Week 5

In South Africa and the United States, apartheid began with white legislators. In the US, in the 1896 case we all know of very well, Plessy v Ferguson - "separate but equal" institutions are deemed constitutional, thus allowing for the legal segregation of African Americans and whites. In SA, the policy of apartheid began in 1948 when the NP takes control in 1948. By 1950, the Group Areas Act was passed to completely separate whites from blacks.Stemming from the segregation, civil rights movements in both countries took part in peaceful and violent protests alike, including riots, boycotts, and strikes. The amount of police violence and brutality during both civil rights movements is shocking. For example during the "Bloody Sunday" at Selma, Alabama, police shot tear gas, beat nonviolent protesters, and hospitalized over 50 people. In South Africa, a similar situation was even more gruesome, when 70 black demonstrators were killed at Sharpeville. It's unsettling to read about the extent of violence that black people have faced during both civil rights movements; peaceful demonstrations were often countered by unnecessary police brutality. What's even more unsettling is that this trend still continues on today. All the events at Ferguson, the death of Eric Garner, and a whole range of other instances prove that this continues to be a problem we face in this country even after all the years that have passed. SA is even more "freshly" out of apartheid, meaning that there is still a long road ahead in the pursuit of racial equality.