whites.
Education Under Apartheid
• Bantu Education did enable more children in Soweto to
attend school than the old missionary system of
education, but there was a severe lack of facilities.
• Nationally public to teacher ratios went up from 46:1 in
1955 to 58:1 in 1967.
• Overcrowded classrooms were used on a rote basis.
• There was also a lack of teachers, and many of those
who did teach were under-qualified.
• In 1961, only 10 percent of black teachers held a
matriculation certificate [last year of high school].
Effects from Bantu Education Act
• The government controlled the non-whites' lives.
• Blacks could not choose where to go to school, where
to live, what job to have, and they couldn't get
medical care (or if they did, it wasn't good health
care).
• When walking around town, blacks had to have passes
to prove that they lived there and had a job.
With your partner on your Left Side:
• Compare and contrast the
treatment of blacks in
American before the
abolishment of Jim Crow Laws
to that of blacks in South
Africa under Apartheid.
Education and Soweto
• Because of the government's homelands policy, no new
high schools were built in Soweto between 1962 and
1971 -- students were meant to move to their relevant
homeland to attend the newly built schools there.
• Then in 1972 the government gave in to pressure from
business to improve the Bantu Education system to
meet business's need for a better trained black
workforce.
• 40 new schools were built in Soweto.
• Between 1972 and 1976 the number of pupils at
secondary schools increased from 12,656 to 34,656.
• One in five Soweto children were attending secondary
school.
Young school children in a classroom in the squatter
camp of Cross Roads, South Africa, in 1979. (UN Photo#
143373 by Peter Magubane)
Conclusion: Key Facts
• The Bantu Education Act was one of apartheid's
most offensively racist laws.
• During this time the government controlled the
non-whites' lives.
• In high school, blacks had to learn a language.
• The riot in Soweto started off as a peaceful
march, but then changed into a violent riot.
• Students in the 1970's and 80's were referred to
as the lost generation of South Africa because
many blacks lost their education.
Education and Soweto
• So when the Department of Education issued its decree that
Afrikaans was to become a language of instruction at school, it was
into an already volatile situation.
• Students objected to being taught in the language of the
oppressor.
• Many teachers themselves could not speak Afrikaans, but were
now required to teach their subjects in it.
• When the 1976 school year started, many teachers refused to teach
in Afrikaans.
• But generally students were disparaging of the attitude of their
teachers and parents.
• One student wrote to The World newspaper: "Our parents are
prepared to suffer under the white man's rule. They have been
living for years under these laws and they have become immune to
them. But we strongly refuse to swallow an education that is
designed to make us slaves in the country of our birth."
Lost Generation of South Africa
• Students of the 1970's and 80's are referred to
as the lost generation of South Africa.
• They are often called this because the 1970s
and 80s was the time period that a lot of black
South Africans lost their education.
On your Left Side:
• With your partner,
compare and contrast
issues and problems with
the American education
system to that of education
under apartheid.
Most black men had to leave
their homeland to find work in
mines or factories.
Women raised whatever crops
they could.
Economics of Apartheid
• Cheap (black) African
labor force for work in
mines
• Protection of skilled
jobs for whites
• Enormous income
discrepancies
http://www-users.york.ac.uk/%7Ead15/SApolitics.htm
Resistance and Protests
Apartheid is Challenged
On your Left Side:
• If you were a black non-citizen in
South Africa, how would you
resist and protest against
apartheid? Explain.
• Or would you not resist and just
accept and endure? Explain.
Political Challenges
• 1950s–1960s, many former European colonies ruled by dictators
• Some nations fell into civil war
• 1990s brought renewed hope with the return of democracy; end of the
apartheid system in South Africa
Protesting Apartheid
• Early 1900s, African National
Congress formed in South Africa
• ANC petitioned government, held
peaceful protests against apartheid
• 1940s, younger, radical members
joined, including Nelson Mandela
Change of Philosophy
• 1952, Mandela organized
campaign urging blacks in South
Africa to break apartheid laws
• 1960, changed from peaceful
philosophy after police killed
demonstrators in Sharpeville
The Sharpeville Massacre was a turning point in anti-apartheid movement.
http://www.watchknowlearn.org/Video.aspx?VideoID=32205&CategoryID=835
8
Early resistance: 1912-1948
• 1912 African National
Congress founded
(original name: South
African Native
National Congress)
• Legal protests led by
African elites
Delegation from the South
African Native National
Congress that went to
England in 1914 to convey the
objections of the African people
to the 1913 Land Act
Nelson Mandelactivism
•
Joined African National Congress in 1944
• Formed Youth League with Oliver Tambo
– Secretary of ANCYL in 1947
• National Party won election of 1948
– New ANC president approved by
ANCYL
• President of ANCYL in 1951
• Banned from ANC in 1952
– Prohibited from attending meetings
or holding an office
– Confined to Johannesburg area
• ANC operated underground
The Treason Trial
• 156 nationalists arrested
December 5th, 1956
– Included Mandela and Albert
Luthuli, President of ANC
– Leaders of Congress Alliance
• Combination of five major
anti-apartheid
organizations
• Charged with high treason
– Punishable by death
• Acquitted in March of 1961
Human Rights – Nelson Mandela
• Protest was outlawed. Anyone caught organising a demonstration,
reading banned newspapers or speaking against the Apartheid system
was in danger of being detained without trial, tortured, imprisoned,
even sometimes murdered.
