Places and forms of power: do black people have real power in South Africa or are they still marginalised?

Places and forms of power

A power can be defined as a right or an authority given or delegated to a person or a body but it can also be built on injustice violence or conflict.

For example, South Africa was part of the British Empire and was ruled by a white government. This government created a political and social system where only whites had political rights. In 1948, the right-wing National Party came to power and set up the separation between blacks and whites “legally”. This separation is called the “apartheid

¬ PB: Do black people have real power in South Africa or are they still marginalised ?

1. PAST

− Colonization: Dutch and British (1952-1902)

− Apartheid hierarchy: 1948

• Separation: Black men and women

• Discrimination: Law(Example), right, Mandela 22 years in prison

• Repression of non whites

− Hatred violence: Murdered, torture

− Resistance:

• White rebels

• ANC and legendary black prisoners

• Key events (Soweto/ Sharpeville)

− Places charged with history:

• Robben Island’s prison

• Soweto

• Sharpeville

− 1990: The end of apartheid

1994: Mandela was elected the first black president in S.A

2

• PRESENT

•

• New constitution and black president

• Recognition of black people’s rights

BUT

− Today’s inequalities

− A change of tongue by Antje Krog shows in her extract inequality still exists even if the power is more democratic

• Gap between the blacks and the whites (in terms of prospects, income, employment rate and living conditions)

• Corruption

− Reconciliation, power-sharing

• Emergence of a black middle class

The country is still on its way towards democracy and reconciliation. It’s true that there have been major advances and that politics is no longer the preserve of the whites. However economic power is still unequally distributed.

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