Homelands in South AfricaDuring Apartheid

Segregated HomelandsBeginning in the 196Os,South Africa'sqovemment forced more than 4 millionblacks to move to segregated home-lands. The government claimed themove was to give blacks self-rule. Butfor the most part, the lands were barren.

Soweto: A Black TownshipSoweto is the largest black townshipin South Africa. It is located nearJohannesburg, the country's mostimportant city. Today housing inSoweto ranges from shacks tomansions. During apartheid, thetownship was a center of protest.

23.3 South Africa During ApartheidSouth Africa's colonial period ended in 1910. which was the year thatthe Union of South Africa became an independent country. The newcountry's constitution awarded whites complete control over the nationalgovernment.

Apartheid Makes Segregation an Official Policy Segregation becamea way of life throughout South Africa after independence. Then, in 1948,the ruling white!".took this practice a step further by making apartheid anofficial government policy.

Under the new apartheid laws, South Africans were classified byrace. Whites and nonwhites were kept separate from one another. Theylived in segregated neighborhoods. The)' went to different schools, hos-pitals, movie theaters. and restaurants. They were separated on trainsand buses. Signs appeared on public beaches and in parks announcing"For White Persons Only."

Apartheid Treats Each Ethnic Group Oifferently Under the policy ofapartheid, whites in South Africa lived well. They had the best schools,the best jobs, the best health care, and the best living conditions. TIleyran the government and the economy.

Asians and coloreds were treated as second-class citizens. They didnot have the same job opportunities as whites, and their schools wereinferior to those of whites. Their political rights were limited as well.

No ethnic group in South Africa, however. was treated as poorly asblacks. Many black families wen; forced to move to poor rural areas thatwere called homelands. There were few jobs or resources in these areas.Schools in the homelands were very poor, and there was little access tohealth care.

Blacks were not allowed to move freely throughout the country.They could leave their homelands to work in distant cities. However,blacks who worked in the cities were forced to live in townships thatconsisted of slums located just outside the cities. A typical townshiphome was a shack that lacked running water and electricity. During theday. black workers went to their jobs in the "white" cities, and at nightthey had to return to the townships.

23.4 Protests Lead to Political ChangeLong before apartheid became an official government policy, blacks hadformed groups to protest unfair treatment by whites. The most importantgroup, the African National Congress (A.'JC). was established in 1912."The white people of this country have formed what is known as theUnion of South Africa." said one of the group's founders. "a union inwhich we have no voice in the making of the laws." It would take theAKC decades of protest to gain that voice for blacks.

The Fight Against Apartheid The African National Congress led thestrUggle against apartheid. In 1952, the organization began its "Campaignfor the Defiance of Unjust Laws." An A:-.IC lawyer named Nelson Mandelatook charge of this tight to end apartheid laws, In 19(')2, Mandela wasjailed for his protest activities, and he would remain in prison for thenext 27 years.

The struggle continued. at times turning deadly. The worst violencebegan in the township of Soweto on a June morning in 1976, whenJO,OOOstudents gathered for a protest march against apartheid. Whenthe police tried to break up the crowd. some of the students threw rocksin response. The police reacted by opening fire on the protesters. Bythe end of the day, 172 protesters lay dead. The protests quickly spreadto other townships. Nearly 600 people had died by the time the demon-strations were finally crushed.

Some whites. coloreds. and Asians in South Africa joined the struggle.People around the world protested as well. Many countries refused totrade with South Africa until it ended apartheid. Mandela became theworld's most famous prisoner, and the United Nations formally called forhis release from jail.

Apartheid Ends and Blacks Gain Political Power In 19R9, anAfrikaner named F W. de Klcrk became the president of South Africa.In the past, de Klerk had supported segregation, but later he decided thatSouth Africa would never be at peace until apartheid was abolished.He quickly freed Mandela and other political prisoners. By 1991, SouthAfrica's apartheid laws had been ended.

