Characteristics of Apartheid and Segregation of Black People - Essay Example

Characteristics of Apartheid Name Institution Date South Africa is located at the south of Africa. The country borders Indian Ocean and Atlantic Ocean. Continent-ward, the country borders Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Botswana. The country occupies 1,219,080 square kilometers (Mhlauli, Salani & Mokotedi, 2015). Its economy and infrastructure are some of the most developed in Africa. The country is divided into nine provinces and a total of eleven official languages are spoken. South Africa is popular throughout the world as the country that practiced racism despite being criticized by other countries and being isolated from participating in world affairs. Racism in South Africa is attributed to the expansion of European colonialism of Africa. The notion of the ones who practiced racism during Apartheid is similar to the notion the Europeans had when they colonized Africa – civilization of inferior natives (Worden, 1994). This notion finds its basis on the Darwinist notions of evolution and hierarchy. Based on this theory, Whites believe they occupy the top level in the evolutionary scale. Mhlauli, Salani & Mokotedi (2015) observe that systematized racial discrimination did not originate from the ascension of the Nationalist Party to power. Rather, it is a result of multiplicity of factors which are traceable to the pre-industrial period. These authors have likened this to the similar happenings in America, Asia, and Europe. These authors trace the start of apartheid to the days when the Dutch was colonizing South Africa starting 1652. They specifically associate the establishment of a fort at Table Bay with the start of problems for the people inhabiting that area at the time, including San and Khoi pastoralists, and Khoikhoi herders. These inhabitants were denied access to grazing land and water resources. This situation was immediately followed by the establishment of apartheid as a legalized system of racial discrimination under the influence of Afrikaner nationalism. Afrikaner nationalism represents the ideology that promoted Afrikaner supremacy and pride to respond to the invasion of Britain and the threat from black people who resisted subordination. According to Worden (1994), the rise of this ideology is the one of the factors that influenced the formation of apartheid as a legalized system of racial discrimination. This was further reinforced by the formation of the National Party which was designed to prioritize the rights of whites through depriving other racial groups both politically and economically (Zungu, 1977). Characteristics One of the most unique characteristics about Apartheid in South Africa is that, while it existed in a different historical period. In addition, it shared characteristics of earlier colonial rule elsewhere on the continent. The National Party implemented its strict racial segregationist practices that divided the population along racial lines and dictated every aspect of South Africans’ lives. This happened after World War II when policies by Adolf Hitler had shown the world the gruesome effects of discrimination and racism. Segregation of Black People Apartheid was meant to do more than just racially discriminate. One of the most dominant characteristics of apartheid was separation of black and white people in all areas, including the labor market, residency, and even the government. Perverse ways were deeply rooted within the social, economic, and political structure of this system. These acts were further reinforced by a series of laws which were passed to give strength to the policy of divide and rule. One of these laws prohibited mixed marriages. Others included the Group Areas Act (1950) and the Immorality Act (1950) which enabled the National Party to put a separation between black and white people (Rosenau, 1995). This was done on compulsory and comprehensive basis. Another law that characterized this system was the Reservation of Separate Amenities Act (1953) which placed a separation between whites and blacks in the use of public facilities such as hotels, cinema halls, sports facilities, and transport (Donaldson, 1969). In regard to education, the Bantu Education Act (1953) ensured that there was separation of educational institution and school curriculum based on race (Christie & Collins, 1982). This act also led to the abolition of missionary schools (Hartshorne, 1992). The use of mother tongue in school was considered to be myopic and one that could not enable capturing of many scientific concepts. It was also considered to lack the standard orthography. Through this approach, black children and their families were considered socially, politically, and economically inferior. Also, this approach enabled implementation and legitimization of oppression and economic disempowerment of black people. Therefore, it is clear that oppressive laws characterized apartheid and were meant for the subjugation and segregation of black people. Religion Religion also played a part in the segregation of the black people and intensification of apartheid. The nationalism of the Afrikaners was based on their language, religion, and culture (Moodie, 1975). The three factors were held strongly by Afrikaners because they marked the Afrikaner’s opposition against assimilation into the English. This religion represented an inheritance from other Afrikaners who had descended from Dutch republic (Hexham, 1981). According to Marx (1998), this may explain the reason why the Dutch Reformed Church was more prevalent. This religion is traceable to the arrival of the Dutch East India Company in 1652. There was a twin concept of National and Christian during apartheid and this served to impart to Africans the notions of racial inequalities and segregation. The reason behind this is that there was a depiction that Afrikaners were more civilized; therefore, should be guardians over ‘other’ ‘uncivilized’ people. They were also considered to be more ‘Christian’ than others. Religion was the factor that inculcated the spirit of superiority among the Afrikaners thus relegating blacks into inferior status (Moon, 2016). Therefore, religion played a critical role in the advancement of apartheid, particularly, segregation. Factors that brought Apartheid to an End In 1992, white South African voted to make the transition to full democracy. There are several factors that motivated the