• However, Mandela’s group, the African National Congress committed
itself to using non-violent means to protest against this system
• That is, until the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960.
The Pan Africanist Congress
• Formed by more radical members of ANC
– Rivalry between ANC and PAC
• 69 demonstrators killed at Sharpeville on March 21, 1960
• Both groups formed military wings in 1961
• Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the Nation”)
– Mandela appointed first commander of MK
• PAC’s Poqo and MK prepare sabotage
Travel and Arrest
• Mandela left country in secret in 1962
• Attended Conference of Pan-African Freedom Movement of East
and Central Africa
– Conference of African nationalist leaders in Addis Ababa
– Provided with Ethiopian passport by Haile Selassie
• Traveled to Algeria for military training
– Guerilla warfare
• Next to London to visit Tambo
– Arrested upon return
The Rivonia Trial
• Charged for leaving country
– Sentenced to five years in prison
• MK HQ at Lilieslief raided on
July 11th, 1963
– Arrested leaders charged with
221 counts of sabotage
• Mandela delivered four hour
statement
– “I am Prepared to Die”
• Sentenced to life imprisonment plus
five years
On your Left Side: What does
Mandela mean by this speech?
“ During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to
this struggle of the African people. I have fought
against white domination, and I have fought
against black domination. I have cherished the
ideal of a democratic and free society in which all
persons live together in harmony and with equal
opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for
and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which
I am prepared to die.”
MK attacks
• 1960s MK relatively quiet
– Problems: no internal support
structure
• Dramatic increase in actions in late ’70s
and ’80s
– Reasons: new regional bases, new
internal support structures
• Main repertoires: from sabotage to
bombings
– 190 acts of sabotage between October
1961 and July 1963.
– 1976-1982: 150 attacks
– 1980s- 100s of bombings
• 1983- MK bombs air force
headquarters.
• 19 people killed and more than
200 injured.
MK Targets:
•
“"(e) Selection of targets to be tackled
in initial phase of guerrilla operations
with a view to causing maximum
damage to the enemy as well as
preventing quick deployment of
reinforcements. In its study the
Committee should bear in mind the
following main targets:
–
–
–
–
Strategic road, railways and other
communications.
power stations
police stations, camps and military
forces
irredeemable Government
stooges."
(1969)
• Mandela went on the run after the ANC was banned. He was arrested in 1962,
after secretly returning to South Africa, and was imprisoned for five years for
organizing strikes.
• In 1963, Mandela was linked to a sabotage campaign in Rivonia near
Johannesburg. He was sentenced for life.
• 1973, Mandela was offered a shorter sentence if he would support the bantustan
program – he refused!
• In 1974, South Africa was banned from the United Nations General Assembly.
Nelson Mandela
 Nelson Mandela
peacefully fought to
end apartheid. He
served 27 years in
prison for such
“treason.”
 Thousands of other
South African nonwhites were
imprisoned and
executed for their
resistance against
apartheid.
On your Left Side: What
does Mandela mean?
“I was made by the law, a criminal, not
because of what I had done, but because
of what I stood for, because of what I
thought, because of my conscious. Can it
be any wonder to anybody that such
conditions make a man an outlaw of
society?” Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela in Prison
• Would you be
willing to
spend 27
years in jail
for a cause?
• Why or why
not?
Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in solitary confinement in this cell.
Human Rights – Nelson Mandela
• “During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to the struggle of the African
people. I have fought against white domination, and I have fought
against black domination. I have cherished the ideal of a democratic and
free society in which all persons live together in harmony and with equal
opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for and to achieve. But if
needs be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.”
• Nelson Mandela’s speech from the dock, Pretoria Courthouse, 1964
The shanty towns became centers
for black groups who resisted the
white government.
Thousands resisted apartheid by
refusing to work, refusing to buy
white products, going into “white
only” areas, and marching in
nonviolent demonstrations.
The Protest of March 21,1960: Sharpeville
• Black Protestors
• Protested against pass laws
• Wanted possession of passbooks unrequired
• Passbooks are booklets that contain your ID
• Were discriminated by race
• Treated like second class citizens
1960: Sharpeville
Massacre
• March 21 -- At least 180 black
Africans were injured and 69
killed when South African police
opened fire on approximately
300 demonstrators, who were
protesting against apartheid pass
laws, at the township of
Sharpeville in the Transvaal.
• The event came to be known as
the Sharpeville Massacre. In
response to Sharpeville, the
government outlawed the
African National Congress
(ANC).
March 21,1960: Sharpeville Massacre
A large crowd of Black South Africans assembled in front of the
Sharpeville police station to protest the pass laws imposed by
apartheid.
The Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), led by Robert Sobukwe, together
with Nelson Mandela's African National Congress (ANC), organized
the protest for the nation's blacks to join together to demonstrate
peacefully against apartheid.
Rarely in South Africa before 1960 had so many black people
demonstrated their defiance of the laws in any way. The police were
highly apprehensive, not knowing what to expect. Suddenly, tensions
were released: the crowd pelted the policemen with stones, and the
edgy policemen retaliated with gunfire.
In the end, sixty-nine protesters were killed and one hundred and eighty
were wounded (some shot while trying to flee)
1960 Sharpeville Massacre
• In 1960, during a
peaceful protest in
the city of
Sharpeville, 69
people were killed
• This massacre ignited
additional
demonstrations and
protests against the
unfair treatment of
non-whites
Black vs. White
Black
White
• Protested
• Police controlled situation
• Did not want pass laws
• Threw stones
• Did not think blacks
deserved same rights as
whites
• Mostly Black People
• Shot at blacks
• White Government
Sharpeville Uprising
Government
• Declared state of emergency
• Detained 18,000 people
• Changed from passive resistance to armed
• More security for enforcing racist laws
• Sharpeville was a turning point in South Africa
After the Sharpeville
Massacre, the government
banned (exile) all black
African political
organization, including the
ANC and the PAC.
Reaction to the Sharpeville Massacre
• Countries gave South Africa sympathy
• UN condemned the government
• Called for Resolution 134
• Resolution is a plan to make both government and the
citizens happy
• Stated start of racial harmony throughout South Africa
Conclusion
•
The Sharpeville Massacre was the start of a new beginning
for South Africa, although it came with the loss of many
innocent people.
• The bravery displayed by the blacks is outstanding.
• The protests, the riots, the strikes all led up to the racial
harmony throughout South Africa.
• With the help of the UN, other countries, and brave
government officials, the Sharpeville Massacre was the start
of a new chapter in South Africa.
Cause of the Riot in Soweto in 1976
• When black students went to high school, they had to learn
a language.
• Most students wanted to learn English because it was a
general language that people spoke.
• However, the government forced the students to learn
Afrikaans, the language of Apartheid.
• The blacks were angry, so they boycotted the classes and
went to protest in Soweto.
Bantu Education
“There is no place for [the Bantu] in the European community above
the level of certain forms of labour ... What is the use of teaching
the Bantu child mathematics when it cannot use it in practice?
That is quite absurd. Education must train people in accordance
with their opportunities in life, according to the sphere in which
they live.”
- Henrik Verwoerd, Minister of Education, 1958
"We
shall reject the whole system of Bantu Education
whose aim is to reduce us, mentally and physically,
into 'hewers of wood and drawers of water'."
Soweto Students Representative Council, 1976
Apartheid in South Africa
• Soweto Riots- 1976
–Township near Johannesberg with
over 1 million blacks
–Centered around the teaching of
Afrikaans
–Started with class boycotts, led to
largest riots in South African history
The riot in Soweto
• The march in Soweto spread to
other towns in South Africa.
• The march in Soweto was
meant to be peaceful and
nonviolent.
• However, it wasn't taken as a
march to make a point
nonviolently.
• Many people were killed,
including thirteen year old
children.
The Soweto Uprising
• Young people had been forced to learn Afrikaans in school, the language
of the Dutch settlers.
• They were not allowed to speak or learn in their own language.
• June 16, 1976, school-children protesting the right to be taught in their
own language were shot by police. 69 school-kids died. The day is now
commemorated in South Africa as Youth Day.
• People around the world were outraged. But it was to be almost 20 years
until the Apartheid system collapsed.
• At the time, Nelson Mandela was serving his time in prison for what the
government called ‘terrorist’ activities.
1976: Soweto
When high-school students in Soweto
started protesting for better education
on June 16, 1976,police responded
with teargas and live bullets. In the
aftermath, the plan for schooling in
Afrikaans was dropped and the UN
banned sales of weapons to South
Africa in 1977.
Riot in Soweto
Soweto Student Uprising
• "It
was a picture that got the
world‘s attention: A frozen
moment in time that showed
13-year-old Hector Peterson
dying after being struck
down by a policeman's
bullet. At his side was his
17-year-old sister. ” (source)
Student Uprising: 1976
 Black students were
forced to learn in
Afrikaans.
 Protests against
Afrikaans started.
 More than 500 black
students killed by
white policemen.
 More than a
thousand men,
women and children
wounded.
By Mzoli Mncanca
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1976: Soweto Riots
On June 16 Between 15,000 and
20,000 high-school students in
Soweto marched in protest, calling
for better education for blacks.
Police responded by releasing attack
dogs and firing teargas and live
bullets into the crowd.
Students threw rocks and started
setting fires to symbols of apartheid,
such as government buildings and
beer halls.
Army helicopters and Anti-Urban
Terrorism units arrived.
The battle between students and
police continued into the night.
Some estimated the death toll at
200.
Many more were injured.
