Segregation of Populations and Amenities
- There were three main laws that legalized the separation of social groups according to races:
- The Group Areas Act of 1950
- The Bantu Authorities Act of 1951
- The Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act of 1959 (Bantustans).
- We will see these three later on, but it is important to read the following legislation against the backdrop of these bigger laws of apartheid.
Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act (1949) and Immorality Act (1950)
- These criminalized marriages and sexual relations between White South Africans and people of other racial groups.
- The punishment could go from fines to prison (up to seven years for both men and women)
- The police conducted humiliating raids based on tips, often breaking into homes at night and collecting intimate items to use as legal evidence.
- Nevertheless, mixed marriages were extremely rare at the time (don´t forget that Apartheid legislation was built on existing discrimination and racism), so these acts were symbolic to an extent.
Reservation of Separate Amenities Act (1953)
- This act made it mandatory to separate races in all public facilities, from transport and parks to benches and water fountains.
- Facilities assigned to non-White groups were almost always substandard compared to those designated for Whites, despite claims of "separate but equal."
- Segregation laws cut non-Whites off from public libraries, theatres, and other cultural institutions, limiting their access to education and public life.
Case study
- The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act (1953) was applied, for example in buses and beaches.
- In cities like Johannesburg and Cape Town, public buses were divided by race.
- White passengers sat in the front, while Black passengers were restricted to the back or to entirely separate buses.
- Signs clearly marked "Whites Only" or "Non-Whites" sections. Black passengers who sat in the wrong section could be fined or arrested.
- Durban's beachfront was divided into racially exclusive areas.
- Golden beaches in prime locations were reserved for Whites, while non-Whites were allocated separate, often less desirable, stretches.
- Facilities like changing rooms, toilets, and ice cream stands were duplicated—but the ones for non-Whites were often inferior or poorly maintained.
- Black or Coloured individuals found in "Whites Only" areas faced police action and possible jail time.
- These examples of petty apartheid are relevant to later on understand the strategies of resistance and opposition to apartheid put forward by black South African organizations.
Pass Laws Act (1952)
- This law required Black South Africans to carry a “reference book” at all times, containing extensive personal and employment details.
- It's a very important piece of legislation because it will be the base for later relocation policies of the Grand Apartheid.
- The Pass books made it very difficult for blacks to move into cities (even to commute to work), because the books required multiple permits and had strict deadlines.
- Failure to comply often resulted in arrest, fines, or forced returns to rural areas.
Note
- At some point, the pass books became so complex that they included up to 96 pages of personal data such as employment history, tax payments, police encounters and residential status
- Black South Africans were legally required to carry their pass book at all times and present it on demand. Special permits were needed to enter or stay in cities, even briefly.
- Later on, the pass books became a symbol of protest and resistance.
- Activists protested by publicly burning the books, or by deliberately leaving them at home and offering themselves for arrest.
Historiography
- Liberal historians emphasize these segregation laws as a moral failure of the white elite and often attributed it to ignorance and fear.
- The acts are presented as irrational and discriminatory aimed at upholding white dominance and social order, particularly in the face of urbanization and interracial contact.
- For the Marxist historiography, apartheid segregation should be seen not just as racial discrimination, but as a class-based system designed to secure cheap Black labor for white-owned capitalist industries.
- The Marriage & Immorality Acts should be seen as ways to prevent racial mixing and preserve the labor force hierarchy, and the pass laws should be considered essential tools for the economic control and exploitation of African workers.
- Which perspective looks stronger? Why?