In 1993. de Klerk and Mandela were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,an award given each year to those who have done the most to bring peaceto the world. These two South Africans were honored for their work toend apartheid.

~. A year later, all South Africans could both vote and run for political• office. As a result, the distribution of political power in the country shifted.r The A:"IC became South Africa's most powerful political party, and theI>t party's leader, Nelson Mandela, was elected as the country's first blackr president.I Under Mandela's leadership. South Africa established the Truth and

Reconciliation Commission. Reconciliation means the ending of conflictbetween groups. This commission investigated many unjust acts that hadtaken place under apartheid. South Africans saw this as a necessary steptoward healing the wounds left hy those acts. As Bishop Desmond Tutu,the head of the commission, explained, "You cannot forgive what you donot know."

Waiting to VoteThese people are waiting to vote SouthAfnca's 1994 election. This event wasthe first lime people of all colors couldvote tor their national leaders. Somenew voters walked for miles and stoodIn line for hours to cast their first ballot.

VoterTumout in South Africa

1989

Colored,31%(1 7 mrlhon]

Asian. 12%(0.7 million)

1999White, 13%(2.1 million)

Colored. 8%(13 million)

ASian, 3%(0.6 million)

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Changes in VotingThese graphs show who voted duringand after apartheid. In 1989, whitesmade up more than half of all voters.This gave them control of the qovern-ment. By 1999, all South Africans werevoting. With this change, politicalpower shifted to black South Africans.

Unemployed South Africans1987

White. 2%

Colored. 13%

Asian. 3%

2001

Colored. 27%

Asian. 17%

~ s,..,,~""" 0.. JO'!l9' J<;J(I. Offi"ulr<drtot>t>t 0/,Iv R,f't'b1i( 0/ S<>whII/ncd., 1~1It <J • '-In. n""'a. orInl"""' ...... 19'1IJ I'II:J '. ··w.lc&htl<:· ..,. ....'*" "'1Out of WorkSouth Africa has suffered from yearsof slow economic growth. This hascaused a rise in unemployment, orjoblessness. These circle graphsshow unemployment by ethnicgroups during and after apartheid.What changes do you see?

Poverty Comes in All ColorsThis white family is part of SouthAfrica's growing number of peopleliving in poverty. Some South Africans,both white and nonwhite, have donevery well since the end of apartheid.But the Door seem worse off than ever.

23.5 South Africa Today: Job OpportunitiesIn 200t. for the first timc ever, blacks took home more than half of allthe income that was earned hy South Africans. Before then. whites hadalways earned the majority of the money. Yet this fact does not tell thewhole story of the distribution of wealth within the country. A~ you know.there are far more blacks than whites in South Africa, which means thatblacks still earned far Jess per capita than white s.

Government Programs Open Up Job Opportunities Duringapartheid. whites received the best jobs, and they also earned the mostmoney. When apartheid ended. the ANC-Ied government took steps tochange the distribution of job opportunities. One step was to help blacksstart businesses, By 2010. the government wants 25 percent of businessesin the country to be headed by blacks,

In 1998. the government also passed the Employment Equity Act.which opens joh opportunities to all South Africans. This law identifiesgroups that have been unfairly denied jobs in the past. including blacks.coloreds, Asians, women, and the disabled. The act requires businessesto hire people from these groups when filling jobs and also to pay allworkers fairly.

The Employment Equity Act has opened to all groups jobs that wcreonce limited to whites. At the same time. the law has caused resentmentamong white job seekers. who argue that it is unfair to deny them jobsjust because they are white.

Slow Economic Growth Hurts All Ethnic Groups Despite thesechanges. many South Africans still lack jobs. One reason for this hasbeen the slow growth of the economy. Not enough jobs arc being createdeach year to hire everyone who wants to work. In 2005. four out of I()job seekers could not find work. Some of these job seekers were whites.but blacks, coloreds. and Asians arc still more likely to be out of workthan white South Africans.

Slow economic growth has also led to an increase in poverty. Hy theyear 2005, half of all South Africans did not make enough money to takecare of their basic needs. Many of the poorest people were struggling justto survive.