whites to willingly end apartheid which had persisted for 44 years. Observers in South Africa have made several suggestions as to why apartheid ended. While some attribute the end of apartheid to social protests, others have argued that domestic economic stagnation is the one that led to such a political readjustment (Schwartzman & Taylor, 1999). The vote was intended to show Prime Minister de Klerk of the National Party that he should extend political rights to blacks (Booth, 2013). In addition, it was aimed at ending the racial state. There was some liberalization that had been experienced prior to 1992 in the apartheid system. This happened after the legalization of parties such as ANC. Also, there had been repealing of certain acts, including the Lands Act and the Group Areas Act. In addition, an end was put on various color restrictions in most industries. As early as 1981, the whites had started realizing that apartheid was not only hurting the welfare of blacks but their welfare too. Based on opinion polls conducted from 1981 to 1992, there was revelation of general pessimism. For example, 1n 1981, a significant number of whites (47 percent) felt that there would be an increase in unemployment. In another opinion poll conducted in 1984, more than 52 percent of whites felt that the world was increasingly becoming a worse place for them to live in. By 1990, only a small population of whites (21 percent) felt that their lives were improving compared to the way they have been in the past. In the same opinion poll, a significant number (46 percent) of whites felt that their lives were worse off. All these facts may have pushed the whites to pull the plug on apartheid. Apartheid had made people have declined feelings of well-being. This was as a result of government actions which had even made South Africa be sanctioned by the international community. The National Party suffered both anti-apartheid protests and economic sanctions. The reason behind this argument is that the leaders of the National Party had made attempts to push for economic reforms without alterations in the essence of apartheid. In 1985, foreign banks refused to grant South Africa loans (Klotz, 1999). This prompted the government to scrap the pass laws and grant property rights to black people. Even the business leaders had started feeling the pinch of sanctions that were imposed against South Africa. Some of them, including Henri de Villers who was at that time the Standard Bank’s chairman argued that the country needed the world and should scrap some of the laws that were motivating the world to impose sanctions on South Africa (Perez, 2003). Such concerns were wide-ranging and they may have contributed to pushing the leaders of the National Party to reconsider their stand. The economic crisis that was witnessed opened the cracks in the white power bloc as business leaders continued pushing for reforms in the country, Within the National Party, there were those who wanted apartheid to end and on the other side, there were others who wanted apartheid to be reinforced. This led to a drop in the number of seats that the National Party acquired after the 1984 elections. That represented the lowest number of seats that has ever been won by the Nationalist Party being an indication of loss of popularity. The total percentage of the seats held by the National Party was 68 percent (Schwartzman & Taylor, 1999). This did not mark the end of woes for the National Party which continued losing popularity even among the whites. In the 1989 elections, the seats won by the National Party further dropped to 56 percent. This shows that people had recognized the connection between apartheid and the economic hardships they were experiencing. The regime had already lost legitimacy and its collapse was looming. The withdrawal of support by the whites significantly led to the collapse of apartheid. This is an indication that people will pledge their allegiance to any political party as long as that party guarantees them that it will maintain social and economic order. Apartheid system had proved to its people that it was unable to find solutions to the problems that they were experiencing. Furthermore, as indicated throughout the paper, the National Party was unable to ensure that its policies were effective. If a government proves to its people that it cannot be able to solve these problems, it ends up losing power leading to power vacuum and eventually to the transfer of power. In addition to the loss of legitimacy, discrimination also played a part in the collapse of apartheid. First, discrimination led to labor misallocations and output loss. According to Wright (1986), the process of industrialization is very hostile to racial categorization as well as to discrimination. This represents one of the theories that explain the downfall of apartheid system. First, this theory explains that racial segregation prevents national labor markets from emerging thus putting a brake on economic development. Poor education of blacks led to a reduction in the availability of skilled labor. Skilled labor was dominantly the monopoly of white workers. This unavailability led to inadequate supply of skilled labor and increased labor costs in the manufacturing sector. At the beginning, inadequate supply of labor was not intended by the National Party when it was establishing and maintaining the apartheid system. To address this problem, the National Party had attempted to import white workers and train them. However, the Soweto uprising hampered every effort to import workers. These factors together with foreign economic sanctions led to the fall of the apartheid system. Bantu education motivated blacks to start conducting organized resistance. Black resistance not only deterred the activities of the Nationalist Party but it also posed significant threat to the Nationalist Party and its government. Resistance of its activities persisted until the party died out in the 1990s. Black people living in urban areas and working in the mining industry continued protesting against acts of oppression and segregation. These people strongly resisted the apartheid system and its restrictive laws. Leaders of the Pan African Congress and African National Congress continued organizing resistance which was in form of labor strikes, work boycotts, and civil disobedience. In 1955, the Freedom Charter was drafted and was composed of a collection of demands and grievances which