The American civil rights movement and the apartheid movement in South Africa show similarities in their tensions with inequality regarding race but portray a difference in how the protestors went about changing these issues. The issues that related these two events are education and opportunity, which were big issues among the people but a main difference can be seen in how the protestors reacted in the two different countries. Kaffir Boy, a book that tells the story of Johannes later called Mark, an African American boy growing up during apartheid portrays these issues the links these two countries together during a time of discrimination. Education is a major issue that relates the civil rights movement and apartheid and this can be seen
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Protests were a big thing both in America during the civil rights movement and in South Africa during apartheid. However, the way in which protestors responded to the authority of police was different and it can be seen especially through different events in either country. In South Africa, on March 21st, 1960 police at Sharpeville shot into an unarmed crowd of 5,000 people injuring and wounding 200 and killing 69 people. However, the response among the protestors in South Africa can be seen through Kaffir Boy. In Kaffir Boy, Mark was having a conversation with his mother about the happenings at Sharpeville and Mark asked his mother: “Why didn’t the black people fight back?” Her response was: “Because everyone is afraid…Afraid of dying” (Mathabane 158). However, in America during the civil rights movement this idea of not fighting back with violence was not present. This is noted by the Birmingham Campaign, which was a peaceful protest in April of 1963 lead by Martin Luther King Jr. This campaign occurred for about a month and in that span of time on May 2nd schoolchildren were encouraged to participate in this peaceful protest of inequality. However, these kids were arrested but the jails were overflowing and on May 10th an agreement was met where there would be no separate restrooms, …show more content…
An interesting comparison can be made between these two countries on the idea of opportunity. These comparisons are seen through the life of Mark and the opportunity others provided for him to escape apartheid and the opportunity Martin Luther King Jr. provided for the African American people during the civil rights movement. In Kaffir Boy, Mark was given a tennis racket from a family that his grandmother worked as a gardener for and this was the first opportunity given to Mark. He took the tennis racket and would practice eventually leading him to meet his mentor Stan Smith. Stan Smith, a tennis player himself would eventually work with Mark in helping him to obtain a scholarship to an American college to play tennis. Stan allowed for Mark to receive scholarships from Princeton University from whom Mark received a letter: “It’s almost certain that if you decide to attend Princeton, the university will pay your tuition, room and board for the length of your stay as an undergraduate, beginning in the fall of 1979” (Mathabane, 341). Eventually, Mark received another offer from Limestone College in South Carolina: “I’m offering you a full tennis scholarship, which includes tuition, room and board and books” (Mathabane, 342). Here, there are many people that allowed Mark to escape apartheid and helped him along the way and this
Protests were a big thing both in America during the civil rights movement and in South Africa during apartheid. However, the way in which protestors responded to the authority of police was different and it can be seen especially through different events in either country. In South Africa, on March 21st, 1960 police at Sharpeville shot into an unarmed crowd of 5,000 people injuring and wounding 200 and killing 69 people. However, the response among the protestors in South Africa can be seen through Kaffir Boy. In Kaffir Boy, Mark was having a conversation with his mother about the happenings at Sharpeville and Mark asked his mother: “Why didn’t the black people fight back?” Her response was: “Because everyone is afraid…Afraid of dying” (Mathabane 158). However, in America during the civil rights movement this idea of not fighting back with violence was not present. This is noted by the Birmingham Campaign, which was a peaceful protest in April of 1963 lead by Martin Luther King Jr. This campaign occurred for about a month and in that span of time on May 2nd schoolchildren were encouraged to participate in this peaceful protest of inequality. However, these kids were arrested but the jails were overflowing and on May 10th an agreement was met where there would be no separate restrooms, …show more content…
An interesting comparison can be made between these two countries on the idea of opportunity. These comparisons are seen through the life of Mark and the opportunity others provided for him to escape apartheid and the opportunity Martin Luther King Jr. provided for the African American people during the civil rights movement. In Kaffir Boy, Mark was given a tennis racket from a family that his grandmother worked as a gardener for and this was the first opportunity given to Mark. He took the tennis racket and would practice eventually leading him to meet his mentor Stan Smith. Stan Smith, a tennis player himself would eventually work with Mark in helping him to obtain a scholarship to an American college to play tennis. Stan allowed for Mark to receive scholarships from Princeton University from whom Mark received a letter: “It’s almost certain that if you decide to attend Princeton, the university will pay your tuition, room and board for the length of your stay as an undergraduate, beginning in the fall of 1979” (Mathabane, 341). Eventually, Mark received another offer from Limestone College in South Carolina: “I’m offering you a full tennis scholarship, which includes tuition, room and board and books” (Mathabane, 342). Here, there are many people that allowed Mark to escape apartheid and helped him along the way and this