Division and Classification:
- The Population Registration Act of 1950 laid the foundation for apartheid by requiring all South Africans to be racially categorized in official records.
- Before apartheid, racial identity was loosely based on community acceptance, often ignoring physical differences and mixed heritage.
- The apartheid regime sought rigid, biologically-based definitions of race, considering previous informal classifications insufficient for their goals.
- Citizens were assigned to one of three main racial groups-White, Black (Bantu), or Coloured-though Indians were initially excluded until being labeled “Asian” in 1959.
Note
- Indians were first brought to South Africa by the British in the 1860s.
- They were indentured laborers (workers with very low wages under harsh conditions, with the option to return to India or stay as free workers after their term) and many later decided to stay in South Africa, particularly in Natal.
- Indians faced early forms of racial segregation and were restricted in land ownership, mobility, and civil rights.
- The Natal government imposed special taxes and licensing laws targeting Indian traders.
- By 1948, the South African Indians had a distinctive political and cultural identity, and a significant presence in Natal, Transvaal and the Cape.
Race Classification Board
- A Race Classification Board was set up to manage racial disputes and create further subcategories within broader racial groups-especially among Coloured people.
- People often sought reclassification as White to gain access to exclusive political rights and economic opportunities, leading to a surge in appeals and accusations.
- These labels deeply affected people’s lives, causing trauma, social exclusion, and, in some cases, children being abandoned due to their appearance not aligning with white norms.
Note
- The Population Registration Act was non systematic and fundamentally inconsistent.
- There was no guarantee that a person would be fixed in one category, as it depended a lot on which specific office (and even individual officials) of the Classification Board was assessing an individual.
- For example, officers may use methods like the “pencil test”, where a pencil was placed in a person’s hair:
- If it fell out, the hair was considered “straight enough” for the person to be classified as White.
- If it stayed in, the person might be classified as Coloured or Black. This test ignored genetic background, cultural identity, and family history—relying solely on hair texture.
- People from the same family could be classified into different racial groups:
- A child born to White parents could be reclassified as Coloured due to slightly darker skin or curly hair.
- This led to families being legally and socially divided, sometimes even barred from living together under apartheid housing laws.
- Individuals were sometimes reclassified multiple times, as decisions often depended on subjective opinions of officials, not consistent or scientific standards.
