StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Race and Ethnicity of South Africa - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This essay "Race and Ethnicity of South Africa" investigates the racism during and after this movement and highlight the miseries of black Africans as they face discrimination from the Whites. It concludes with suggestions on how to alleviate the miseries of the indigenous people of South Africa…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER95.9% of users find it useful
Race and Ethnicity of South Africa
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Race and Ethnicity of South Africa"

? inserts his/her number Race and Ethni The Case of South Africa INTRODUCTION Racism in South Africa during and after the period of Apartheid has been of particular interest to researchers. Although the apartheid movement ended long time ago, its philosophy still remains alive in several towns of Africa. This paper shall investigate the racism during and after this movement and highlight the miseries of black Africans as they face discrimination from the Whites. It concludes with suggestions on how to alleviate the miseries of the indigenous people of South Africa in the context of the discussion. THE APARTHEID South Africa has been marked with 350 years of colonialism and apartheid movement which has ingrained the superiority of fair skin, narrow features and straight hair in the minds of the locals (Manning, 2004). At the same time, have a broad nose or curly hair or even black skin is associated with ugliness. The local Zulu or SeSotho language has been abandoned in favor of English which sounds classier and associated with being civilized and educated (Manning, 2004). This, combined with a preference for music that is classic European as opposed to the ‘noisy’ African “marabi” or tap dance have resulted in the belief that it is more worthy to live the life of a “white” as opposed to a “black” in Africa (Manning, 2004). It is not uncommon to associate Africans as laborers who live in shanty, overcrowded towns and are uncivilized whereas Westerners are associated as being smart, working in white-collar jobs and being more educated. This racial stereotyping has resulted in the birth of a false ideology that the white skin is superior which is manifested in the mindset of both the white and black South-Africans. The above has its roots in the Apartheid movement which resulted in the geographic separation of humans defined through decree. It was a gradual and procedural process of systemically categorizing humans based on race. Although history has defined the start (1948) and the end (1994) of this policy, it cannot be classified as a one-off event since its ideology was borrowed from the subtle yet dominant arbitrary categorization of South Africans during the colonial era of British rule (Franchi, 2003). These colonialists had already constructed the racial difference by “Europeans” were distinguished from “coloreds” or the native Africans. Henceforth, an act was passed which divided the population into four categories namely the White, Colored (those belonging to mixed races), Bantu (native Black Africans) and Asians (that included people from the subcontinent as well as China) (Franchi, 2003). This, however, was later followed by a more severe legal implementation of the actual “Apartheid” policy that exacerbated the exploitation and de-humanization of the local indigenous majority at the hands of the White colonist minority. Social privilege was granted to the South Africans that were “white-skinned” such that they monopolized political authority to continue to enjoy this supremacy. This policy encompassed all spheres of life including political, social and economic aspects that progressively deprived the Black South-Africans of their dwellings, nationality and civil liberties. Laws were passed in this regard from 1948 to 1958 that prohibited the sharing of land, education, labor, marriage, sexual relations and social services between the native Black South Africans and their White counterparts (Franchi, 2003). Black South Africans were required by law to bear “pass-books” that contained their work and home address (Franchi, 2003). Indigenous South Africans who failed to produce necessary documents upon spot checks were later subjected to brutal treatment and expelled to their demarcated regions (Franchi, 2003). What had begun as a political oppression had now traumatized the lives of the indigenous blacks of South Africa. This psychological imprint remains fresh in the minds of many such natives to date. However, this was not all. The socio-economic inequality resulting from reservation of white-collar jobs for the “whites” along with the institutionalization of racially discriminative practices at work led to the sustained demotion of Black South Africans along the economic ladder. As per the education policy, these Blacks were barred from getting education from private schools and were forced to seek education from schools that lacked resources and were overcrowded (Franchi, 2003). Only the Whites enjoyed access to privileged education which further substantiated class differences between the two. The racial basis on which the Apartheid was founded continued to legitimize the sustained oppression of the native majority at the hands of a foreign minority. The demise of the Apartheid regime, however, has marked continued efforts towards the preservation of the self-presentation and self-identity of the indigenous Africans who struggle to recover from the mental and physical trauma they suffered during this period. REPERCUSSIONS OF APARTHEID IN THE POST- APARTHEID ERA The end of the Apartheid regime left the “Afrikaners” in the middle of an existential crisis. Since the Apartheid system centered on the Afrikaners it was difficult to imagine a democracy that is based on the demise of everything pertaining to the nationalism of these Afrikaners. The failure of the Apartheid movement has resulted in chaos, confusion and lack of direction amongst the Afrikaners who have lost their identity. This psychological trauma has exacerbated to the extent that these individuals ask themselves “who are we?” (Verwey & Michael, 2012). The fear inculcated in these people makes them reluctant to associate themselves as Afrikaners. It is not possible for people to redefine their Afrikaner identity which they had used earlier to assert their political and human rights (Slabbert, 2000). It is interesting to note that “Afrikaner” and not “African” was classified as a racial group in the Apartheid movement (Verwey & Michael, 2012). Africans not just include Afrikaners but various other groups. However, after the demise of Apartheid, the term African began to be used in place of Afrikaners with respect to employment opportunities under government policies. Hence, the symbolic struggle over who is