Afrikaner Nationalism

As a result of the government-mandated segregation, resistance in both the United States and South Africa escalated. In other words, the history of the African civil rights movement taught: “Nationalism has been tested in the people’s struggles . . . and found to be the only antidote against foreign rule and modern imperialism” (Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom 2008, 156). By comparing and contrasting the Jim Crow Laws and apartheid, we are able convey that nationalism ultimately lead to activism and reform.

As a result of racial segregation in both the United States and South Africa, the coloured people’s resistance escalated. In truth, this time of division strengthened nationalism – their weapon that “[transformed their] common suffering into hope for the future” (Mandela, Notes to the Future 2012, 84). Moreover, the American Jim Crow Laws and South African apartheid led to discrimination, activism, reform and most importantly reconciliation.

In the 1930’s it was rare for a black South African to attend college. But Mandela not only attended, he graduated, got a degree from law school, and set up a practice in Johannesburg which he hoped could support his small family. Yet apartheid was always a humiliation to him. When the Afrikaner, or Dutch South African, Nationalists came to power in the 1948 election, the segregation habits of the past three hundred years became law. Hoping for a brighter future, Mandela joined the African National Congress (ANC) and became its first Youth Leader.

Mandela once said, “A man who takes away another man’s freedom is a prisoner of hatred, he is locked behind the bars of prejudice and narrow-mindedness.” (Page 32). This quote is an accurate description of all the people who supported the apartheid in South Africa starting when the National Party was elected in 1948. Knowing why this happened and what brought the apartheid to an end is vital to not making the same detrimental mistake again. Apartheid came to an end because of internal unrest, external pressure, and great leaders.

Thesis Statement: Apartheid may have been a horrible era in South African history, but only so because the whites were forced to take action against the outrageous and threatening deeds of the blacks in order to sustain their power.

The Apartheid was initiated as a ploy for Europeans to better control the exploited populations for economic gain, as maintaining tension between the different racial classifications diverted attention from the Europeans as it fed hatred between groups. This assisted in minimizing unity between the exploited to rally against European control as it backhandedly induced “submission” for survival. One way of accomplishing this was by instilling laws that’d force segregation, classification, educational “requirements”, and economic purposes. The Population Registration Act of 1950 enacted, requiring segregation of Europeans from Afrikaans . Following shortly, the Group Areas Act of 1950 was enacted as a new form of legislation alongside the Population Registration Act. This detailed act separated tribes based on ethnics; consequently, further detailing segregation amongst the natives .

As a result of racial segregation, resistance from coloured people in both the United States and South Africa escalated. Furthermore, the history of the African civil rights movement validated: “Nationalism has been tested in the people’s struggles . . . and [proved to be] the only antidote against foreign rule and modern imperialism” (Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom 2008, 156) . By comparing and contrasting the American Jim Crow Laws and South African apartheid, we have evidence that both nations’ constitutions led to discrimination, activism, reform and reconciliation.

Beginning early in the 1970s and extending into the ‘80s, students, laborers and ordinary citizens became more involved in the struggle against Apartheid. High school students began protesting the segregated system more vigorously, and many ended up dead at the hands of National Party police forces in the June uprising of 1976. The late 70’s and 80’s saw the rise in dissidence amongst ordinary South Africans towards the Apartheid laws. After the student uprising of 1976, the ranks of MK were augmented considerably, leading to resurgence in anti-Apartheid activities and ushered in the first reforms to the Apartheid since its

“In their seminal study, Lipset and Rokkan (1967) explained how ideological and partisan divisions sprang from the social cleavages in the nation” (Russell. J. Delton.) An example is the 1966 formation of the Black Panther Party in the United States. It aimed to represent black interests, and its main objectives were full employment for black people, and securing “overdue debt of

Many nationalists viewed foreigners and members of minority groups as inferior. Such beliefs helped nations justify their conquest of other lands and the poor treatment of minorities within their borders. Nationalism was a chief cause of World War I, and it grew even stronger after that war.

The national party achieved power in South Africa in 1948 the government, usually comprised on “white people”, and racially segregated the country by a policy under the Apartheid legislation system. With this new policy in place the black South African people were forced to live segregated from the white people and use separate public facilities. There were many attempts to overthrow the Apartheid regime, it persisted to control for almost 50 years.

Many of the contemporary issues in South Africa can easily be associated with the apartheid laws which devastated the country. The people of South Africa struggle day by day to reverse “the most cruel, yet well-crafted,” horrific tactic “of social engineering.” The concept behind apartheid emerged in 1948 when the nationalist party took over government, and the all-white government enforced “racial segregation under a system of legislation” . The central issues stem from 50 years of apartheid include poverty, income inequality, land ownership rates and many other long term affects that still plague the brunt of the South African population while the small white minority still enjoy much of the wealth, most of the land and opportunities

I have always thought that Nelson Mandela has been one of the most important people in history. I find it very fascinating that one man could end the Apartheid and that is why I want to find out more about this. South Africa is a country with a past of enforced racism and separation of its multi-racial community. The White Europeans invaded South Africa and started a political system known as 'Apartheid' (meaning 'apartness'). This system severely restricted the rights and lifestyle of the non-White inhabitants of the country forcing them to live separately from the White Europeans. I have chosen to investigate how the Apartheid affected people’s lives, and also how and why the Apartheid system rose and fell in South Africa.

Oppression is at the root of many of the most serious, enduring conflicts in the world today. Racial and religious conflicts; conflicts between dictatorial governments and their citizens; the battle between the sexes; conflicts between management and labor; and conflicts between heterosexuals and homosexuals all stem, in whole or in part, to oppression. It’s similar to an article in south africa that people have with racial segregation between black and white . Many people need to know that indiviual have their own rights in laws and freedom . Everyone should have an equal rights and better community . A black person would be of or accepted as a member of an African tribe or race, and a colored person is one that is not black or white. The Department of Home Affairs (a government bureau) was responsible for the classification of the citizenry. Non-compliance with the race laws were dealt with harshly. All blacks were required to carry ``pass books ' ' containing fingerprints, photo and information on access to non-black areas. The apartheid in South Africa which was in effect from 1948 until 1994 was not only a racist policy which greatly affected the quality of life of minorities in the country for the worse but was a outright crime against humanity. It include with civil right that violence verses non-violence that the government could or

The Afrikaners formed a separate linguistic and cultural identity that included a set of religious beliefs that shaped their worldview. These developments not only separated Afrikaners from native Africans ethnically, but also provided a template from which nationalist beliefs were based. This connection between the cultural identity of Afrikaners and their nationalist ideology is found in the events that occurred shortly after Great Britain annexed South Africa. Afrikaners believed that the British would undermine the culture that had developed among Afrikaners by supporting the mixing of Afrikaner and native cultures. In response to this threat to their ethnic identity, Afrikaners created numerous political parties that advocated both a separate culture and country for Afrikaners. Drawing upon the reformed theology of Afrikaners, political organizations such as the Afrikaner Broederbond claimed that, “…God intended for each nation to develop separately…moreover, God had specifically created the Afrikaner nation as His chosen people to fulfill a divine destiny in southern Africa” (Beck, 2000, p. 111). Using a religious belief from the Afrikaner culture, political parties were able build a nationalism that promoted the segregationist agenda that would later be used for justifying Apartheid. So, Apartheid was not racist institution, it was merely a product of the nationalist belief that the Afrikaner people had the right to develop as a