Apartheid And Segregation Essay

Throughout American history, mankind has had a tendency to betray itself and put up barriers, subjectively separating themselves into “good” and ‘bad”. The need to classify others into an inferior category, whether by gender, race, sexual orientation, or even religion, has been prominent in society since the beginning of time. Two of the most known occurrences of exclusion have been apartheid in South Africa and segregation in America. In both instances, white people have tried to limit African Americans. Each case has had a significant effect on history and has led to different freedom movements around the world. Apartheid, the Afrikaans word for apartness, was a systemic segregation that “disenfranchised the black South African majority and subjected them to officially mandated inequalities in education, employment, legal status, and police protection,” (Austin 450). In 1948, South Africa passed the policy that forced this …show more content…
The African National Congress led the fight against non-white oppression through nonviolent protests. Events such as strikes and boycotts became known as the “Defiance Campaign”, a way for the youth of South Africa to express their disdain for the actions being taken against colored members of the community. The fact that it was a majority population being affected explains the amount of support that existed for anti-apartheid movements.
Unlike many other discriminatory events in history, apartheid was an instance where the majority of a nation was being oppressed. Colored members of the community ranged from strong political leaders to common people. Not only was the apartheid movement met with strong resistance within the country, but there was also international pressure. Nations around the word supported the anti-apartheid movement by boycotting South African goods and inciting a renaissance of music and art in support for equality and