The Purple Rain Protest - Essay Example

? The Purple Rain Protest The Purple Rain Protest Apartheid regime had deprived Africans and Asians their freedom in South Africa. The Boers had established a minority regime and controlled the economy and social activities in the country. African leaders such as Nelson Mandela created African National Congress, a political party that was soon banned by the government. The leaders were imprisoned, and religious leaders such as Desmond Tutu took over the leadership of African protests. These protests started off as defiance for apartheid laws, but advanced to mass movements of civil disobedience (Bhorat and Kanbur, 78). The Purple Rain Protest was the most remarkable protest that occurred on September 1989 in Cape Town. The protest is important in sociology since it aimed at eliminating social injustices implemented by the Boers. The protest was also socially stratified in that the protesters came from a low social class while the leaders such as Tutu came from a middle social class. White supporters in the protest were not actively involved in a bid to conserve their social class. Academically, the protest changes the governance system that created the political democracy in South Africa. The protest also involved iconic heroes such as Mandela and Tutu, who were instrumental in fighting apartheid. The paper will be covering the period between 1988 and 1994. The British and Dutch had colonized the country in the seventeenth century. Britain dominated the country and the Dutch were forced to establish new colonies of Transvaal and Orange Free State. After the country became independent from Britain, the Boers began sharing power with the Africans (Bond, 126). In the 1940s, the Afrikaner National party gained a strong majority, and the Boers officially began ruling the country. The National Party started apartheid as a means of implementing control over the economic and social system. This involved racial segregation to maintain white domination. In 1950, the registration act classified South Africans into blacks (Africans), whites, and colored (Indians and Asians) (Bond, 130). The Bantu Authorities Act if 1951 established ethnic governments in the African reserves called homelands. The conflict between Boers and Africans can be justified using the conflict theory introduced by Karl Marx. According to Marx, members of the society are constantly in conflict since the ruling class exploits and dominates the working class. The ruling class dominates the society by inflicting their values upon the low class (Kornblum and Smith, 8). According to Marx, social intercourse is reduced to economic origins and economic pursuits lead to class divisions. The Boers had oppressed Africans in order to gain control of the economy (Kornblum and Smith, 10). On the other hand, Durkheim considers the economy as one of the factors that make up the society (Kornblum and Smith, 14). The economy is responsible for the superstructure existing in the society as experienced during apartheid. Weber argues that religious ideologies can influence the economic and social structures. The economic superstructure is based on religion according to Weber’s theory (Kornblum and Smith, 17). During apartheid, religion was instrumental in uniting Africans who held protests and defied apartheid laws. Religious leaders organized and led these protests, which led to changes in the social structure that gave Africans freedom of movement and a share of economic activities. The purple rain protest of 1989 was held to pressurize the government to stop apartheid. The protest was organized by influential African leaders such as Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu (Henrard, 120). They were the leaders of African National Congress, a political party fighting the apartheid government. ANC had started as a violent group, but embraced civil disobedience due to armed repression from the police. The protest occurred four days before the apartheid parliament held elections. The protesters were against detention without trial, death sentence, and racial segregation by the Boers. This protest aimed at urging the government to decline racial segregation and abolish the laws confining Africans to the homelands. Africans were also subjected unequal employment opportunities, and they provided cheap manual labor (Henrard, 126). The government had also participated in brutality and assassinations such as the murder of Steve Biko. The End Conscription Campaign and United Democratic Front were banned in 1988. The ECC was operating as a banned organization and held meetings with various political parties such as ANC. The meetings involved the free people such as Desmond Tutu and prisoners such as Mandela. The planning of the event took place in several starting points such as the University of Cape Town (Bhorat and Kanbur, 90). The leaders of these groups wanted to resist the banning orders and the apartheid laws. These organizations were community based and suffered setbacks due to state repression. This made it difficult for the leaders to mobilize large numbers, but they had deep public support. The launch of Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) increased the number of organizations resisting apartheid laws. After its launch, COSATU embarked on factory-based and national political campaigns. COSATU, UDF and affiliated groups organized several demonstrations for miners and workers demanding higher wages. These activities inspired community activists, who successfully campaigned against October 1988 local elections (Bhorat and Kanbur, 96). The elections recorded a turnout of less than 10 percent of eligible voters. These protests culminated on September 1988 in the Purple March. The group that led the protest (Mass Democratic Movement) was a new movement formed after the ban of COSATU, UDF, and their affiliates. MDM was a new banner under which the leaders of UDF and other organizations operated (Sonneborn, 130). This group initially aimed at disobeying apartheid laws, but it transformed to a mass movement for peoples