TRC
Racial segregation and the supremacy of whites had been traditionally accepted in South Africa prior to 1948, but in the general election of that year, Daniel F. Malan officially included the policy of apartheid in the Afrikaner Nationalist party platform, bringing his party to power for the first time. Although most whites acquiesced in the policy, there was bitter and sometimes bloody strife over the degree and stringency of its implementation. 2The purpose of apartheid was separation of the races: not only of whites from nonwhites, but also of nonwhites from each other, and, among the Africans (called Bantu in South Africa), of one group from another. In addition to the Africans, who constitute about 75% of the total population, those regarded as nonwhite include those people known in the country as Coloured (people of mixed black, Malayan, and white descent) and Asian (mainly of Indian ancestry) populations. 3 Initial emphasis was on restoring the separation of races within the urban areas. A large segment of the Asian and Coloured populations was forced to relocate out of so-called white areas. African townships that had been overtaken by (white) urban sprawl were demolished and their occupants removed to new to
There are many milestones along the path of struggle that followed June 26 1950 - a path strewn with the bodies of our martyred and maimed compatriots. A few of these milestones are here recalled. The conservative Afrikaner-dominated National Party wins parliamentary elections and gains control of the South African government. The party, under new Premier Dr. Daniel F. Malan, begins taking steps toward implementing apartheid (apartness), the national policy of racial separation. [See Facts On File print edition 1948, p. 171C2] Steven Biko, one of the most influential black student leaders in South Africa, is reported to have died from a hunger strike while in police detention. [See Facts On File print edition 1977, p. 707C3] Yet, in Mandela's words, the Freedom Charter is 'a revolutionary document precisely because the changes it envisages cannot be won without breaking up the economic and political set-up of present South Africa.' It was for this reason that the ruling classes of South Africa regarded the Charter as 'High Treason'.
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1790
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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