later formed the foundation of subsequent opposition under the African National Congress. The Role of Music in Ending Apartheid Although considered as a minor factor that contributed to ending apartheid, music contributed to the transition from apartheid to majority rule. In apartheid South Africa, music not only represented common experiences but acted as a force that confronted the state. It contributed to actively constructing an alternative social and political reality. In his work, The Republic, Plato (1998) observed that music is danger to the whole state to an extent that it should be prohibited because when its modes change, the fundamental laws of the state follow suit. In these works, Plato further argued that music carries meaning that reaches the depths of political sphere. South Africa is the best example of a state that was partly transformed by music. Some of the musical items that contributed towards a similar course include Peter Gabriel’s Biko, Little Steven’s Sun City, and Mandela Concerts which were organized at the Wembley Stadium in London in 1988 and 1990. As discussed in the previous sections, most blacks lacked literacy and economic means as a result of segregation that was aggravated by the apartheid system. To overcome this weakness, blacks made oral communication their strong point and used it to pass the message that could not be communicated any other way. Sometimes such music is dubbed as ‘resistance music’ or ‘protest songs’. However, these songs play a role that is different from the term given to them. Musicians during apartheid used politically subversive statements and other hidden meanings to pass their message – a message that they did were not in support of what was happening. Although passed in form of music, the message passed by these songs was similar to the one voiced by bank managers and other influential leaders discussed in this paper. Just as political systems change with time and according to the prevailing condition, so do songs and music change. During the 1950s, music that was dominant is the one that spoke about issues affecting musicians and the general population. However, during apartheid, music started being incorporated with politically subversive meanings. Songs that were produced during this time were designed to undermine apartheid. This music was very challenging to the state, particularly the National Party. There was determination among different musicians to raise their views through music. Starting 1970s, musicians in South Africa started incorporating hidden meanings in their songs. Songs and music were particularly used by students during Soweto uprisings which started in 1976. Songs by these students were undeniably political, and particularly designed for the political struggle. In general, these songs were meant as an attack on state. However, the more the musicians challenged the government, the more the government attacked them. One of the musicians who openly attacked the state through his songs was Roger Lucey who used his lyrics to directly confront the government. His music directly attacked the head of state as well as made reference to the Special Branch elite (Erasmus, 2004). This song made him receive an attacked from the secret police who ruined his career. He was arrested for suspected robbery and arson and later thrown from a building. While some attributed his death to suicide, others argued that he was killed by police. However, this did not deter other musicians from producing song that highlighted the problems facing the people. Songs continued being produced until apartheid ended. Conclusion Apartheid was one of the worst things that could happen to a nation and its people. As indicated earlier, apartheid was meant to do more than just racially discriminate. One of the most dominant characteristics of apartheid was separation of black and white people in all areas, including the labor market, residency, and even the government. Perverse ways were deeply rooted within the social, economic, and political structure of this system. As discussed throughout the paper, there are many things that characterized apartheid, including racism, segregation, discrimination along racial lines, and oppression. One of the characteristics of apartheid that have dominated this paper was the separation of black and white people in all areas, including the labor market, residency, and even the government. Perverse ways were deeply rooted within the social, economic, and political structure of this system. These acts were further reinforced by a series of laws which were passed to give strength to the policy of divide and rule. One of these laws prohibited mixed marriages. In addition, religion has also been discussed as the other factor that motivated the segregation of black people. Under religion, Afrikaners were depicted as more civilized; therefore, they were considered to be guardians over ‘other’ ‘uncivilized’ people. They were also considered to be more ‘Christian’ than others. Religion was the factor that inculcated the spirit of superiority among the Afrikaners thus relegating blacks into inferior status. Therefore, religion played a critical role in the advancement of apartheid, particularly, segregation. In conclusion, the paper has discussed different factors that brought apartheid to an end. One of the most significant factors that led to the collapse of apartheid was the withdrawal of support by the whites. Withdrawal of support by the whites, in addition to economic crisis made it very difficult for the National Party. The economic crisis that was witnessed opened the cracks in the white power bloc as business leaders continued pushing for reforms in the country, Within the National Party, there were those who wanted apartheid to end and on the other side, there were others who wanted apartheid to be reinforced. This divide within the party contributed immensely to the collapse of apartheid. As has been indicated in the paper, music also partly contributed to the collapse of apartheid. Musicians during apartheid used politically subversive statements and other hidden meanings to pass their message – a message that they did were not in support of what was happening. Although passed in form of music, the message passed by these songs was similar to the one voiced by other people in opposition of apartheid. References Booth, D. (2003). Hitting apartheid for six? 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