Apartheid In Music Essay

In the 1960s, many of the colonial nations of Africa were gaining independence. The ANC was encouraged and campaigned for democracy in South Africa. They were mild campaigns at first, but as the government became more hostile, so did ANC protests. In November 1961, a military branch of the party was organized with Mandela as its head. It authorized the limited use of arms and sabotage against the government, which got the government’s attention—and its anger! Mandela went into hiding in 1964, he was captured, tried, and sentenced to life imprisonment. It was a sad day for black South Africa.

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

The use of the term global apartheid has been on the rise when referring to the existing social, political and economic inequality on the global scale. It is based on the merging of concepts and practices from South-African apartheid alongside globalization. In this paper, we will consider the appropriateness of such term and whether it truly encompasses all aspects of global inequality. We will consider South-African apartheid along with its associated focus on race as well as globalization along with its associated focus on class and nationality. We will examine how these concepts encompass the statist, racialised, classist new world order.

Throughout the film Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony, black South Africans began converting their historical roots in music into a fight for freedom. As these oppressed individuals struggled for racial equality during the twentieth century, music classified as freedom songs emerged as the fight against the inhumane Apartheid intensified. These freedom songs, which are performed and played throughout the film, protest white supremacy and segregation using a combination of inspiring and punishing lyrics to ignite a flame in the hearts of the persecuted. Black South Africans found a way to rally together, fight, and survive the National Party’s attempt at complete segregation through music.

The avowal that the apartheid ‘vision for democracy’ necessitated state terror and repression is evident when examining the South African apartheid system between 1960 -1994. The system of apartheid spiked significant internal resistance, hence, the ideology for apartheid stems from the creation of a white state surrounded by economically interdependent and politically dependent black states, which required state terror and repression to ensure mounting resistance and international condemnation did not abolish the apartheid system. The government responded to a series of popular uprisings and protests with police brutality, which increased support for armed resistance. Detentions were set without trial, torture, censorship and the outlawing of political oppositional organizations such as The African National Congress, the Black Conscious Movement, the Azanian Peoples Organisation, The Pan Africanist Congress and the United Democratic Front, were all a result of the apartheid government due to political resistance.

Musicians of all genres have spoken up against the racial inequality that is happening in America and throughout the world. These are the voices that have lived and witnessed injustice based solely on their race and skin color. As a result, musicians have deep emotional ties that have affected the lyrics and tones that artists take on in hopes to send a message. This musical revolution is nothing new, it has been around since the beginning of racial oppression as a means of optimism, but now, music can help spread the message of racial oppression. This message is spread in hopes that the views and opinions of society are altered and that future generations learn from mistakes of the

The film, Amandla! A Revolution in Four-Part Harmony, showed how during the Apartheid, music in South Africa was a form of expression of the country’s general emotion that portrayed the oppression and struggle the black natives had to endure. Songs amongst the black South African community had different tones; for example, some songs depicted the injustices of the Apartheid amongst the black natives and others would be sung to uplift the people. Even though songs were sung as either beautiful melodies of hope and prayer or peaceful protests, they would still continue to upset the white community, specifically the government, which ordinarily resulted in violence. Music was applied throughout many aspects of black South African traditions and customs that it also played an important role of being a form of communication to alleviate the injustices brought upon them. In the beginning of the film, activist Sifiso Ntuli stated, “Song is something that we communicated with people who otherwise would not have understood where we were coming from. You could give them a long political speech and they would still not understand, but I tell you, when you finish that song people be like I know where you guys are coming from. Death unto Apartheid.” (Hirsch 2002). This statement emphasizes how powerful and pivotal music was to the salvation of the black South African community and how it enlightened those who were

Paul Simon broke the cultural boycott by bringing two cultures together through a collaborative process. He diminished the binary of “us” and “them” by creating music beyond cultural boundaries. When he created the album, he “didn't want it to be just an African album”. By doing so, Simon not only brought awareness to African culture, but conveyed how the unification of two separate cultures can create something beautiful. In his songs he included lyrics, which mixed African and English words. The hegemony of South Africa wanted to control what was spoken to control power. However, this amalgamation undermined the discourse on apartheid as those who were able

The paper discusses how Marley’s music changed society by mainstreaming the ideas of black resistance, social justice, racial equality, and anti-colonialism to the baby-boom generation and generations endlessly onward. The paper will outline the historical background of reggae as well as the social cause to which it became attached by the work of Marley. The paper submits that reggae, ultimately, became the chief means of expressing the angst and dislocation felt by many within the African Diaspora. Finally, the paper will offer a critical analysis of one of Marley’s works, “I Shot the Sheriff”, and will explain why this signature work is a classic instance of reggae speaking out against injustice and the prevailing power structure.