power. Religious leaders were also in the forefront for organizing protests after the government outlawed political parties and mass demonstrations. The MDM organized the Purple Rain protest alongside religious leaders. Protestors were led by individuals involved with mobilizing residents under ECC, ANC, and UDF, operating under MDM. The democratic movement launched the campaign that opened the gates for anti-apartheid mobilization (Sonneborn, 133). The Purple Protest became the focal point of the defiance campaign and the colorful state intervention that sprayed purple dye. These activities proved the inability of the government to stop the march to freedom. MDM had a hierarchical organizational system where decisions were made by leaders on top of the hierarchy and communicated to protestors at the base. Leaders such as Tutu, Mandela, Ivey, and Tambo organized the protest and other activities for MDM. Free leaders were responsible for mobilizing Africans and students for mass action. The Purple Rain Protest drew most of its members from the poor and middle class black and colored citizens. There were few white supporters, but they did not participate in the march. MDM had solicited support from international journalists who had entered the country under the permission of covering the national elections (Tames, 98). Blacks were mostly poor since they were confined in the homelands and the whites controlled the economy including the gold and diamond mines. Employed Africans provided labor in industries with poor wages. These were the first targets for COSATU protests, and they were easily drawn to MDM. Young students were also involved in the protest due to activities by ECC targeting university students. The group was led by students from Cape Town University, who were among the protesters (Tames, 102). The party members used several tactics such as seeking membership of university students, holding secret meeting with ANC leaders in exile, combining efforts with religious leaders, and holding small protests in the homelands (Dooling, 148). ANC leaders were imprisoned or exiled when the party was banned by the government. Leaders of MDM and ECC held secret meetings with leaders in exile and students at the university. MDM also led small protests against the Boers, which helped the movement gain public support. Religious leaders had the responsibility of garnering support from their congregation. The South African Council of Churches (SACC) was a major reinforcing factor in reviving mass resistance (Dooling, 149). The government could not ban SACC since it was not a political party. Church leaders helped fill the leadership void left after political parties were banned and led protests such as the march to parliament by 150 priests. COSATU led demonstrations for industrial and port workers in Cape Town. Thousands of workers participated in COSATU demonstrations, which were the largest protests witnessed in Cape Town. These tactics made it easy to organize and seek support for the Purple Rain Protest. Thousands of citizens turned out for the protest, and religious leaders had provided St. Georges church as the starting point. Leaders of MDM and UDF had resulted to civil disobedience instead of violence. Initially, ANC had resulted to violent actions that involved a military wing created by Mandela and other ANC leaders (Christopher, 2306). Violent actions faced stiff forceful suppression by the national government and led to the death of innocent civilians. ANC resulted to peaceful demonstrations before it was banned and its leaders imprisoned or exiled (Christopher, 2307). UDF used civil disobedience as a tactic for defying apartheid laws with minimum civilian casualties. The tactic also attracted support from religious leaders who were against violence. There were few cases of civilian casualties reported during the Purple Rain protest and subsequent protests. The general public was also willing to participate in peaceful protests due to minimum police brutality, and peaceful demonstrations were later legalized. Another tactic used by the organizers was seeking international support. ECC and MDM leaders left South Africa for countries such as Liberia and England to seek support against the Dutch. They received donations to fund their protests (Louise, 5). These travels were important for seeking support for exiled leaders in Liberia and England. Young leaders in the movement also went abroad to receive further education and returned to occupy top leadership spots in the political front. This was important since the elite participated in international forums that convinced western countries to impose sanctions on South Africa. Educated leaders would also represent ANC in international meetings in the absence of leaders like Mandela. MDM leaders had also sought support from international media and over 180 journalists had entered the country under the excuse of covering the national elections. The journalists were supposed to cover the protest and report to the intercontinental community. This was a stipulation of the strategy of seeking support against the Boers from European countries. This tactic failed to materialize after the police arrested more than 50 international journalists. The protest was also cut short by the police and the crowd dispersed (Louise, 9). This made it difficult to acquire television and print media photos, but the journalists published stories about the activities of MDM against the Boers. The protest occurred on 2 September 1989 along Adderley Street at the heart of Cape Town. The Purple March emerged from a defiance campaign initiated in 1989 (Pfister, 200). The government had enforced a state of emergency from the mid-1980s. Hundreds of colleges were shut and thousands of kids and adults were detained without trial. This led to several protests in cities, beaches, and universities. Police officers used violence to suppress these protests that led to the death of several adults and school children. Security officers patrolled the townships, spied on opposition groups, and imposed order at any cost. In March 