“…More than 90 percent of white South Africans go through a lifetime without seeing firsthand the inhuman conditions under which blacks have to survive.” The white society of the 1960’s claimed its blacks were “happy.” The truth? They had not an idea of the harsh reality in which black life led under apartheid. The Autobiography Kaffir Boy, takes the readers along on an enthralling journey through the harsh ghettos of Alexandria to the rich white neighborhoods of South Africa. Mathabane portrayed how black children dealt with racism and stereotypes at a young age. Mathabane suffered through pain, hunger, and poverty, but never did he give up. By embracing education and his dreams. Apartheid in South Africa was not only a racist policy, but
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Race was everything in Mark Mathabane’s home land, is determined where families lived, whom you married, and what education you would receive. Apartheid changed everything. Whites grew up all around South Africa, sometimes in cities or in rural areas, but they always shared one thing in common. Each white man, woman, and child grew up in a comfortable home, some more luxurious than others. White South African children never woke up each morning with fear pumping through their veins. They never experienced situations where they had to hide in the middle of the night, and they never had to worry that police would kick down their door. Black South African children grew up in harsh situations. At age six, Mark would wake up each morning on his cardboard bed to the screams of his neighbors being forced from their homes and the harsh yells of police as they ripped apart meager shelters. He grew up where fear and starvation were something that became familiar feelings. This was something a white child in South Africa would never experience in their lifetime. “Sirens blared, voices, screamed and shouted, wood cracked and windows shattered, children bawled, dogs barked and footsteps pounded. (7).” This is just one of the many examples that happened in the everyday lives of South African families during the apartheid era. Apartheid is a policy of segregation and economic discrimination against non-whites. This system of apartheid affected every colored man and woman in South Africa at the time and forced them to become slaves in their own
Race was everything in Mark Mathabane’s home land, is determined where families lived, whom you married, and what education you would receive. Apartheid changed everything. Whites grew up all around South Africa, sometimes in cities or in rural areas, but they always shared one thing in common. Each white man, woman, and child grew up in a comfortable home, some more luxurious than others. White South African children never woke up each morning with fear pumping through their veins. They never experienced situations where they had to hide in the middle of the night, and they never had to worry that police would kick down their door. Black South African children grew up in harsh situations. At age six, Mark would wake up each morning on his cardboard bed to the screams of his neighbors being forced from their homes and the harsh yells of police as they ripped apart meager shelters. He grew up where fear and starvation were something that became familiar feelings. This was something a white child in South Africa would never experience in their lifetime. “Sirens blared, voices, screamed and shouted, wood cracked and windows shattered, children bawled, dogs barked and footsteps pounded. (7).” This is just one of the many examples that happened in the everyday lives of South African families during the apartheid era. Apartheid is a policy of segregation and economic discrimination against non-whites. This system of apartheid affected every colored man and woman in South Africa at the time and forced them to become slaves in their own