One large problem that occurred because of apartheid and was the cause of many protests was from 1961-1994, 3.5 million colored people and their families were forced out of their homes while their property was sold for very low prices to white farmers. This was just one example of events that were completely unfair to the colored population. Nelson Mandela was the person who stopped these acts from happening. In 1994, Mandela became the country’s first colored president. Instead of trying to make the people who put him into jail for 27 years suffer in consequences, he embraced them and used peace to unite everyone as equals, and not oppressing the people who had oppressed him for most of his life. Apartheid was a very rough time for anyone who lived in South Africa before Nelson Mandela and his peace helped to stop it.

Imagine being systematically oppressed from the moment you exited the womb. All your civil rights, based on the amount of melanin in your skin. Drinking from the wrong water fountain, could even get you thrown into jail. Coincidently; this was the life, of black South Africans from the moment of Dutch colonization in 1652, to the first true democratic election in 1994. Apartheid, meaning “separateness” in Afrikaans; was legal segregation enforced by The National Party (NP) from 1948 to 1994. It legally imposed preexisting policies of racial discrimination on the Majority of the South African population. The entire basis of the racist policies, was the darker your complexion the less legal rights you had. Presumably this injustice, could have continued much longer if it weren’t for all involved in the fight against the NP, however the man who arguably contributed the most, was Nelson Mandela. He ended an apartheid, with both his philanthropy and political prowess. He united a nation that used to be segregated; which seemed a daunting task at the time, but through the sweat and bloodshed he achieved the impossible. This alone exhibited his heroic characteristics, but to be more precise: both his actions and inactions lead to his success. Furthermore, Mandela was both a strong leader and forgiving at the same-time. Being in the forefront of the abolishment movement, was an extremely risky move during the apartheid. He risked his life for what he believed in, and this personal

The 1980s in South African history was a period of great resistance from the African population. This was the period where the Vervoedian regime that had existed during the peak of Apartheid, was finally breaking down. This essay will be focusing on the black youth resistance in the 1980s in South Africa. It will illustrate that the black youth, during this period, was both a liberation force and a destructive force as it depended on what side one was looking from. The State and a few township residents viewed them mainly as a destructive force but the organizations such as the ANC and other residents of the townships, viewed them as a strong liberation force. The essay will begin by giving a brief account of some of the reasons for the

South Africa, after experiencing the apartheid, is trying their best to overcome the apartheid. Now, the country even has its own leader. He is Jacob Zuma. It is already his second term as a president.( News, B. (2016, August 5)) The country went over a lot of things, and the history of democratic political system is not very long for them.

The 1981 Springbok tour, and more significantly the public disturbances that arose because of it, is one of the most impactful events on New Zealand, and even South African society. The controversial idea of having sporting interactions with apartheid ruled South Africa was not new to New Zealand politics, yet with Prime Minister Robert Muldoon in charge, the situation was escalated to astonishing heights. The violence all around New Zealand, between police, protesters and anti-protestors was immense. The impact that the 1981 “riots” had on New Zealand was not limited to the obvious sting of having such violence in the country, but spread to affect politics, economics, police reform, courts and more.

Apartheid was strongly enforced by minorities over the years but the Apartheid Museum (2003) states it was met with non-violent resistance until the early 1960’s. In 1949 the African National Congress was led by youths and they began advocating to stand up to white authority using mass campaigns. In 1950 they held a series of strikes and boycotts termed the Programme of Action. In 1959 a group of African National Congress members formed the Pan Africanist Congress which organized a demonstration on March 21, 1960 in Sharpeville where 69 people were killed by police in what is now called the Sharpeville massacre. In the 1970’s some students started the Black Consciousness Movement which supported the black pride and African customs that apartheid tried to destroy. Labor unions joined the