The rioting spread to other towns
and the government closed the
schools
Effects of Soweto
• June 1976 – Soweto uprisings ignited new wave of
activism – call to make South Africa ‘ungovernable’
– International solidarity
– Divestment and Sanctions
– Free Mandela Campaign
Artwork re. Anti-Apartheid
movements & Race Relations: Ironic
Ad
On your Left Side:
• If you were a
black student in
South Africa,
would you have
taken part in
either of the
protests?
• Why or why
not?
• If you were alive
and a high school
or college student
in America and
saw the reports of
the two protests
on the news, what
would you think
and why?
Organizing From Within:
Black Consciousness Movement
• Emerges from black-only
universities
• Establishment of South
African Students Union
(SASO)
• Influenced by black power in the
U.S., black theology
• Black African empowerment
through internal strength
• Self-reliant struggle: black Africans
must lead their own emancipation
movement
• Means: community reorganization, self-reliance, student
activism
“The most potent weapon in the hands
of the oppressor is the mind of the
oppressed.”
- Steve Biko, a leader of the Black
Consciousness Movement
His activities as a leader
Biko`s leadership abilities were perceptible from his
involvement with different black activist groups:
• the Student`s Representative Council
• National Union of South African
Students
• University Christian Movement
• South African Students Organisation
• Black Community Programs
• The Black Consciousness Movement
Biko was a leader in all of these groups.
Biko`s ambitions and attitudes
• Steve Biko is remembered today for the
hope and inspiration he gave to all
of South Africa
• One of Biko‘s ambitions was “to have a
new attitude towards and a new way of
life that promoted black pride“
• He believed that “the black man`s main
problem was his attitude of inferiority
and he believed that if black men thought
more of themselves, white men would
have a harder punishing the blacks under the rule of Apartheid
• Another belief was if black men united the battle of
oppression would be an easier battle
• Biko said:
“Black Consciousness is an attitude of mind, a way of life“
Black Consciousness
• In the context of the
struggle against
apartheid, Biko
argued that the first
step towards
liberation was to
reshape the way in
which black Africans
understood their own
situation
Black Consciousness
“Black Consciousness is an attitude of mind and a
way of life, the most positive call to emanate from
the black world for a long time. Its essence is the
realisszation by the black man of the need to rally
together with his brothers around the cause of their
oppression -- the blackness of their skin -- and to
operate as agroup to rid themselves of the shackles
that bind them to perpetual servitude.”
Black Consciousness
• Blacks must reclaim their identity and redefine it on
their own terms, rather than in those set by the
white oppressors.
• “The philosophy of Black Consciousness therefore
expresses group pride and the determination of the
black to rise and attain the envisaged self. Freedom
is the ability to define oneself with one’s possibilities
held back not by the power of other people over one
but only by one’s relationship to God and to natural
surroundings.”
Black Consciousness
• How do we effect that change? Education
• Biko draws attention to the corrupting effects of
education when it is in the hands of, and done for
the benefit of, the oppressor.
• White educators try to impart “civilization” and
“culture” and in doing so are -- explicitly or not -denigrating native black culture
• In the process, traditional African mores and beliefs
are ripped apart and discarded
• Biko argues that blacks need to resist the
indoctrination and rediscover their own history
Black Consciousness
• Note that in celebrating black
consciousness and black
identity, Biko is careful to point
out that this itself is not just
another form of racism
“Racism does not only imply
exclusion of one race by
another -- it always
presupposes that the exclusion
is for the purposes of
subjugation. Blacks have had
enough experience as objects
of racism not to wish to turn
the table”
Biko's Silence
• Jailed several times for his
strong protests
o Against government
• Kept in prison for years
o Detention cells
• Chained by his hands and
feet, and wrapped in urine
soaked sheets
o Jail officials
o Police officers
• Beaten to death by police
Steve Biko
• He was “banned” by the
government in 1973, which
meant he was not permitted to
travel across the country.
• He was arrested on 21 August
1977 and, while in police
custody in Port Elizabeth,
sustained a massive head
injury.
• Police reports indicated he was
behaving erratically and
uncooperative.
• Left lying naked and shackled
to a metal grille in cell.
Biko‘s Murder
• A banning order was set, so leaving King William`s
Town would be illegal
• While traveling to Cape Town, he was stopped by white
police officers
• The police took him in custody
• In prison Biko was beaten with a hose, and then pushed
into a wall
•The police officers began the beating during the interrogation
because “he tried to sit down while being questioned“
• Biko`s head was pushed into the wall so severely that they
shifted the inside of his brains
• He was found six days after the killing, naked, lying dead
in his jail cell
Steve Biko
• Three doctors on duty
disregarded the injury.
• On September 11,
another police doctor
recommended medical
attention, but instead he
was driven 600 miles to
Pretoria (about 12 hours),
a trip which he made
lying naked in the back of
a Land Rover.
Steve Biko
• After arriving at the
Pretoria Central Prison he
was left naked on a floor
and unattended, awaiting
transfer to the hospital.
