Looking back at the past: South African Apartheid (Part II: Apartheid Laws of Malan)

In the previous entry, Apartheid was defined as a system of institutionalized segregation against the non-whites in South Africa, and it was mentioned that it was divided into two phases: Petty Apartheid and Grand Apartheid. Now, a big of what the term "institutionalized" englobes are laws (institutionalized can be defined as establishing something as part of an official organization, and in this case that organization was the South African Government). Apartheid was able to affect the South African population through its laws, that ranged from simple everyday things like having separate amenities to more regional and territorial segregation.

There is a quite big list of laws that enforced Apartheid, but only the most significant ones will be mentioned, and in this entry, only the Acts passed during the DF Malan Government would be included. In 1949, the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act was passed by the Malan government, becoming the first Apartheid law in the country. The main aim of this law was to avoid the white population to get mixed with the non-whites; of course, there were already many interracial couples that had gotten married before the Act was passed, so all of those marriages were exonerated from any charge.

In 1950, there were four important laws passed: the Immorality Act, that banned infidelity, but had a deeper aim of avoiding all interracial sexual activity (this Act allowed the police to intrude in a violent and harsh way to the house were the suspected couple was; of course, when they were caught, the punishment was unequal for Blacks and Whites); the Population Registration Act, that basically did a biological classification of the population by race (defining who was White and who was not), and registering this information on every person's ID). The Population Registration Act led to the creation of the Race Classification Board, that would have the final word on what race did someone belong to; this Act also led to the pencil test, which would consist on placing a pencil on the person's hair: if it fell they were White. Another Act passed in that year was the Group Areas Act, that decreed that the residential areas in cities were for Whites only, adding that the non-whites belonged to the rural area. The origin of this law was not only the idea that Africans belonged to the rural native area, but it was also fueled by the fear that white businessmen in the city had regarding Indian businesses back in the late 1940s. The last Act passed in 1950 was the Suppression of Communism Act; the law was directly targeting organizations that were opposed to Apartheid, and the main one was the CPSA (Communist Party of South Africa). The Suppression of Communism Act was one of the reasons why the African National Congress decided to start the Defiance Campaign in 1952, after many of its leaders where detained because of it; this law added to the anger that the African people had against Apartheid, and it resulted in many protests that will be eventually mentioned in the next entries.

In 1951, two Acts were passed: the Separate Representation of Voters Act and the Bantu Authorities Act. The Separate Representation of Voters Act. The Separate Representation of Voters Act wiped the non-Whites form the electorate, making official (and legal) what the South Africa Act of 1909 had started, with a 2/3 votes in favor for the passing of the law. It was an act that enforced segregated elections. The Bantu Authorities Act of 1951 was the first one of many laws that constituted what is now known as the Bantustan System or the Homelands system, which was the basis of Grand Apartheid. This Act declared that there was no more a Natives Representative Council, and they gave the Tribal leader the power over the African people of those regions. This contributed to enforce the Apartheid idea that Africans pertained to the rural and tribal area.

In 1952, the Malan government passed the Native Laws Amendment Act. This act came as a complement for the Group Areas Act of 1950. It imposed a lot of restrictions for the blacks to residing in a permanent way in cities: they had to be born in that place, be employed for more than 15 years, or be working full-time in domestic service for a White person. Of course, there were always exceptions, but only in cases where the Whites were benefited; this also resulted in less opportunities for younger generations that were looking for jobs and residency in the big cities, which was also part of the basis of the later-to-come Grand Apartheid. The Pass Laws Act was also passed in that year. This Act was also known as the Natives Act. The Pass Laws Act marked the beginning of the use of a very controversial document: the Reference Book (a book where permites were stamped like a passport to let Africans move from rural to urban areas). The impact of this Act was huge, many people became criminals in the eyes of the law for traveling without their Reference Books; but the impact wasn't only negative, the Reference Book was used as an important element in the ANC's Defiance Campaign of 1952 where people would burn and destroy them, going to the police without them. The Reference Book served as a tool for Africans to protest against the Apartheid government.

1953, the Bantu Education Act was passed, expanding the existing Bantustan System. The Bantu Education Act made it mandatory for school to admito people from only one racial group. This was one of the moments that marked the beginning of Grand Apartheid, the beginning of complete segregation, because this would mark the difference for the next generations, who would grow in a divided environment, without having any contact with people from other races. HF Verwoerd was now in charge of the African's education, and that would set the grounds for Grand Apartheid to come. That same year, the Reservation of Separate Amenities Act was introduced; the Act, as the name says it, consisted in laws that would segregate public amenities by race (this was perhaps the most remembered law of Petty Apartheid).

In 1954 DF Malan retires at the age of 80, and JG Strijdom becomes the new Prime Minister.

After having considered all of these laws and acts, it is safe to say that DF Malan was truly a member of the Reunited National Party (or National Party), he enforced and institutionalized segregation in many different ways, preparing the way for Grand Apartheid. Malan's government was the core of Petty Apartheid laws (even though it included some of that could be considered as Grande Apartheid ones), dividing Whites and non-Whites in everyday activities, giving White people both a sociopolitical and economic advantage. Summarizing what has been written above, the timeline year by year would be as follows:

• 1948: DF Malan becomes Primer Minister.
• 1949: Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act
• 1950: Immorality Act, Group Areas Act, Population Registration Act, and the Suppression of Communism Act.
• 1951: Bantu Authorities Act, and Separate Representation of Voters Act.
• 1952: Native Laws Amendment Act, and the Pass Laws Act.  (Defiance Campaign)
• 1953: Bantu Education Act and Reservation of Separate Amenities Act.
• 1954: DF Malan retires, JG Strijdom becomes the Primer Minister.

In the next entry, the Bantu Education Act of 1953, its origin, historical context, consequences, and implications are going to be discussed in detail.

Image Source: DW