Below: A photograph of black living conditions Below: 2 different stairways, 1 for europeans, 1 for other Below: a girl standing outside in front of rubble in a ghetto
The Africans present during apartheid had a very hard life; forced to leave the only home they knew, given almost no money at all, and living in very poor conditions. However, this did not stop them from acting out and fighting for what they thought was right. At first, Africans protested; they wanted a “Unified National Organization” to represent their thoughts and interests and at the time no one wanted to act maliciously, they simply pleaded for equal rights, but those protests did not succeed.
Before World War Two, there was a large amount of unsatisfied Africans and their anger was portrayed through protests, strikes, and labor union activities. The “African National Congress” (ANC) was established and it claimed that the apartheid’s beliefs were beginning to show that the intention of the government was to enslave black South Africans permanently. The ANC was not created to harm people, they used boycotts, strikes, and civil disobedience to get their points across. In 1824, J.B.M Hertzog was elected prime minister and he believed in complete segregation including territorial, economic, political, and educational.
For work, blacks were cheap, they were paid almost 5 times less than a white person and soon white farmers and business owners became dependent on the cheap labor. Also, in order to work they had to have special work permits renewed every year, but with the money they earned, blacks were not even allowed to own their own home in the urban areas they lived in, known as ghettos; they had to rent very unsatisfactory houses. All blacks had to carry passbooks open to inspection by policemen or an agent of the government if asked.
In one of the black ghettos, known as Sharpeville, a crowd of 10,000 people were gathered in front of the police station protesting laws; feeling threatened, the police opened fire at the crowd killing 67 and leaving 187 wounded. The apartheid left marks like this on many towns; massacres of innocent people, brutal deaths in police custody, and a lying and deceiving government. The apartheid ignored human rights and the people running it were set out to stop anyone who may stand in their way. Nelson Mandela, leader of the ANC, was arrested for his protests and thrown in jail where he remained until the apartheid’s end.
After hundreds of years of protests, countries around the world began getting involved. First starting out small, boycotting and refusing to do business with South Africa, but when this did not work the began to pressure South Africa into changing their government and ending the apartheid system. South Africa began witnessing the fall of their country and faced becoming “ungovernable,” so the government was forced to look for a settlement; recognizing the demands of the blacks, and ending racial segregation.
In August, 1989, F.W. de Klerk was sworn president, a turning point for the end of racial segregation. In February of 1990, de Klerk removed the segregation system and in 1991 they became a democratic government. Nelson Mandela was released from jail after 27 years and elected president.
Before World War Two, there was a large amount of unsatisfied Africans and their anger was portrayed through protests, strikes, and labor union activities. The “African National Congress” (ANC) was established and it claimed that the apartheid’s beliefs were beginning to show that the intention of the government was to enslave black South Africans permanently. The ANC was not created to harm people, they used boycotts, strikes, and civil disobedience to get their points across. In 1824, J.B.M Hertzog was elected prime minister and he believed in complete segregation including territorial, economic, political, and educational.
For work, blacks were cheap, they were paid almost 5 times less than a white person and soon white farmers and business owners became dependent on the cheap labor. Also, in order to work they had to have special work permits renewed every year, but with the money they earned, blacks were not even allowed to own their own home in the urban areas they lived in, known as ghettos; they had to rent very unsatisfactory houses. All blacks had to carry passbooks open to inspection by policemen or an agent of the government if asked.
In one of the black ghettos, known as Sharpeville, a crowd of 10,000 people were gathered in front of the police station protesting laws; feeling threatened, the police opened fire at the crowd killing 67 and leaving 187 wounded. The apartheid left marks like this on many towns; massacres of innocent people, brutal deaths in police custody, and a lying and deceiving government. The apartheid ignored human rights and the people running it were set out to stop anyone who may stand in their way. Nelson Mandela, leader of the ANC, was arrested for his protests and thrown in jail where he remained until the apartheid’s end.
After hundreds of years of protests, countries around the world began getting involved. First starting out small, boycotting and refusing to do business with South Africa, but when this did not work the began to pressure South Africa into changing their government and ending the apartheid system. South Africa began witnessing the fall of their country and faced becoming “ungovernable,” so the government was forced to look for a settlement; recognizing the demands of the blacks, and ending racial segregation.
In August, 1989, F.W. de Klerk was sworn president, a turning point for the end of racial segregation. In February of 1990, de Klerk removed the segregation system and in 1991 they became a democratic government. Nelson Mandela was released from jail after 27 years and elected president.