included in the African group determines who gets structural equality such as affirmative action. Whiteness, however, is a racial and ethnic group that is still universally associated with privilege. In the case of South Africa, white South Africans enjoyed exclusive access to economic and political privileges. Although political power is no longer the exclusive privilege of white South Africans, economic privilege still remains exclusively with them. Even though the middle class has witnessed positive changes from economic reform in South Africa, the polar classes have not. For instance, roughly 28% of Afrikaners are reported to have been unemployed compared to only 5% of Whites (Verwey & Michael, 2012). Even though the change is sluggish and patchy, white South Africans are dealing with enormous shifts in their identity and position in South Africa. Political realignment in the post-Apartheid era has, therefore, given birth to revision in the social sphere which has resulted in South Africans engaging in one of the most intense shared psychological modifications of the present-day world. Furthermore, the Apartheid has legitimized race as an instrument for violence. The era of Nelson Mandela saw the rebirth of Africa as a “rainbow nation” or an era where racial harmony, understanding and harmony marked he social order (Verwey & Michael, 2012). At the same time, however, the use of race to institutionalise violence in the past was largely ignored such that no attempts were made to redress the racism that was silently operating in the minds of Africans. Although overt attempts at racism had been curbed, the inherent psychological trauma in the minds of the Afrikaners had not yet been erased. The Mbeki era has seen the return of recognition of injustice owing to race. While Mandela’s era focused on forgiving and forgetting the racial prejudice against Black South Africans, Mbeki’s era saw the return of the “two nations” approach with reforms to address the inequality present in the society (Verwey & Michael, 2012). Although issues pertaining to racial prejudice were highlighted, little had been done to reconcile the two nations (black and white South Africans). THE WAY FORWARD After having accounted for the nature and extent of the racism against indigenous South Africans, it is important to understand the way forward in such a situation. Although the terrors of the Apartheid era may remain fresh in the minds of many natives, attempts may be taken to reach reconciliation. It would be too simplistic to state that the Whites should acknowledge their privileges and respond to their continuity since it is difficult to define these privileges today and uproot them. The process of removing the “whiteness” is, therefore, a complicated and long process. According to Sullivan, it is easy to change the ‘self’ that is defined by habits pertaining to ones race but reconstructing ones racial individuality is a slow paced and scrupulous course of action with no guarantee that it will be successful (Sullivan, 2006). It is even more dangerous when the Whites associate their “whitely” habits of being fair, impartial and unbiased in racist struggles as this pre-conceived notion can be self-defeating. In the light of this, a cautious approach to dealing with this issue is proposed. Considering that the process of unlearning white habits is tedious and lengthy, separatism seems to be a way forward. Also considering that the whites have presumed dominant positions and sought to control their environments, abandoning their comfort zones and moving to other spaces will reinforce the existing disparity rather than reduce it (Sullivan, 2006). Therefore, if these individuals limit their participation in struggles led by Black South Africans they may accommodate the domination of voices of the oppressed Afrikaners. Not only will this enable the Blacks to consolidate themselves and appear as strong in terms of the message they convey but also serve as a sign of respect to the Blacks from the Whites. The involvement of the White people in such struggles may create self-praise amongst the White community but offer little help to the struggle. Furthermore, the process of unlearning the privileges bestowed to the Whites can also be done in covert ways as opposed to overt support. For instance, the Whites can read literature pertaining to the lives of Blacks which will open up their culture to the Whites so that they can better understand them. Instead of being a part of this struggle by showing support to the Blacks in their society, the Whites ought to gather support for the Blacks in the Whites’ society. Also, it is important to note that while some White people were actively involved in the Apartheid, others were not. Yet the “unconscious” White habits infected these individuals as well and labelled them as part of the Apartheid (Sullivan, 2006). CONCLUSION To conclude, this paper demonstrates the power of Apartheid in drawing a line between the Black and White South Africans which remains existent to date, although to a lesser extent. It also proposes covert attempts on the part of Whites to detach the system of privileges that has been the exclusive right of the White population. While this process may take several decades, the recognition of the racism that existed and its repercussions is in itself a leap forward in the path to change the racist social, economic and political makeup of the South African region. References Franchi, V. (2003). Across or beyond the racialized divide? Current perspectives on ‘race’, racism and‘intercultural’ relations in ‘post-apartheid’ South Africa. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 125–133. Manning, J. (2004). Racism in Three Dimensions: South African Architecture and the Ideology of White Superiority. Social Identities, 527-536. Slabbert, F. v. (2000). Tough choices: reflections of an Afrikaner African. Cape Town: Tafelberg Publishers. Sullivan, S. (2006). Revealing whiteness: the unconscious habits of racial privilege . Bloomington and Indianapolis: Indiana University Press. Verwey, C., & M. Q. (2012). WHITENESS, RACISM, AND AFRIKANER IDENTITY IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA. African Affairs, 551-575. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Race & Ethnicity Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words”, n.d.)
Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/gender-sexual-studies/1478613-race-ethnicity-relations
(Race & Ethnicity Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words)
https://studentshare.org/gender-sexual-studies/1478613-race-ethnicity-relations.
“Race & Ethnicity Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 Words”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/gender-sexual-studies/1478613-race-ethnicity-relations.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Race and Ethnicity of South Africa

