• Segregation practiced before

1948
• The 1913 Land Act - black
people (70% of the population)
could only live in about 7%
Racial (later increased to 13%) of the
land. Called reserves.
segregation • rest of the land was reserved
for white ownership even
before though the whites consisted of
Apartheid only 20% of the population.
• Unequal access to land was one
of the main pillars of racial
segregation and later,
Apartheid.
 • stated that all black African men in
cities and towns had to carry their
passes at all times
• The ‘pass laws’ were designed to
control the movement of black
1923 Natives South Africans in white urban
Land Act areas.
• Local councils could force people to
return to the reserves if no jobs
available
 - ‘job reservation’ for whites

- excluded black workers

from skilled jobs

- Skilled positions in mines

‘Colour and factories reserved for
whites
Bar’
- Whites were given
preference for jobs in
government departments.
 Policy of Apartheid
• Introduced from 1948 by National Party.
• Apartheid was the enforced separation of blacks and whites in every sphere of life.
• Brutal and unjust laws controlled where people could live, which schools they were
allowed to attend, who they could marry, and which public facilities they could use.
• It was a racist policy based on a belief that whites were superior to the other races in
South Africa and should therefore occupy the dominant positions in society.
• As a result, the human rights of the majority of South Africans were abused.
 PROHIBITION OF MIXED
MARRIAGES ACT (1949)

Prohibited whites to marry

non-whites.
Impact:
• This denied people of the basic right
to marry whomever they wish.
• This act was designed to protect the
“purity” of the white race.
• The police tracked down mixed
couples suspected of having a
relationship.
• Homes were invaded. Mixed couples
caught in bed, were arrested. Most
couples found guilty were sent to jail.
Blacks were often given harsher
sentences.
• Mixed couples and their children had
an inferior status and were
considered social outcasts.
If South African citizens of mixed racial descent were married outside of
the country, the marriage would not be recognized in South Africa
 IMMORALITY
AMENDMENT ACT (1950)

• Prohibited (did not allow)

sexual relations between
whites and non-whites.

Impact:
The police had the power
to invade the privacy of
individuals in order to
enforce this law.
 • Introduced an identity card for all persons over 16 years of
age, clearly stating the racial group to which the person
belonged.
• One was defined by physical appearance such as the colour
POPULATION of one’s skin, type of hair and eye colour.
• The population was divided into FOUR main racial groups.
REGISTRATION Impact:
• Often family members were classified into different ‘race’
ACT (1950) groups.
• Some members had a life of privilege while the other/s had a
second class existence.
• It often meant going to different schools and living in
different areas and only being able to meet each other after
dark.
 GROUP AREAS
ACT (1950)
• Enforced complete segregation within cities and
towns.
• It provided for separate residential areas for the
different race groups.
• The best urban, industrial, and agricultural areas
were set aside for whites and they were given
areas with large plots of land.
Impact:
• They removed all the people who were not white
from certain areas and sent them to specially
built townships on the edge of cities.
• Sophiatown (in Johannesburg) and District Six (in
Cape Town) were two of the areas where people
were moved from because of the Group Areas
Act.
• Black townships were usually overcrowded areas
with very few facilities such as electricity, street
lighting, or enough water and toilet facilities
because they were intended to discourage
rural-urban migration and permanent settlement
by non-whites.
• The GAA broke up families, friends and
communities.
• Group Areas Act
[1950]
…separate areas
• Residential
set aside for
Segregation specific races

•Led to
forced removals
 Forced removals
Sophiatown (in Johannesburg) and District Six (in Cape Town) were
two of the areas where people were moved because of the Group
Areas Act.
 Black townships
people who were not white were removed from areas declared
‘white’ and sent to specially built townships on the edge of cities.
 BANTU EDUCATION
ACT (1953)
• Led to an inferior system of schooling.
• Black children were only educated for
unskilled and low-pay jobs.
• The government spent much more money
on white education.
Impact:
• There was overcrowding and high
student-teacher ratio (58:1 in 1967).
• Teachers were poorly qualified and
buildings and equipment were of poor
quality.
• All these factors resulted in a high failure
rate.
• In the 1970's the conditions got worse
when the government announced that
Afrikaans would be a medium of teaching.
Separate Universities Act [1959]
– ‘Open’ universities (UCT) MUST accept
whites only
– UWC = Coloured
– Durban / Westville = Indians
SEPARATE AMENITIES
ACT (1953)

• Affected the daily lives of all

South Africans. It introduced
racial separation in all public
facilities, buildings, transport
and all public amenities.
• E.g. separate public toilets
and separate restaurants.

Impact:
• This was designed to keep
the race groups from mixing.
 People had to use separate transport,
Separate entrances to buildings, toilets,
Amenities Act beaches…
[1953]
 ABOLITION of
Passes ACT (1951)
• Stated that black people had to carry
their pass books at all times.
• A black person could not get a job
without this book. The pass book was
often referred to as a ‘dompas’.
• The dompas contained information
like the person’s name, fingerprints,
photograph, personal details of
employment and permission from
the government to be in a particular
part of the country.
Impact:
• This law controlled the movement of
black people from the rural areas into
the towns.
• Controlled black urbanization
• A person caught without this pass
would be arrested and charged.
• Each year over 250 000 Blacks were
arrested. It was the most hated
symbol of Apartheid.
Abolition of Passes Act
In conclusion…