23.6 South Africa Today: EducationAny students attending a public school in South Africa today will learnnot only to read and to write but also to do math and science. However,this was not always the casco During apartheid, there were separate schoolsfor each ethnic group. Students who were attending a black school werenot taught much about science or math. This lack of education was notaccidental. The government knew that people with math and scienceskills would be able to get higher-paying jobs. By not teaching thoseskills to blacks. the government ensured that South Africa had a supplyof cheap labor.

The Link Between Education and Opportunity In general, the moreyears of school that a person has completed, the more money he or shewill make as an adult. In South Africa, more than half of the adults withno education arc poor, while only 5 percent of South Africans who havegone to college are poor.

During apartheid. nonwhites had limited educational opportunities.Their schools were poorly buill, and their teachers were undertraincd andnot well paid. Although children were supposed to attend school fromthe ages of 7 to 16, this requirement was not enforced. In fact. more than10 million nonwhite adults never went to high school, and over 4 millionreceived no schooling at all.

Schools Are Now Open to All Ethnic Groups The end of apartheidbrought important changes to the educational system. The amount of moneythe government spends on schools has risen sharply. Also, students of allethnic groups now attend the same public schools.

Schools in South Africa today are teaching the skills that all studentswill need to get good jobs, with a strong focus on science and math.Students of all ethnic groups are being strongly encouraged to remain inschool. As a result, the percentage of students who finish high school hasrisen in every ethnic group.

The number of nonwhites going 10 college has increased as well.This increase has occurred in spite of the fact that total college enrollmenthas declined because of slow economic growth. As more and more non-white children recci ve college educations. their opportunities for goodjobs will improve.

Education for AllUnder apartheid, schools weresegregated by ethnic group. Todaysuch segregation is illegal. Thesechildren attend Saxonwold PrimarySchool. It was the first all-whitepublic school to open its doors toall children as apartheid ended.

High School Graduatesin South Africa--_._--_--_ .._--.

Staying in SchoolMore South Africans than ever arefinishing high school. This graph showsthe percentage of each ethnic groupthat graduated from high school in 1991and 2001. For blacks and coloreds, thepercentages more than doubled.

South African Householdswith Electricitv

.1996• 1001

100%

I ...I ~ 80%,.e..I ...

I iii: 60%,::cI:I i'40%i1:..lui ~20%10.

Power to HomesAs this graph shows, housing condi-tions are improving in South Africa. By2001 t more than 60 percent of blackshad electricity in their homes. Manyblacks, however, still live in shacks onthe edges of cities.

342 Chapter23

23.7 South Africa Today: Living ConditionsUnder the policy of apartheid, most whites in South Africa lived well.They owned nice homes in the cities. In contrast with houses in the blacktownships. these houses had electricity and running water. and manyhad swimming pools. Today most South African whites still have thosecomforts. However, they also have something they did not have duringapartheid: neighbors who are not white. A few nonwhites now live in thenice neighborhoods of South African cities.

Cities Are Becoming Less Segregated During apartheid, many SouthAfrican cities were "whites only." Blacks were allowed to work in thesecities during the day. but they had to leave at night. After apartheid, how-ever, people could live wherever they could afford to buy housing. Someformerly "whites only" cities have become racially mixed as nonwhiteshave moved in.

Most nonwhites, though, cannot afford to live in nice city neighbor-hoods. Instead. the poor often settle in slums around the cities. typicallyliving in homes constructed from scrap metal or wood. Even today, fewof these houses have running water or electricity. Often these slum areasbecome a breeding ground for crime.

Housing Conditions Are Improving South Africa's constitution guar-antees decent housing to all of the country's citizens. In the first decadefollowing the end of apartheid, the government provided approximately1.6 million homes to poor South Africans. Efforts to create more housingfor the poor are continuing .

