Title: 1949 - Apartheid

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About: Racial laws and regulations to segregate and discriminate against the black population are instituted by the government of South Africa.

 

In basic principles, apartheid did not differ that much from the policy of segregation of the South African governments existing before the Afrikaner Nationalist Party came to power in 1948. The main difference from then on was that apartheid made segregation part of the law, effectively forcing the different racial groups to live separately and develop separately.

 

1949 saw the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, while subsequent legislation in 1950 included the Population Registration Act, demanding that people be registered according to their racial group, and the Group Areas Act, that started physical separation between races, especially in urban areas.

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Despite the over-whelming majority of those in positions of political and economic positions supporting apartheid, resistance to the policies quickly emerged. The African National Congress (ANC), was especially prominent, and from 1949 started down a more militant path, with the Youth League playing a more important role. The ANC launched a 'Programme of Action', which supported strikes, protests and other forms of non-violent resistance.

 

Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu began to rise to prominence, offering vocal and brave challenges to the new laws and bringing international attention to the situation in South African. 

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Decade: 1940s

Year: 1949

Region: Africa

Country: South Africa

Society: Race Relations

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Type: Historical Event

Impact: 8

Artist: Ianika Morano

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Group: Genesis

Number: 49/100

Price: 0.8 ETH

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