• A few hours later, on 12
September, alone and still
naked, lying on the floor
of a cell in the Pretoria
Central Prison, Biko died
from brain damage.
Biko’s
Murder
• At first when questioned about this murder the police
officers told the public: “there was no beating or torture
connected to his death“
• Aother statement by the police was: “ Biko got a head
injury when we had to restrain him after he went berserk
to arrest the police officers the comission required a
confession of this brutal crime, but they had to wait long
only recently did the police confess the truth but full
reponsibility was not taken
As a result of Biko`s death in 1977, all Black
Consciousness Organizations were banned
Steve Biko
A young Black leader
Grave in King Williams
Town, South Africa.
Died in police
detention in 1977.
During the inquest into
his death, strong
evidence was
presented that he
suffered violent and
inhumane treatment
during his detention.
His honourable funeral
• Thousands of Africans showed up at Biko´s funeral along
with
representatives from thirteen Western States to share
in the mourning of such a nobel leader´s death
• People say that he was a husband, a friend and a leader
• His wife Wendy once said:
“we are honored to have been
among the friends of a man born
with unusual leadership qualities
and an unrelenting dedication to
the liberation of his people.“
Death of Steve Biko in police
custody, 1977
Steve Biko
• In 1985, the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission (created after the fall of
apartheid) found that:
"The Commission finds that the death in detention of Mr Stephen Bantu
Biko on 12 September 1977 was a gross human rights violation.
Magistrate Marthinus Prins found that the members of the SAP were not
implicated in his death. The magistrate's finding contributed to the
creation of a culture of impunity in the SAP. Despite the inquest finding no
person responsible for his death, the Commission finds that, in view of the
fact that Biko died in the custody of law enforcement officials, the
probabilities are that he died as a result of injuries sustained during his
detention."
Robben Island
• prisoners crushing rocks at Robben Island
United Democratic Front
This organization helped get the word out to the world about apartheid.
The struggle against apartheid
• In the 1980s, the United Democratic Front was
a a multi-racial coalition of community-based
groups, trade unions, church groups, students,
that launched a grassroots struggle against
apartheid.
• In 1985, the Congress of South African Trade
Unions was formed (COSATU).
The United Democratic Front
(UDF)
• est. 1983, ANC-supported
• Primary goal: to coordinate
activities of anti-apartheid orgs,
and to resist state’s recent
constitutional reforms
• Organized as a federation of
regionally based fronts
– Umbrella federation for more
than 600 local orgs
• Prominent church leaders, civic
leaders, former ANC reps,
students
• (mostly) Espoused nonviolence
Framing…
Repertoires…
Protesting Apartheid
Meeting Violence with Violence
• Mandela, other ANC leaders decided to meet violence with violence
• Government banned ANC, jailed Mandela
• 1976, major student protest movement in township of Soweto
Soweto Uprising
• Soweto Uprising set off by decree for black schools to teach Afrikaans—language of
white South Africans
• Police killed protesting student; peaceful march turned into revolt
Trade Sanctions
• Police crushed uprising, but over 600 killed, 4,000 wounded
• ANC fought to end apartheid; violence erupted in many black townships
• International community imposed trade sanctions on South Africa
Mid 1970’s – Mid 1980’s
The government implemented a series of reforms that allowed
black labor unions to organize and permitted some political
activity by the opposition.
The 1984 constitution opened parliament membership to
Asians and Coloreds, but it continued to exclude black Africans,
who made up 75% of the population.
Many countries, including the United States, imposed economic
sanctions of South Africa. More urban revolts erupted and, as
outside pressure on south Africa intensified, the government’s
apartheid policies began to unravel.
Apartheid in South Africa
• International Response
–Divestment- Cease business
relationships with companies that
do business in South Africa
–Sanctions (1985)- United States
imposed limited sanctions on the
South Africans; many other
European nations followed
On your Left Side with your partner:
• What does the
cartoonist mean
or is trying to
prove with each
political cartoon?
• How do you
know?
• What would be a
good sarcastic
caption for each
political
cartoon?
• Explain
South Africa
• During the 1980s the
charismatic Anglican bishop,
Desmond Tutu, rallied
western support with a call
for boycott of South Africa,
primarily through economic
sanctions.
• In 1984 he was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize in
recognition of "the courage
and heroism shown by black
South Africans in their use
of peaceful methods in the
struggle against apartheid".
Desmond Tutu
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
• The commissions
purpose was to
investigate crimes that
happened during
apartheid.
• The commission let
victims and
perpetrators of
violence be heard and
forgiven.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Cont.
• The idea behind the commission
was that if perpetrators spoke up
they would be given amnesty.
• Amnesty makes a person innocent
and forgivin for their crimes.
• People from all different groups
could speak out.
• Tutu was the leading force behind
the commission.
1985 Demonstration
• In 1985 an
International Day for
the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination
was organized.
• The demonstration
was held at Langa
Township in
Uitenhage.
• The day
commemorates the
anniversary of the
March 21, 1960
massacre.
1985 Demonstration
• The message
was simple:
“Freedom in
Our
Lifetime!”
