Racial Discrimination - Essay Example

Few countries have experienced as persistent and as institutionalized and formal a system of ethnic and racial stratification as has South Africa. Loosely divided into Blacks and Whites, with the former comprising approximately 90% of the population, assimilation such as which would lead to national unity and the subsequent negation of racism was offset by the institutionalization of racism. The Whites, non-native to the country and comprised of the earlier Dutch immigrants, Afrikaners and the later English ones, had, not only come to the country as colonizers but had, quite effectively, laid their absolute claim over the country through the assumption of control over its political and economic institutions and, in the process, denied the presence of the native population.

South Africa's native population, comprising at least 75% of the country's inhabitants, were denied a political and economic presence in the country A system of ethnic stratification had, in essence, relegated them to the status of non-beings, to the extent that they were deprived of any and all conceivable basic human rights within their own country. They were no simply regarded as inferior but defined by the law as such. Within the context of the stated, the very notion of penetrating through the racial divide, of combating racism and of creating a society/nation founded upon the acknowledgement of the equal claim of all citizens to basic human rights, let alone equality per se, was a virtual impossibility.

Indeed, the attainment of the stated was predicated on dismantling the apartheid system which had, not only institutionalized racism but which had effectively de-legitimized racial equality.As is amply clear from the foregoing, South Africa was founded upon a racist political and economic system. The White minority dominated over the majority and domination reached the extent of the dehumanization of 75% of the population. The remaining 15%, classified as nonwhites and comprised of the racially mixed Coloreds, Asians and Africans of various tribal origins, stood mid-way between the two.

That does not mean to imply that that they were granted rights which, by any stretch of the imagination, were comparable to those enjoyed by the Whites but that they were not as dehumanized and as marginalized as were the Blacks.Even though the Apartheid system was dismantled in the 1990s due to the efforts of Nelson Mandela, later elected the country's first black leader, the fact remains racism still prevails. It prevails because of its long history in South Africa and s sustained by the fact that the Whites and the Blacks remain unequal insofar as socio-economic and educational status is concerned.

Within the context of vast inequalities, assimilation remains a distant goal.Although Canada is as arguably a two-nation country as is South Africa, it is not a divided nation. South Africa's divisions are determined by race and Canada's by national and linguistic roots. The implication here is that the French and the English Canadians are not regarded as separate and unequal but different. While a case may be made for the fact that this hardly allows for assimilation and ultimately leaves Canada vulnerable to divisiveness, an equally strong case may be made for the fact that Canada's ethnic stratification is not predicated on this particular