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Apartheid Facts & Worksheets

Apartheid was a legislation system that enforced racial discrimination in South Africa from 1948 until the early 1990s.

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Apartheid was a legislation system that enforced racial discrimination in South Africa from 1948 until the early 1990s. The political and social system consisted of segregationist legislation against non-white South African citizens, which were black, coloured, and mixed people.

See the fact file below for more information on the apartheid or alternatively, you can download our 20-page Apartheid worksheet pack to utilise within the classroom or home environment.

Key Facts & Information

AIM OF APARTHEID

  • Apartheid was a movement for the segregation of races in South Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s, motivated by a political climate centred on white supremacy.
  • The primary aim of the apartheid was to separate the white people from the black and coloured people by separating them into independent nations or homelands.
  • The homelands where the blacks lived were called Bantustans.

HOW IT ALL BEGAN

  • Even before the apartheid regime was established, white supremacy had been at the core of South African policy.
  • The 1913 Land Act was the first territorial segregationist policy upheld that made it illegal for black South Africans to work as sharecroppers.
  • “Apartheid” is a South African word meaning “segregation” or “separateness.” It literally translates as “apart-ness.”
  • Apartheid entailed segregation of races to benefit the white minority in everything from public facilities to housing and employment.

GRAND AND PETTY APARTHEID

  • On the surface, facilities were segregated among white, black, and coloured people. This is referred to as Petty Apartheid.
  • The restrictions in terms of rights and political representation based on race was called Grand Apartheid.
  • Laws were passed to enforce Grand Apartheid and it peaked from the 1960s until the 1970s.

SEGREGATIONIST POLICIES ENFORCED

  • Apartheid as a system started with the general elections of 1948.
  • The Reunited Nationalist Party took over the administration of the United Party, resulting in the implementation of racial segregation in multiple aspects of living among South Africans.
  • The National Party consisted of all-white political leaders.
  • The economic consequences of the Great Depression and WWII reinforced the ‘need’ for policies enforcing segregation.
  • In 1949, the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act was passed into law.
  • The act prohibited marriages between White Europeans and other racial groups.
  • In that same year, the Population Registration Act was enforced, which provided a system of classifying South Africans by race: Whites, Blacks (referred to as Bantu) and mixed race (referred to as Coloured). Indian was added shortly thereafter.
  • Families were forcibly split because of the Population Registration Act of 1950, which classified non-whites. Parents may be white but their children could be classified as coloured.
  • The Bantu Education Act of 1953 enacted a separate educational system was created for black South African students.
  • The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act of 1953 was enforced so that municipal areas could be reserved for a particular race, essentially separating churches, hospitals, and schools, among others.
  • “Whites only” signage became a common sight.
  • With the Prevention of Illegal Squatting Act of 1951, the government demolished squatter areas occupied by blacks and obliged white employers to provide housing for black labourers allowed to reside in cities reserved for whites.

SEPARATE DEVELOPMENT

  • The system of “Separate Development” is credited to Hendrik Verwoerd, the Prime Minister of South Africa in 1958.
  • The system of Separate Development established the Bantustans.
  • Bantustans were established in order to separate the blacks and decrease their political power through abolishing ‘black majority’ and excluding them from the national body in exchange of full political rights in their own areas.
  • 3.5 million non-white South Africans were removed from their homes and placed into designated non-white regions of South Africa, effectively separating an entire population.

PASS LAWS

  • Pass Laws were enacted, requiring any residents of Bantustans to carry a passbook (much like a passport) when leaving the territory.
  • This severely limited the movement and employment of non-white South Africans, particularly men.
  • The law also stated that South Africans who were not born or employed in a city could not stay in that area for more than 72 hours.
  • Attempts to enforce these laws on women were met with fierce opposition. Overall, the African National Congress strongly opposed these laws.

OPPOSITION

  • The African National Congress (ANC), initially founded as the South African Native National Congress (SANNC) in 1912, advocated for the rights of black South Africans through dialogue, direct opposition, and armed efforts.
  • In 1955, the ANC wrote the Freedom Charter which was a document of the anti-apartheid struggle stating the demand for equal rights regardless of race.
  • Women also formed groups focused on responding to ongoing political affairs, since, at the time, influential organisations were dominated by men and provided insufficient representation of women’s rights.
  • Such women groups included the ANC Women’s League (ANCWL), the Black Sash, and the Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW).
  • The Defiance Campaign of 1952 was the first anti-apartheid campaign participated in by a significant number of women.
  • On August 9, 1956, one of the largest protest marches happened in South African history, which was participated in by approximately 20,000 women.
  • This event showed the strength of women’s voices, thus, August 9th has become South African Women’s Day.

Apartheid Worksheets

This is a fantastic bundle which includes everything you need to know about the apartheid across 20 in-depth pages. These are ready-to-use Apartheid worksheets that are perfect for teaching students about the apartheid which was a legislation system that enforced racial discrimination in South Africa from 1948 until the early 1990s. The political and social system consisted of segregationist legislation against non-white South African citizens, which were black, coloured, and mixed people.

Complete List Of Included Worksheets

  • Apartheid Facts
  • Famous Anti-Apartheid Activists
  • Glossary of Terms
  • Apartheid Timeline
  • Facts or Fake News
  • Segregationist Policies
  • Defining Speech
  • History in Pictures
  • Divided Countries
  • Opinion Interview
  • Poster and Slogan

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Link will appear as Apartheid Facts & Worksheets: https://kidskonnect.com - KidsKonnect, January 27, 2021

Use With Any Curriculum

These worksheets have been specifically designed for use with any international curriculum. You can use these worksheets as-is, or edit them using Google Slides to make them more specific to your own student ability levels and curriculum standards.

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