On your Left side with your partner:
•Come up with a
slogan and a symbol
that are against
apartheid.
Momentous Meetings
• In May 1988, the United Nations called for Mandela’s release
without conditions.
• In July 1989, President Botha met with Mandela.
• Both men pledged a “support for peaceful developments.”
• Both resigned due to health reasons and was succeeded as
president by F.W. de Klerk.
• Determined to break the “cycle of violence,” de Klerk ordered
the release of eight political prisoners.
South Africa
• In 1989 Frederick W. de Klerk
took over as President from P.W.
Botha, who had suffered a stroke.
• Much more liberal than Botha, de
Klerk soon openly admitted the
failure of apartheid policies.
• Important reason for collapse of
old regime was effects of many
years of economic and trade
embargo.
• Sanctions enacted by many
nations led to a desolate state for
the South African economy.
FW de Klerk
• De Klerk and Mandela met in
December.
• Mandela declared de Klerk
to be “the most honest and
serious white leader” he had
ever met.
• On February 2, 1990, de
Klerk announced the end of
the bans on the ANC, the
PAC, and over 30 other antiapartheid organizations
Democracy in South Africa
• 1990, President F.W. de Klerk legalized ANC, began
negotiations to enact new constitution, end apartheid
– Released Mandela from prison
– Lifted long-standing ban on African National Congress
• De Klerk also abolished homelands, held South Africa’s first
democratic elections
– ANC swept elections
– Mandela became first black president of a democratic South Africa
Free At Last!
On February 11, 1990, after 27 years in
prison, Nelson Mandela was released.
“Today the majority of South Africans, black
and white, recognize that apartheid has no
future.” – Nelson Mandela
Nobel Peace Prize
• Mandela and De Klerk both won the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1993 for their efforts to end
Apartheid.
• Accepting the award on December 10, 1993,
Mandela declared:
“We live in the hope that as she battles to remake
herself, South Africa will be like a microcosm of the
new world that is striving to be born.”
On your Left Side:
• If we were to
• If we were to
create a Wanted create a Hero
Poster
for
Poster for
Nelson
Mandela,
Nelson
what would be
Mandela, what
on his list of
would be on his
achievements?
list of crimes?
1994
• Reservations abolished and territories
reabsorbed into the nation of South Africa
• Apartheid caused major economic hardships
on South Africa
• International sanctions
• Decreased labor force
• Cut investments from countries like U.S.A.
• First multiracial election
• Nelson Mandela elected president of South
Africa (1994 – 1999)
A New Government
Nelson Mandela casts the first vote for the new government of South
Africa.
On April 27,1994, Nelson Mandela
became South Africa’s FIRST black
president!
On April 27, 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected
the first black president if the first free election.
“We are moving from an era of resistance, division,
oppression, turmoil, and conflict and starting a
New era of hope, reconciliation, and nation-building. I
sincerely hope that the mere casting of a vote . . . will give
hope to all South Africans.”- Nelson Mandela
On your Left Side:
• What does the cartoonist
mean with the following
political cartoon?
• What would be a good overall
sarcastic caption to use to
emphasize this message?
Presidency
•
•
•
•
•
•
Inaugurated May 10th, 1994
First black president of South Africa
Aimed to improve social and economic
conditions for black majority
– Large scale redistribution of wealth
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
– Human rights violations from old regime
– Improved living standards of black
population
• Better housing and education
Violence control
– Afrikaner Resistance Movement
• Extremists opposing new government
using terrorism
Legislation to protect workers
– Workplace safety, overtime pay, minimum
wage
Retirement
• Decided not to run for
reelection in 1997
• Supported Thabo Mbeki
– Inaugurated June 16, 1999
• Retired from public life in 2004
• Committed to fight against
HIV/AIDS epidemic
– Son Makgatho Mandela
died of AIDS on January 6th,
2005
On your Left Side: What is the main
message of this speech?
“ We have at last achieved our
political emancipation. We pledge
ourselves to liberate all our people
from the continuing bondage of
poverty, deprivation, suffering,
gender, and other discrimination
. . . Never, never, and never again
shall it be that this beautiful land
will again experience the
oppression of one by another. . .
Let freedom reign.”
Life after Democracy
• 1994 – 1997 Nelson Mandela became the first
Black President, FW De Klerk the first Deputy
President and Thabo Mbeki the second.
• 1997 – 2006 then Thabo Mbeki become the
second Black President and Jacob Zuma was a
Deputy President.
On your Left Side with your partner:
• What is the
message of
each political
cartoon?
• How can you
tell?
• What would
be a good
sarcastic
caption for
each?
Cont
• 2009 Jacob Zuma become
the fourth Democratic
President up until today
after the Acting President
Ralima Motlhale.
Political South Africa
• The political structure of our
nation has been shaped
directly by the influences of
the Apartheid era.
• Political parties, politicians
and our very constitution
have been shaped by the
struggle.