Past and Present Economical Situation of South Africa

This research paper "Past and Present Economical Situation of south africa" talks about the farming of agricultural lands provided an important aspect in the overall development of the African population.... The history of south africa began with the development of Hominidae, a human race, about five million years ago with the progress of the species known as Homo.... In the current context, the economy of south africa is recovering from the earlier setbacks, but it has been weakened due to certain economic slumps....
13 Pages (3250 words) Research Paper

Migration: Impacts on South Africa

The rampant growth of human mobility has become one of the crucial issues that have unquestionable effects on the socio-economic and political environment of current day south africa.... The rampant growth of human mobility has become one of the crucial issues that have unquestionable effects on the socio-economic and political environment of current day south africa.... It will also explore the direct and indirect impacts of immigration on south africa with regard to religion, women, and minorities....
4 Pages (1000 words) Research Paper

Exporting and Importing: Doing Business with South Africa

The author describes important cultural determinants concerning doing business with south africa, important governmental, compliance management, and security requirements concerning doing business in south africa, and action steps towards initialization of export/import activities in south africa.... Commonly referred to as The Rainbow Nation–a symbolic expression of a level head maturity of a multiculturally diverse population with a troubled past marked by a separatist ideology of apartheid, south africa stands on a uniquely sensitive but emerging fertile ground characterized by accommodative co-existence (Hamann, Khagram, & Rohan, 2008)....
7 Pages (1750 words) Term Paper

South Africa Apartheid History

The author of this paper highlights that Apartheid was one of the most difficult and cruel periods in the history of south africa.... For instance, whereas the strength and size of the settler population in the United States or Australia meant that race relations were for many years relegated to the peripheries of national historiography, the race was an abiding concern even in the most inward-looking settler histories of south africa.... He interprets 'apartheid' in terms of its original meaning and defends positive changes caused by separation and self-identification of diverse national and ethic groups inhabited south africa....
6 Pages (1500 words) Article

How Culture and Ethnicity Have Been Politicized in South Africa

The paper 'How Culture and Ethnicity Have Been Politicized in South Africa' focuses on the Republic of south africa, which is among the most developed nations within the Dark Continent.... Given that south africa is a multi-ethnic society, the nation has people who speak a variety of languages.... south africa is among the most advanced states in Africa and the world over.... The Democratic Alliance, the major political party in south africa, is mostly associated with citizens of white origin....
5 Pages (1250 words) Assignment

African Politics

From the Nile in the north to the cape in the south, whites came to the continent as explorers for starters.... According to Medani (2012), south Sudan is the latest nation to apply the concept of liberation through its secession from North Sudan by way of a referendum in 2011 that served as a solution to the unending civil unrest between the two nations.... This saw the colonialists divide their territories into smaller divisions based on ethnicity to help in having different policies for collaborators and communities that resisted enabling them to maintain their rule (Okoth, 2006)....
9 Pages (2250 words) Essay

Race, Ethnicity and Migration in Australia and South Africa

This essay "Race, Ethnicity and Migration in Australia and south africa" discusses the key issues of race, ethnicity, and migration in the two countries from a critical and analytical point of sociology.... Australia and south africa are both multicultural societies, which are hosts to people from different parts of the world.... Australia has a history of intense, open racism and ethnicity, which was stimulated immediately after their independence....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay

The Relationship between Race and Ethnicity

This paper "The Relationship between race and ethnicity" seeks to evaluate the relationship between race and ethnicity and how they are problematic.... Issues concerning race and ethnicity have for many years dominated several disciplines, including the field of socioeconomic and multicultural education.... race and ethnicity are highly related.... Both race and ethnicity can be used to identify human identity....
7 Pages (1750 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us