Nelson Mandela

February 11, 2010

Today marks the 20-year anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s release from prison. Mr. Mandela had been in jail for 27-years for his actions in protest of the apartheid system in South Africa.

I can remember being ten years old on the day the nation and the world rejoiced as the instrumental leader in changing the South African segregation policies was set free. I remember writing a story that outlined why Nelson Mandela was my hero; although at the time I don’t think I grasped the magnitude of what apartheid was or why his release from imprisonment was such an important event. Today’s question is: how long was the apartheid policy in place?

A: Apartheid is the Afrikaans word for ‘apartness’ and was used in the 1930’s as a political slogan of the South African National Party. The social customs of apartheid had been in practice since the colonial times of the 1650’s, however became systemized under law in 1948 when the Afrikaner Nationalists came into power. The new legislation segregated people into racial groups, the segregation extended to residential areas, medical care, education and other government services providing inferior services to non-whites.

The apartheid policies were met with much internal and international resistance. A number of black political groups opposed apartheid by using a variety of tactics, including violence, strikes, demonstrations, and sabotage strategies that were often met with severe reprisals by the government. In 1961 South Africa was forced to withdraw from the British Commonwealth and in 1985 the US and UK governments imposed selective economic sanction on South Africa due to opposition of apartheid.

In 1990, President Fredrik Willem de Klerk, under external anti-apartheid pressure, began dismantling the apartheid policies. De Klerk cultivated a National Party government dedicated to reform and saw the legalization of formerly banned black congresses and the release of imprisoned black leaders.

After the 42-years of apartheid, the policies had been abolished – although, there is debate on whether the vestiges of the system still play a role in South African politics and society.

Sources:
African Encyclopedia: Apartheid
BBC News: Nelson Mandela’s 1990 release celebrated in South Africa
Wikipedia: South Africa under apartheid