• Consequently policies and
legislation today attempt to
redress the imbalance that
was a characteristic of the
Apartheid era
IMPACT OF APARTHEID
Politics 1: Political Parties
African National Congress:
A popular party partly because it took a pivotal
role in the overthrow of Apartheid
New National Party:
Struggles with its past as the party that
implemented Apartheid. Not popular but has
supporters amongst some Coloured and Whites
Democratic Alliance:
The remnants of the liberal parties of the
Apartheid era (PFP, DP etc). Continues to
safeguard principles of democracy but looks to
protect economic privilege
IMPACT OF APARTHEID
Politics 1: Political Parties
Inkatha Freedom Party
A tribal based party (Zulu) was formed out of the
divisions sponsored by the policy of Separate
Development
Freedom Front
Last stand of the Afrikaaner movements. Tends to
have realistic outlook but wants to protect
Afrikaaner values
Pan African Congress:
Important player in struggle but Africanist stance
limits appeal to other racial groups. Small but
influential group
IMPACT OF APARTHEID
Politics 2: Our Politicians
President
Thabo Mbeki’s father, Goven, was head of
the ANC during the exile years
Former
President
Nelson Mandela played a critical role in
the struggle and was imprisoned on
Robben Island
IMPACT OF APARTHEID
Politics 3: The Constitution
• The concerns raised by the injustices of
Apartheid have resulted in the
formularization of our democratic
constitution. This document is the envy of
numerous nations who do not have the
freedoms we have.
• Your right to freedom in terms of:
– Race
– Sex
– Religion
– Sexual Orientation
– Gender
… are all protected in terms of the South
African Constitution
IMPACT OF APARTHEID
RETURN TO MENU
Economic South Africa
The economic structure of our
nation has also been shaped
directly by the influences of the
Apartheid era. Political power
might now rest with the black
majority but economic power
still rests with the white classes
who hold important positions
within nearly all sectors of the
economy. Affirmative action is
one such strategy designed to
try and change this.
IMPACT OF APARTHEID
Economics 1: Corporate Power
Corporate power rests with the
historically advantaged classes
and therefore is still dominated
by English and Afrikaans
speaking families. Foreign
investors too influence the
goings on in the corporate
world. Foreign based companies
such as Anglo America, Anglo
Gold etc. are big economic
players
IMPACT OF APARTHEID
Economics 2: Social Classes
The economic divisions are obvious
to us today. Schooling is just one
area where most blacks and many
whites still experience the
disadvantages or benefits derived
from their economic class
IMPACT OF APARTHEID
RETURN TO MENU
Challenges facing SA today
• High rate of unemployment
• Inequality with a racial overlay
• Lastly, poverty especially to those who were disadvantaged
before democracy.
In schools :
• Endemic to rural areas including overcrowding, poor school
infrastructure (including collapsing ceilings and broken
windows), high student to teacher ratio, long walk to get to
school and lastly, the lack of teaching and learning resources.
On your Left Side:
• What challenges or
problems facing South
Africa today is the political
cartoon addressing?
• Explain.
Building the New South Africa
• After the 1994 elections, South Africa faced the
challenge of integrating the former White, Colored,
Indian, and African departments of government.
• Provinces that included former homelands had the
added burden of integrating those departments as
well.
• The Province of the Eastern Cape, with two
homelands, integrated 6 separate departments into
one unified Department of Education
Status of Education in SA
• The most recent government report:
– # of overcrowded schools has fallen from 51%
(1999) to 42% (2006)
– School electrification has risen from 11,174 (1996)
to 20,713 (2006)
– Schools without water has dropped from 8,823
(1996) to 3,152 (2006)
– Schools without on-site toilets dropped from
3,265 (1996) to 1,532 (2006)
Status of Education in SA
• Current areas of debate
– Mother-tongue instruction; when is English
introduced?
– Outcomes Based Education; how to be successful
when the tools needed are not available
– No-fee Schools; ensuring these schools are
centers of excellence
– Instituting Standards for School Principals;
setting qualifications and course work
Opening Education to All
• 1994 - universal access to single system of
education
• 1996 - Constitution extended compulsory
education to grades 1 – 9 (ages 6 – 15)
• 1999 Tirisanot Programme of Action focused
on improving the quality of secondary schools
Economic Equity in Education
• Fee-free schools
– Up to 40% of all schools in 2007
National Nutrition Program
• Feeds 1.6-million schoolchildren every day
• Nearly 2000 school gardens
with federal,
local and
NGO support
Ongoing Education Issues in South
Africa
• Violences in schools is increasing, Special
needs and problems resulting from the HIV/
AIDS pandemic, social problems such as
substance abuse.
• Non-governmental organisation are the main
providers of children’ social welfare services
and working along with the government.
ABOUT THE POET
Tatamkhulu Afrika (1920–2002) was
born in Egypt to a Turkish mother and an
Arab father, but was orphaned as an
infant and adopted by white South
Africans. His poetry and writing
conveyed his opposition to
apartheid.
CONTENT
This is an AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL poem
written in the FIRST PERSON about a
man’s journey to a district that
has changed in recent years. The area is
DISTRICT SIX which was an area ONLY
for WHITE people during apartheid.
