Division and “classification” Part 1

Segregation of Populations and Amenities Irazu Hernandez

Similarities to the U.S. The Nationalists passed many new racist laws similar to Jim Crow in the United States in order to enforce a racially separate and unequal social order.

The Population Registration Act of 1950 required that each citizen be issued an identity document stating his or her race as either White, Bantu/Native [African], or Coloured. "Coloured" was used to define people who were neither white nor “native” (primarily for people of mixed race) A category for Indians was created by other legislation. Based on biological rather than cultural factors Once an individual’s race was determined, it was recorded in their official identity documents A code representing the racial group to which they belonged was also included in their ID number The division and classification of the different racial groups was an essential prerequisite for the enforcement of apartheid legislation -one of the first laws to be passed by the new government -during the earlier segregation period, this was more simple -a person born into a “white community” would be White, even if their skin was darker This was common in South Africa, a long history of miscegenation (sexual relationships between different racial groups) Light-skinned child of master-slave relationships would have been seen as part of a “white family” -rumoured that Betsie Verwoed, the wife of the aparttheid prime minister Verwoerd, was of mixed race ancestry -new laws were required when it became seemed as unacceptable that whites could sometimes be seen as darker than coloured -the govt initially denied the country’s indian population was South African and in 1959 this group was classified as an “asian” component of the coloured race, but the indian and couloured population were pretty much seen as separate racial entities

“[A white person is someone who] is in appearance obviously white - and not generally accepted as Coloured - or who is generally accepted as White - and is not obviously Non-White, provided that a person shall not be classified as a White person if one of his natural parents has been classified as a Coloured person or a Bantu.” The act defined each of the country’s racial groups according to common physical and intellectual characteristics -meant to be scientific approach, but kind of ridiculous -enforced with another astonishing thing

Racial Classification Boards Local Race Classification Boards had the power to determine an individual's race. Made further sub-categories of different groups Determined every aspect of life in South Africa where you could live what job you could hold what public facilities you could use who you could marry whether you had the right to vote. -to apply the new legislation

1953 Reservation of Separate Amenities Act imposed segregation on all public facilities facilities which were racially separate no longer had to be equal. the government could offer better facilities to Whites one of the largest forms of white oppression on the Blacks in South Africa.

The Group Areas Act Citlalli Prado

Group Areas Act The Group Areas Act of 1950 was created by the apartheid government of South Africa and assigned racial groups to different residential and business sections in urban areas.

cont. Group Areas Act was the title of three acts of the Parliament of South Africa enacted under the apartheid government of South Africa

The acts assigned racial groups to different residential and business sections in urban areas in a system of urban apartheid

Apartheid Apartheid was a system of legalized racial segregation enforced by the South African government between 1948 and 1994. Apartheid was dismantled from 1990 to 1993.

cont. “The essence of apartheid”: single piece of legislation that was important that was designed to bring about the total residential segregation of the different racial groups in urban areas,specifically by removing non-Whites from inner city areas that would henceforth be designated as White-only areas.

Sophiatown considered as the Nationalist Party government's model for its urban apartheid legislation and policies. still glaring gaps in critical areas of the township's history

Video 13:24

Soweto Forced removals began in 1955 and five years later, the resettlement of African families from the Western Areas to Soweto had been completed.