The government is also working to improve urban slums. Streetshave been paved in some poor areas. and water systems have beenconstructed to provide safe water. Streetlamps have been installed tohelp combat crime. The government is starting to replace shacks withimproved housing. It is also beginning to build schools. police stations.and health clinics in poor neighborhoods.

Health Care Remains limited In addition to improving housing,the government must face the challenge of providing better health care.During apartheid. most doctors and hospitals were located in "white"cities, and people Jiving in rural areas had a difficult time finding healthcare. Although the cities are no longer segregated, 9 out of 10 doctors inSouth Africa still work in urhan areas.

Today South Africa is making a strong effort to bring health care toall citizens. By 2005, the government had built more than 500 healthclinics in rural areas. Meanwhile, new doctors arc being asked to workfor a year in a rural clinic in order to help reduce the shortage of doctorsoutside cities. Pregnant women and children under six are entitled to frcchealth care.

The need for health care has risen sharply as a result of the spreadof HIV/AIDS throughout South Africa. The human immunodeficiencyvirus (HIV) attacks the body's ability to fight disease. Acquired immunedeficiency syndrome (AIDS) is the medical condition that results froman HIV infection. Victims of AIDS slowly grow weak and lose weightEventually. most will die. There is no cure for the disease. but treatmentcan help people infected with the virus to live longer.

'..,(. ".' .~ .:__ ,_

South Africa has the highest number of people living with HIV/AIDSin the world. Hy 2003. about 5 million South Africans had become victimsof this disease. Around ~70,000 died from HIV IAIDS in that one yearalone. TI1C loss of so many people presents a huge challenge to SouthAfrica's hope for a better future.

23.8 Beginning to Think GloballyIn this chapter, you learned about life in South Africa before, during. andafter apartheid. You saw how segregation divided a multiracial society.You learned how the distribution of power and resources in the societychanged over time, and you read about some of the challenges that faceSouth Africa today.

One of those challenges is the continued spread of HIV/A[()S. Whenthis disease first appeared in humans. no one knew how the virus wasspread. Today we know that the virus is found in the blood and otherbody fluids. The virus is passed through the transfer of 1'11000 or otherbody fluids from person to person. It can also be passed from mother tochild during pregnancy and hirth.

South Africa is not the only country facing the challenge of HIV/AIDS.The disease has become a global health threat. In 2004, about 40 millionpeople worldwide were living with HIV/AIDS. During that one yearalone. about 5 million people were newly infected with the virus, andapproximately 3 million people died from the disease. Think about this

Mobile Health CareThis mobile clinic brings health careto people living outside South Africancities. Despite government efforts,heatth care remains poor in manyareas. Because of the country's highrate ot HIV infection,life expectancyin 2005 was just over 43 years.

23.9 Global ConnectionsThis map shows the percentages ofadults who have been infected withthe mY/AIDS virus in various areasworldwide. Note the areas with nocolor. These are the places where noone has collected information onHlY/AIDS. People there mayor maynot he free of the disease.

Why hasAfrica been more affectedby HIV/AIDS than other regions?Scientists think the disease may havebegun in Africa in the 19505. whichmeans the virus has been infectingpeople in this region for longer thanin other parts of the world. Poverty hasalso contributed [0 the spread of thedisease in Africa because poor countrieslack money for education programs thatmight slow the spread of the virus.

What factors have contributed tothe global spread of HIVIAIDS?Unlike many diseases. AIDS developsslowly. The virus that causes the diseasecan hide in the body for years withoutthe person knowing it. As a result, vic-tims can transmit the infection withoutknowing they have it. Improved trans-portation is also a factor. as peopletoday travel easily from country tocountry. As they do so, they transportthe disease with them.

How might HIVIAIDS hurt thecountries that are most severelyaffected? Most victims of the diseasearc working-age adults. The loss ofthese adults hurts a country in manyways. As people sicken and die. theyleave the workforce. This can hurt acountry's economy. They also leavechildren behind. Caring for manyorphans is a burden for a poor country.If too many working. age people dic, acountry may be left with a populationconsisting of thc very old and veryyoung.

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