The apartheid was run by national party government that sought to control south africa. After the election of 1948, many new restrictions were put into place. There were many signs that prohibited black Africans from usin things such as public restrooms and benches and so forth. Interracial contact was also prohibited to the point where sexual relations with another race was a criminal offense. Black south Africans were also required to carry identity documents to prevent their migration into "white" south Africa.
Not all black south Africans just rolled over and accepted the apartheids. A political group called the African national congress often opposed the apartheid. First the A.N.C had violent protests that didn't really help their cause at all. The white south Africans merely used their overwhelming force to beat and brutalize the protesters, often killing them. The A.N.C were considered terrorists and arrested on sight if spotted. Then after the sharpsville massacre the A.N.C decided to use non violent protests to make there point. This approach got them much farther in their efforts against the apartheids. The leader of the A.N.C, Nelson Mandela was imprisoned and wasn't released for 27 years.
In 1990 negotiations to end the apartheid started. The A.NC. was at the forefront of the negotiations fighting for black south African rights. The negotiations continued for 3 long years with other organizations joining the mix, striving to make the negotiations fair for all parties involved. A interim constitution was eventually ratified, marking the start of a new south African government. As time went on the A.NC. got stronger and eventually had a member of their party elected president of south Africa. That member was Nelson Mandela. His term in office started to help south Africa forget about the apartheid.
I could never relate to anyone that lived in the south African apartheid. I have never gone through anything as hard and depressing as that. Losing your rights is not something many people today could survive, but these people did it for 40 plus years. It really puts life in perspective for you to read about black south African's trials during this devastating period of time.
Not all black south Africans just rolled over and accepted the apartheids. A political group called the African national congress often opposed the apartheid. First the A.N.C had violent protests that didn't really help their cause at all. The white south Africans merely used their overwhelming force to beat and brutalize the protesters, often killing them. The A.N.C were considered terrorists and arrested on sight if spotted. Then after the sharpsville massacre the A.N.C decided to use non violent protests to make there point. This approach got them much farther in their efforts against the apartheids. The leader of the A.N.C, Nelson Mandela was imprisoned and wasn't released for 27 years.
In 1990 negotiations to end the apartheid started. The A.NC. was at the forefront of the negotiations fighting for black south African rights. The negotiations continued for 3 long years with other organizations joining the mix, striving to make the negotiations fair for all parties involved. A interim constitution was eventually ratified, marking the start of a new south African government. As time went on the A.NC. got stronger and eventually had a member of their party elected president of south Africa. That member was Nelson Mandela. His term in office started to help south Africa forget about the apartheid.
I could never relate to anyone that lived in the south African apartheid. I have never gone through anything as hard and depressing as that. Losing your rights is not something many people today could survive, but these people did it for 40 plus years. It really puts life in perspective for you to read about black south African's trials during this devastating period of time.
11 comments:
I also did not know what an apartheid was until Mrs. Garbers class. I could not believe that the apartheid lasted 42 years. i also do not think that it was right for african americans to carry papers around with them at all times. i am glad that the apartheid finally ended in south africa.
Triple B!
Wow your blog was fine. i didn't know apartheid lasted for 42 years. I learned something new just from reading your blog. I also didn't know that Nelson Mandela was in prison and wasn't release for 27 years. Your blog is teaching the readers something new. I like how you included improtant facts in your blog..
your blog was very interesting husband. like you I never knew about the Apartheid until g-money told us about it. We often learn about the civil war and think that was bad but africa had it way worse. 42 years is a long time to have to wake up to violence in your neighborhood. To be segrated and all. Most of our generation gets upset when one racial incident occurs which is very unlikely. It is so hard to imagine waking up to something rude everyday!
Hey I enjoyed reading your blog. It was great. It had some good points and details in it. I like how you talked about the apartheid and what happened with it. I learned something new by reading your blog. It was really cool. Well done!
Your blog was very informative. Though we're in the same class i actually learned a little more from your blog then waht we learned in class. I like that you wrote that the negotiations with the A.N.C. took 3 years, because previously I didn't know that. Overall it was a good way to some up what we learned in class and to add some things that you knew on your own.
Hey B
Your blog was very informational. I liked how you talked about Apartheid and the length of it. I also liked how you talked about Nelson Mandela and how he went to jail. I couldn't imagine being in South Africa during that time. Great Blog!!!
Nicely done; you write very well. I learned so much about South Africa because of Mrs. Garber's captivating lessons. Today, a lot of people in the U.S. don't even know that Africa is a continent, not a country. As Americans, we all live fairly privilleged lives compared to those who still suffer from the Apartheid that occurred in South Africa. Reading your post definitely made me more appreciative of all the valuable people and things in life, including the great Nelson Mandela. He's like 90 years old now but still strong. :)
Your blog taught me a lot about the apartheid and the ANC. I didn't know its exact definition, and you explained it really well. It seems to me this whole thing in South Africa was one huge mess. Imagine what might've happened if the US helped out. Still, I think having it last 42 years is a great example of thinking about making conflict or radically changing something. Fighting for four decades is not the way to solve a problem. Nice job!
okay i never knew what apartied was since ms. garber kept saying in class until i found out that apartied was like slavery and south africa had reconstrctuion just like we did but it took us a while to get use to it but apartied lasted 42 years??!! wow i never knew something like that could last that long and cause alot of problems after it ended too.
This was a very good blog about Apartheid. This was helpful for me, because I did not know that Nelson Mandela was the leader of the ANC. This essay helped me to understand to be thankful, for the civil rights that I have today because. This type of situation were some certain people, are restricted from rights happens today all over the world. For example recently in Iraq, the Iraqi government sent a message to the Iraqi Christians. It said for the Christians to get out of this country or, they will be persecuted by Radical Islamic supporters; instead of giving them the right to worship Jesus Christ.
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