Racial Discrimination in South Africa and Its Impact on Social Work

Introduction

Racial discrimination has long been a part of South African history. South Africa is the country of apartheid — the official policy of racial segregation implemented by the ruling National Party governments from 1948 to 1994. Under apartheid legislation, the rights of non-white inhabitants were curtailed politically, economically, legally, and socially. White supremacy and minority rule were firmly in place, meaning that white people were considered superior to people of all other racial backgrounds and were given priority in housing, employment, education, and political power. Whites and non-whites held different jobs, lived in different regions, and were subject to different levels of pay, education, and healthcare. The non-white population was forced out of their homes and jobs in urban areas and relocated to rural areas.

These rural areas, to which Black South Africans were banished, were called "Bantustans." Often located on the fringes of cities, they consisted of massive slums with terrible living conditions. The Black South African population was not even allowed to participate in government. Curfew laws were enforced upon them, and they were required to carry passes if they wished to travel outside their designated rural areas. Apartheid did not only separate whites from non-whites — it also divided different non-white races from one another, barring Africans from associating with Asians and Europeans alike.

The period of apartheid cruelty came to an end in the mid-1990s. Since that time, social workers from across the globe have engaged with South Africa in order to address the aftermath of apartheid's collapse. A considerable amount of bitterness remains in the hearts of both white and non-white South Africans on this subject. Social workers have committed themselves to removing the lasting effects of apartheid from all racial groups that inhabit South Africa. White South Africans who still carry a residual sense of supremacy, and Black South Africans who suffer from the psychological and other consequences of centuries of discriminatory treatment, both require sustained social intervention.

In order to counter this legacy, the Black Perspective was developed. Beginning in the 1970s as a social program, it encourages and celebrates the lives of Black Africans. The program calls for sensitivity to the experiences of all oppressed and underserved groups and embraces an international dimension with special emphasis on Africa and the Caribbean. Six core principles — Affirmation, Strengths, Diversity, Vivification, Social Justice, and Internationalization — work together toward the promotion of equality, strength, an understanding of oppression, and celebration of the Black African population.

Apartheid prevailed in South Africa for forty-six years and was abolished in 1994 through rigorous struggle and the efforts of Nelson Mandela. The long road toward abolishment undertaken by the Black South African population, and the sacrifices and injustice they endured in order to achieve it, make this a topic well worth examining in depth.

Literature Review

A major part of apartheid was the mineral revolution stemming from the discovery of gold and diamonds in the Republic of South Africa. Paul Maylam, in his book South Africa's Racial Past: The History and Historiography of Racism, Segregation and Apartheid, argues that the mineral revolution of the mid-nineteenth century was the foundation of the modern apartheid era. During this period, the discovery of diamond deposits just below the surface of South African soil led a great number of migrants to move into the country to extract them. The influx of these immigrants subjected the local Black South African population to racial discrimination by white supremacists (Maylam, 2001).

Black workers in the diamond and gold mines were treated like slaves, made to work for minimal wages (Allanson, Atkins, & Hinks, 2002) under poor working conditions (Johnstone, 1976). The mineral revolution produced immense economic transformation, but for Black South Africans it generated discriminatory consequences: the first large-scale oscillation of migrant labor, the job color bar, and the modern system of pass controls on labor — all of which remained entrenched in South Africa for almost a century. As industrialization progressed, racial segregation deepened alongside it.

The South African government used racial classification and stratification as a tool in its official policies to control its population (Zuberi & Khalfani, 2001). The Population Register Act of 1950 established a method of census for the apartheid era, classifying the population in a national register on the basis of race. The social injustice of such policies peaked with the placement of a ban on Black South Africans from entering into legal marital or sexual relationships with people of other races or tribes (McLeod, 2013). This provision was set out in the Prohibition on Mixed Marriages Act of 1949.

The Act questioned the legality of all inter-racial marriages and deemed most of them illegal. Such official policies had effects that outlasted the apartheid period. The Separate Amenities Act of 1953 prohibited people of color from sharing public amenities — including restrooms, cinemas, restaurants, hospitals, and schools — with white people (Pieterse, 2004). Pieterse argues that the constitutionalization and judicial enforcement of social rights served as an avenue through which such rights were reclaimed domestically. Today, the consequences of the injustices carried out during the apartheid period remain visible in communities across the country. Much of the remaining effect, however, is psychological — embedded in the minds of those who were raised in or lived through the apartheid period.

