In every conflict there are different sides – who is involved in this situation? For example, the government, the community, a sub-culture; who has a vested interest in whether these barriers stay up or come down?
Answer:
The South African National Day of Protest (1950) is a historical event where an emergency meeting of the National Executive of the African National Congress (ANC) was held on 21st May, 1950. The main purpose of the presentation is:To provide historical context about the South African National Day of Protest and examine the event from various perspective.
To provide an overview of person who are directly or indirectly affected by the event and the presence of several barriers
Historical Context of Topic
The implementation of many Racist law was the main trigger for the event and the series of events that occurred were as follows:
1948: Implementation of Racist law after the National Party-led government came to power
1st May, 1950: The Government published the Unlawful Organizations Bills also known as the Suppression of Communism Act
12th May 1950: The Immorality Amendment Act No 21 1950 is passed which prohibited adultery between the black and the white people
14th May 1950: The ANC calls an emergency conference to discuss about the Unlawful Organizations Bill.
15th May 1950: Protest against the Unlawful Organization Bill occurred at the Cape Town City Hall
21st May 1950: The ANC calls a national one day stay at home protest on 26th June 1950 against the Unlawful Organizations Bill. Everyone was asked to stay away from work as sign of protest on 26th June.
26 June 1950: The African National Day of Protest is held (sahistory.org.za.,2017).
Analysis of the event from different perspective
Role of the Government:
The African party led government played a major role in the implementation of discriminatory laws and they were the main trigger for the African National Day of Protest event.
The election of the Nationalist Party in 1948 marked the initiation of apartheid policies and Act The Nationalist Party blocked all means of protest by non-whites
This led to the imprisonment of major leaders of the ANC and the Pan African Congress (PAC) (Maylam, 2017).
Role of the apartheid culture:
The presence of apartheid culture played a major role in tensions among government and the public.
After the racist National Party came to power, the apartheid culture not only separated non-whites from public services and building entrance, it also stripped black their right to citizenship
The apartheid culture was the reason for abolition of all non-white political representation and this market period of unrest and the National Day of Protest Event in South Africa (Byrnes, 2013).
Analysis of the event from different perspective
Fearsome state of people: As apartheid cruelly and forcible separated people, the fearsome state of people evoked interest in protest. It was the time when other countries were moving away from racial policies. Hence, fear was eventually seen in people after more rigid racial policy of apartheid was introduced.
People wandered regarding the reason for such support of apartheid policy. Racial superiority and fear was the underlying reason behind such policies.
People were worried that they would lose their job, culture and language. This explains the state of people and what people were thinking. This might be a reason for strong protest by opposing bodies (Clark & Worger, 2016)
Conclusion
From the review of the case study, the impact of the aparthied on people, the country and its economy is seen. The event in Africa resulted in a period of racial tension and significant loss to the reputation and economy of the country. Currently, the long-term effects of the event is experienced even today as attitude of people has not changed drastically. Issues of discrimination still come up for some sections of the population.Reference
NC. (2017). National Day of Protest, 1950. Retrieved from: https://www.anc.org.za/content/national-day-protestBarbarin, O.A. and Richter, L.M., 2013. Mandela's children: Growing up in post-apartheid South Africa. Routledge.
Byrnes, M. (2013). Life in Apartheid Era- South Africa. Retrieved from: https://www.citylab.com/equity/2013/12/life-apartheid-era-south-africa/7821/
Clark, N. L., & Worger, W. H. (2016). South Africa: The rise and fall of apartheid. Routledge.
Mamdani, M. (2018). Citizen and subject: Contemporary Africa and the legacy of late colonialism. Princeton University Press.
Maylam, P. (2017). South Africa's racial past: The history and historiography of racism, segregation, and apartheid. Routledge.
