Freedom for Black South Africans

Apartheid History Apartheid certainly represents some of the darkest times in the history of South Africa as well as the larger world. In the several decades it existed, a white minority exploited and oppressed a black majority in a violent and suppressive manner. Indeed, the very word "apartheid" means separation and being "apart." The brutality in question lasted from just after World War II in 1948 and eventually (and finally) ended in 1994.

While the scars are still healing in South Africa and many social/racial problems still exist, a full generation has passed since Apartheid fell. Historical Summary Apartheid was the brainchild and creation of the National Party and the Broederbond organization but was actually a continuation of what was started by the Dutch when they controlled the area. There was a significant amount of blowback and strife that followed as the black populace oppressed by Apartheid rejected and roiled against the regulations and enforcement thereof.

External countries reacted to the South African practice by using arms and trade embargoes against the country not unlike what the United States continues to do with the country of Cuba since Fidel Castro took over and continues under the rule of Raul Castro (History Channel, 2014). Some "reforms" were done in the 1980's but they were piecemeal and incomplete in nature as they did not address the larger framework that was oppressing blacks in the country.

The things done to blacks included forced relocation of blacks from their established homes to neighborhoods that were segregated. Blacks and whites were separated by force with the blacks being the ones that moved against their will. Rightful citizenship claims were banned and blacks were disallowed from representing their people in politics of any level. The regulations and laws that created Apartheid were first created by Cecil Rhodes. The man that started bringing Apartheid to an end was William De Klerk starting in 1990.

His actions and efforts eventually led to elections being held four years later in which people of all races were allowed to vote and this allowed the African National Congress to come to power. They achieved very close, but not quite, the two thirds majority needed to revamp the Constitution automatically and there were mutterings that the results were not entirely legitimate due to a lack of proper verification and accuracy procedures.

Even so, the ANC got more than 250 seats out of 400 in the Congress and the won in seven of the nine provincial government elections. Even many whites, albeit not close to a majority, did not support Apartheid in the first place (History Channel, 2014). Conclusion In the end, Apartheid never should have come to be and it still shapes and guides many of the patterns in South African society and daily life even to this day even though more than a generation has passed since the efforts to unravel Apartheid began.

Even so, much the same thing could be said of.