Research has indicated that racial discrimination during the apartheid period led to a variety of mental disorders among a representative sample of the adult population of South Africa (Moomal et al., 2009). These disorders include substance abuse, anxiety, and other mood disorders. Populations subjected to acute and chronic discrimination often suffered from perceived discrimination disorder as an ongoing aftermath for many years (Burns & Van der Merwe, 2008). In modern South Africa, efforts have been made to obliterate the effects of apartheid on the Black population. The basic necessities being focused on include education, employment, and equality for Black South Africans. Access to education for the Black population had been contested since the late nineteenth century (Keswell, n.d.), and it is now the backbone of all social movements seeking to reinvigorate Black South Africans both domestically and globally. Employment — particularly the levels of corporate hierarchy at which Black South Africans are placed and the status afforded to them — is another critical dimension of this ongoing effort (Leonard & Grobler, 1996).

Analysis of Apartheid's Social Impact

Racial discrimination since the advent of the apartheid era has had severe consequences for the native people of African descent. In modern times, apartheid can unquestionably be considered one of the most degrading systems in human society. Its fundamental purpose was to create an imbalance between people of all races based on skin color, enforced through legal mechanisms. The South African government introduced apartheid as a system of institutionalized discrimination and segregation in the late 1940s.

In its initial stages, the state began by amending small laws that had previously provided for a degree of equality between white and Black citizens. One of the very first of these was the introduction of the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act in 1949, which caused outrage among Black members of society by banning people of different races from entering into marital relationships with white people. This was followed by the Immorality Amendment Act of 1950, which went further by forbidding Black people from engaging in inter-racial sexual relationships with white people. These measures began to construct a social wall between white people and people of other races, cultivating a sense of superiority among whites and stripping Black South Africans of recognized rights.

As laws tightened over time, Black people were increasingly restricted in their participation in society. They were not permitted to start businesses without state approval and were pushed back into rural areas. Racial discrimination prevented Black people from earning a proper living and gravely hindered their development. Black children lacked access to the quality education available in predominantly white areas. This educational segregation impacted the development of Black children negatively and pushed the illiteracy rate among Black South Africans to high levels, preventing advancement in virtually any field for many years.

Black South Africans were also barred from receiving basic public services on equal terms. Hospitals and transport systems were segregated between the races. Despite the fact that Black people constituted the majority of the population, white South Africans were provided with a disproportionate share of high-quality healthcare and transportation facilities. All types of public facilities — market places, cinemas, beaches, churches, and even graveyards — were subject to segregation. South African society was thus structured so that white people were regarded as privileged members, while people of other races were classified as inferior.

Those who governed South Africa were exclusively white. Black people were barred from participating in government and were consistently overlooked for well-compensated positions, being left with jobs far below their skill levels. Their quality of life deteriorated as they were stripped of basic national rights and treated as second-class citizens. These conditions served only to communicate to Black South Africans that they were not equal to white citizens — that they were rightfully denied human rights and justice.

This had an immense impact on the field of social work both inside and outside South Africa. Many international institutions and nations expressed solidarity with Black South Africans by severing relations with the South African government and imposing sanctions. The broader international community's response created the conditions for social work organizations to begin dismantling the structures of apartheid's legacy.

Conclusion

Like every other negative aspect of society, racial discrimination has existed for ages. It gravely undermines people of darker skin color in comparison to white people. Although since the beginning of the twentieth century the minds of people around the globe became more liberal and accepting of racial difference as a minor factor rather than a marker of worth, societies in several countries — South Africa being a prominent example — refused to acknowledge the notion of equality among all human beings and continued to oppress Black people by classifying them as second-class citizens.

Although this deeply damaged the psychology and self-perception of Black South Africans, they did not cease to claim their rights from the government that had introduced apartheid. With the assistance of international social organizations and internal resistance forces, Black South Africans managed to defeat the vice of racial discrimination and uphold the principle that all human beings are born equal. This stands as an enduring example for modern society: that through sustained effort and collective support, systemic injustice can be effectively challenged, and the rights of people — regardless of race, skin color, language, or origin — can be restored and protected.

Bibliography

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Moomal, H., Jackson, P. B., Stein, D. J., Herman, A., Myer, L., Seedat, S., et al. (2009). Perceived discrimination and mental health disorders: The South African Stress and Health study. SAMJ: South African Medical Journal.

Pieterse, M. (2004). Possibilities and pitfalls in the domestic enforcement of social rights: Contemplating the South African experience. Human Rights Quarterly, 26(4), 882–905.

Zuberi, T., & Khalfani, A. K. (2001). Racial classification and the modern census in South Africa, 1911–1996. Race and Society, 4(2), 161–176.