Apartheid Movement: Understanding the Past of South Africa

What was the cause of the apartheid movement in South Africa?

Nonwhite South Africans felt superior to white Afrikaners.

White Afrikaners opposed the blacks-only parliament.

A military coup overthrew the South African government.

White Afrikaners wanted racial separation from black Africans.

The Cause of the Apartheid Movement in South Africa

The correct answer is White Afrikaners wanted racial separation from black Africans.

The apartheid movement in South Africa was deeply rooted in the desire of white Afrikaners to establish racial separation from black Africans. Afrikaners, who held power in the country, saw themselves as superior to Africans and sought to segregate them in all areas of public life.

This segregation policy, known as apartheid, was a systematic and institutionalized form of racial discrimination that oppressed nonwhite South Africans and enforced racial hierarchy.

Through laws and policies such as the Group Areas Act and the Pass Laws, the Afrikaner government enforced racial segregation, restricted the movement of black Africans, and denied them basic human rights.

The apartheid movement was a dark chapter in South Africa's history, but it also sparked resistance and activism from oppressed communities and allies around the world, leading to the eventual dismantling of apartheid and the emergence of a democratic South Africa.

← The power of the muckrakers uncovering truth for change We can do it rosie the riveter poster analysis →