1989, a rebellious crusade was launched by the Mass Democratic Movement against apartheid laws (Pfister, 201). This campaign was set to culminate on September 5, the eve of the whites-only elections. This movement was declared illegal by the government and banned. In August, activists unbanned themselves together with the United Democratic Front. Thousands of Africans defied the “whites only” signs and rules and reclaimed shorelines such as Blouberg and Strand for all Africans. On September 2, thousands of South Africans met in different halls in Cape Town and launched a three-pronged march to parliament. One group started the march from Methodist Church Hall in Burg Street, and they were blocked by the police. The government deployed anti-riot policemen to quell the violence. The police lobbed teargas canisters and used excessive force towards the protestors. They were given 10 minutes to disperse, but the crowd sat on the road (Bond, 180). Six minutes later, a jet of purple dye shot from a water canon marking them for easy identification and arrest later. The purple dye made it easy for the police to identify protesters long after the crowd had dispersed. Many of those who escaped found refuge at St. George’s Hall, which was later surrounded by several police trucks and cars (Bond, 180). Archbishop Desmond Tutu negotiated with the police, and they decided to leave on condition the protesters would leave the hall in small groups peacefully. As the people dispersed, one protester climbed onto the police vehicle and directed the canon onto the police. The purple dye splashed across the white-colored walls of the National Party’s headquarters. This made the people adopt the slogan “the purple shall govern” and they painted several graffiti across the city bearing the slogan. Other protesters sought refuge in shops and hairdressing salons. The police managed to arrest over 500 protestors and over 50 local and international journalists (Bond, 184). The government created three special courts that processed the detainees overnight for sentencing. Some of the protesters were released without any explanation after being charged by the special courts. The attorney general gave orders for the release of the Purple Rain protesters. The purple march instigated a string of other marches across the country. On September 14, 2000 protesters staged a march in Grahamstown (Downing, 202). Thousands of Johannesburg residents conducted a march within the city on September 18. Durban also experienced thousands of protesters marching in the city on September 22. On September 27, about 30,000 protesters staged a march in East London. The Kimberly protest involved 7,500 protesters who walked peacefully within the city. Twenty thousand people marched on September 29 in East Cape. Fifty thousand people staged a protest on October 1 near Bloemfontein. The biggest march in South African history occurred on October 11, 1989 in Uintenhage (Downing, 204). These protests aimed at increasing pressure on the government to end apartheid. On the election day of 6 September 1989, more than 20 people were killed in a protest in Cape Town. Archbishop Desmond Tutu called for a wider protest march that gathered wide support from the locals, businesses, and white opposition parties (Henrard, 160). The march started at St George’s Cathedral and proceeded along Adderley Street up to the Grand Parade. This procession was similar to the purple match, only that the protesters did not encounter police resistance. The September 13 march was the first peaceful march after the Purple Rain protest. The protest was organized by religious leaders and white politicians such as the mayor of Cape Town (Henrard, 162). Thousands of Indians, Africans, Dutch, and mixed race people turned out for the protest. The mayor had managed to convince the national government to allow the protest and grant them an official permission. The permission followed the election of F.W. de Klerk as president during the September 6 elections. De Klerk opposed security establishment and decided that the march would not be broken up by force. Klerk was against a violent confrontation and negative publicity similar to that experienced during the purple rain (Sonneborn, 147). The protesters matched without any police presence, and it became the first successful peaceful protest in Cape Town. De Klerk feared a revolution similar to the Velvet Revolution in Eastern Europe and capitulated to demands from the anti-apartheid movement. This led to concessions that ushered the transition to democracy. White politicians and local leaders opposed to the National Party supported the protestors and participated in protests following the Purple Rain Protest. The police stopped dispersing peaceful demonstrations forcefully and ceased enforcing the ban against peaceful marches as stated in the State of Emergency law (Sonneborn, 149). This led to several other marches in the country instigated by religious leaders. Religious, ECC, and MDM leaders aimed at presenting a petition to parliament that would urge the government to ban apartheid and legalize political parties. Protestors would match along Adderley Street leading to parliament where they would present the petition to the president. The petition was to urge the government to put an end to apartheid and grant Africans full rights (Tames, 105). However, the group did not accomplish this aim due to police intervention. Several police officers had been deployed to the scene long before the protest began. The government had learnt about the planned protest and deployed several units of anti-riot police officers. The police interrupted the match immediately the protesters left St. Georges hall. Hundreds of protesters were arrested, and others managed to escape into shops and salons. This marked the end of the protest and the leaders were unable to present their petition to the president. Another aim was to seek international support by televising the protest and reporting to the international media. The leaders were to accomplish this by inviting several international journalists (Tames, 209). They did not achieve this aim due to police intervention and the arrest of several journalists. The event was underrepresented in the media, and there were few photographs taken. However, the protestors achieved this following the media coverage and editorial articles published both in the local and international media. International and local journalists wrote articles and interviewed the leaders, which enlightened the international community. This increased pressure on the government to loosen the apartheid laws and stop police brutality. The international community led by countries such as Britain increased pressure on the government to stop apartheid and legalize African political parties (Dooling, 151). The government stopped harassing protesters, and there were several peaceful demonstrations that followed the purple rain protest. The protesters achieved the main aim of stopping police repression and granting Africans some of their rights. This was evident in the peaceful protests that followed and the president resolved to discussions with African leaders. Muslims, Christians, and Hindus in Cape Town united and held demonstrations and celebrated each others’ holidays (Christopher, 2310). These protests led to the release of Nelson Mandela on February 11 1990. The government lifted the ban on ANC and the pan African Congress and freed all political leaders. The state of emergency was lifted, and Africans in the homelands were given the freedom of movement. They were no longer required to carry passports as they travelled from the homelands to the cities. Mandela and de Klerk had held several secret negotiation meetings before the government lifted the ban on political parties and ended the state of emergency. The government had finally bowed to pressure from the countrywide mass protests. These activities led to the establishment of democracy in the country. The previous government had been established through a minority vote that involved about 2 million whites. More than 25 million blacks and colored South Africans were deprived the right to vote (Louise, 15). The collapse of apartheid ushered in democracy and freedom of movement to Africans and colored people. They were given the freedom to participate in economic activities such as establishing businesses. Previously, the economy was controlled by whites and Africans could only provide cheap labor. De Klerk was the last president under the apartheid regime and witnessed the climax of defiance resistance. Religious leaders achieved their main aim of liberating the country and democracy was one of the results of the Purple Rain Protest. On 17 March 1992, two-thirds of white voters approved a negotiated end to apartheid and minority regime. This gave complete democracy and freedom to Africans and colored people in South Africa. Nelson Mandela was elected president in 1994 together with other former political prisoners. His landslide victory established the first African government. The elections were also the first free elections and involved the entire South African population (Pfister, 205). The democratization process provided access to restricted areas such as cities and white beaches. The control of the economy and political affairs was transferred to the majority through Mandela’s government. ANC dominated the government and public property and judicial system was transferred to a legitimate state. Public property and the economy were regulated by democratically approved laws. Africans and colored people were given more rights and gained access to social public places (Pfister, 207). City parks and beaches were officially opened to multiracial visitors. This opened the path for multiracial integration in public areas and residential places. Cape Town had been heavily affected by racial segregation following the establishment of white residential areas and social places. This segregation still exists up to today in the functional zones in the central business district, the harbor, industrial areas, and the residential suburbs. Residential areas have sprawling low-cost buildings for Africans and upper-class gated residents for whites. Africans and colored people have the freedom to occupy any part of the city, but the demarcation between the two races is still evident (Pfister, 207). The purple protest originated from ECC, COSATU and other organizations formed in 1988. The protest took place in 1989 and opened the floodgates for civil disobedience in the country. Several protests followed after the Purple Rain protest that forced the government to loosen the apartheid laws and inhuman practices such as the state of emergency. The effects of the demonstration led to the legalization of ANC and other political parties. The whites voted to end apartheid and grant Africans and Asians their rights. This paved way for the establishment of the democratic government of 1994. People from all races participated in the multiracial elections that placed Nelson Mandela at the presidency. This marked the onset of democracy in the country and the end of apartheid. The purple protest was successful since it inspired protestors who participated in subsequent protests that increased pressure on the government. The protest also attracted international attention and foreign countries imposed sanctions on the government as a way of promoting democracy. The democratic multiracial elections of 1994 climaxed success for the Purple Rain Protest. References Bhorat, H., & Kanbur, S. M. R. 2006. Poverty and policy in post-apartheid South Africa. Cape Town: HSRC. Bond, P. 2004. South Africa And Global Apartheid: Continental And International Policies And Politics: Address to the Nordiska Afrikainstitutet, Nordic Africa Days, Uppsala, Sweden 4 October 2003. Uppsala: Nordic Africa Institute. Christopher, A.J. 2005. The slow pace of desegregation in South African cities, 1996–2001. Urban studies 42(12), 2305–20. Dooling, W. 2005. The making of a colonial elite: property, family and landed stability in the Cape Colony, c.1750–1834. 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