CONTENT
The poem begins with the poet visiting
District Six after apartheid ended and
anybody, black or white is allowed to go
there. He describes how the area is
being redeveloped with
new houses and
fashionable restaurants.
CONTENT
HOWEVER, at the time the poem was
written many black people would not have
been able to afford to go there or were
not made to feel welcome. This makes
the poet ANGRY as he feels that it as if
apartheid is still in existence.
On your Left Side:
•Make notes about the
poem left side of your
Interactive Notes.
NOTHING’S CHANGED
The poet returns to the
wasteland that was once
his home, and
relives the anger he felt
when the area was first
destroyed.
He describes the area
as being neglected and
desolate
Small round hard stones click
under my heels,
seeding grasses thrust
bearded seeds into trouser cuffs, cans,
trodden on, crunch
Alliteration of
in tall, purple-flowering,
the ‘c’ sound
amiable weeds.
creates a harsh
Friendly
tone.
NOTHING’S CHANGED
Although
apartheid is
officially over
Afrika still
feels that there
are divides.
Repetition of
‘and’ 4 times
emphasises
the poets
rising
ANGER.
District Six.
No board says it is:
but my feet know,
and my hands,
and the skin about my bones,
and the soft labouring of my lungs,
and the hot, white, inwards turning
anger of my eyes.
NOTHING’S CHANGED
Here he describes a
high-class
fashionable restaurant.
‘Brash’ suggest
it is big and flashy.
Just beginning to
develop.
Despite
apartheid being
abolished it is
still a ‘whites
only’ restaurant
and even has a
guard to ensure
this.
Simile
Brash with glass,
Name flaring like a flag, ‘Squats’ is an
unattractive verb. It
it squats
suggests that it does
in the grass and weeds
not belong there.
Incipient Port Jackson trees:
New, up-market, haute cuisine,
guard at the gatepost,
whites only inn.
NOTHING’S CHANGED
No sign says it is:
but we know where we belong.
He is speaking
directly
to the reader.
There is no
official
segregation but
inequality still
exists in South
Africa.
NOTHING’S CHANGED
I press my nose
To the clear panes, know,
before I see them, there will be
crushed ice white glass,
linen falls,
the single rose.
Exquisite
images
emphasise
the splendour
of the
‘whites only
inn’
He is looking in
at the exclusive
‘whites only’
restaurant.
Assonance to
stress the
character’s
anger.
NOTHING’S CHANGED
Here we have
a
juxtaposition of
the lives of
white and black
people. White
people dine in a
beautiful
environment.
Whilst IN
CONTRAST
black people
dine in a basic
‘working man’s
café’.
Down the road,
working man’s café sells
bunny chows.
Take it with you, eat
it at a plastic table’s top,
wipe your fingers on your jeans,
spit a little on the floor:
it’s in the bone.
The café
where black
people dine.
‘Bunny chow’ is a
South African
colloquialism
meaning low-quality
fast food.
NOTHING’S CHANGED
‘Boy’ in South Africa
is an insulting
name for a black
male.
‘Nothing’s
Changed’ – The
poem’s ending is
the same as its
title showing
the cyclical
nature of
segregation.
He feels it will
continue despite
the end of
apartheid.
I back from the glass,
boy again,
Leaving small mean O
of small, mean mouth.
Hands burn
for a stone, a bomb,
to shiver down the glass.
Nothing’s changed.
Repetition
Metaphor
showing that he
is ANGRY and
wants to take
revenge!
Social injustice still remained.
Largely confined to poorlypaid manual jobs, black
people formed an economic
underclass.
POETIC TECHNIQUES
1. CONTRAST – between the luxurious
setting of the smart restaurant and the
cheap café.
2. SYMBOLISM – District Six (the most
famous community from which black and mixedrace citizens were evicted) represents
apartheid.
POETIC TECHNIQUES
3. ALLITERATION - the harsh ‘c’
sound, e.g. ‘into trouser cuffs, cans’,
expresses the poet’s ANGER
4. ANGRY DICTION – expresses how
the poet is feeling e.g. ‘anger of my eyes’,
‘mean mouth’, ‘a bomb to shiver down the
glass’.
POETIC TECHNIQUES
5. ONOMATOPOEIA – e.g. ‘click’,
‘crunch’, ‘spit’. These words help us to
follow the man on his journey through the
district, literally and metaphorically.
STRUCTURE
• The poem is written in 6 stanzas of 8
lines each. This regularity illustrates
that the poet is in control of his
emotions and feelings, rather than flying
into a rage.
STRUCTURE
• Each stanza has sentences of varying
length, some with only 2 words:
E.g. ‘District Six.’
• The short sentences convey his
bitterness and anger at the unjust
situation.
MAIN THEMES IN THE POEM
• Cultural Identity
• ANGER at discrimination and racial
prejudice.
• Frustration caused by unfairness in
society.
• Alienation and feeling excluded, ‘….we
know where we belong.’