Anti-apartheid

Apartheid was the political and social system in South Africa that existed from 1948 – 1994. You can find here material that looks at the UK campaigns against that system. that

• Ticket to the inauguration of Nelson Mandela

In Afrikaans, Apartheid means distantiation the process of creating distance an apt name for a system that was based on racial difference. Under this system, the population was divided into three broad racial groups, White, Coloured and Black with Whites receiving preferential treatment and Coloured occupying a kind of middle class between Whites and Blacks. Each group was forced to live separately from each other and contact was carefully controlled. The group areas act 1950 established residential and business areas for each racial group and prohibited other races for other racial groups from living, operating businesses or owning land in that area. This meant that only those classified as white could live, own shops and other property in white areas – though blacks and coloured could work in those areas with special passes.  The segregation affected not only where you could live but where you went to school and who you could socialise with and even marry.

To dispense these riles there were a range of tests that were used to help classify people as one race or another the most infamous of which was the pencil test.

This  “test” was a method of assessing whether a person had Afro-textured hair. A pencil is pushed through a person’s hair. How easily it comes out determines whether the person has “passed” or “failed” the test. One was deemed to have passed if the pencil could be removed easily if not you failed and were classified as Black and forced to live in a black area. It was not uncommon for families to be split up depending on the results of the pencil test.

Initially, Britain was not overtly critical of South Africa and the apartheid system and maintained diplomatic and trade relations with South Africa. However, as the 20^th Century progressed this progressively changed as the British public became more vocal in their opposition to apartheid. This collective voice eventually led to change in Britains relationship with South Africa leading to effective economic sanctions as shops stopped stocking South African products, sporting and diplomatic sanctions that made South Africa an international pariah.  Leading the charge for this change was the Black British Community chief among them Bernie Grant who campaigned tirelessly against apartheid.