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Black Land Act No 27
Natives in South Africa, who compiled 2/3 of the population, were prohibited from land ownership/renting outside of areas designated for natives, which took up around 7% of the country's land. -
Native (Black) Urban Areas Act No 21
This Act gave local authorities more power and created "Native Advisory Boards" which controlled the flood of Natives and other minorities into cities. The boards removed the unemployed and other "surplus" people who were in the area. Natives were restricted to the prescribed urban areas that were created in order to divide the country into White and Non-White and voyage into the areas was rigidly managed. The Act was later strengthened by the 1945 Native (Black) Urban Areas Consolidation Act. -
Industrial Conciliation Act No 11
Job reservations for whites were created through this Act, but blacks were not given reservations and were denied registration from trade unions. -
Wage Act of 1925
The Act created minimum wages for white workers, not including farmers and domestic and public servants, who were not protected by industrial councils. Through this Act, white workers were prefered and benefited the most from this Act and black workers were unable to underprice the standard wages of whites. -
Immorality Act No 5
This Act prohibited extra-marital affairs between whites and blacks. The Act was then amended to include coloured and Asian minorities in 1950, but the overall Act was repealed by the Sexual Offences Act in 1957. -
Representation of Blacks Act No 12
Blacks were removed from electoral voting rolls and were put on a separate roll, causing four white senators to represent blacks in the country. The Act was then repealed in 1959 by the Representation between the Republic of South Africa and self-governing Territories Act No 46. -
Development Trust and Land Act No 18
Native land reserve space in South Africa was increased to 13%, but the Department of Bantu Administration and Development gained more authority and power to remove "black spots" (black owned land enclaves bordered by white-owned land) and many blacks were evicted from their townships as a result. -
Black (Native) Laws Amendment Act No 46
Blacks were forbidden from acquiring urban land areas unless the Governor-General gave permission, signifying the loss of freedom of private property ownership. Blacks and coloureds had to work in areas where Apartheid was very strict and their lives became even more restricted with a very poor income. -
Natives (Urban Areas) Consolidation Act No 25
Black males who were seen as obsolete, idle, and worthless or who were guilty of specific crimes were targeted by influx control and could be removed from urban areas. -
Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act No 55
Inter-racial marriages were forbidden in Apartheid South Africa by the newly elected National Party in order to promote racial purity and encourage classifications and differences between the races. However, inter-racial marriages were a small percentage (0.23%) prior to the passage of the Act. -
Immorality Amendment Act No 21
The 1927 Immorality Act was expanded to include all black people, including coloureds, and the Asian minority. The legislation was repealed by the Sexual Offences Act in 1957. -
Suppression of Communism Act
The Act officially banned the Communist Party of South Africa. "Communism" was used as a very broad term, so any political party slightly related to communism was also afflicted by the legislation. -
Population Registration Act No 30
The Act created a National Population Registry and obliged people at birth to be classified and registered into one of four racial groups. The classification process had a biological basis, not a cultural one. The groups were White, Coloured, and Bantu (black African), and the large Indian population wasn't included until 1959 as Coloureds. The Act was very strict in classifications and even caused families to be separated because people could be reclassified countless times. -
Group Areas Act No 41
Particular areas were exclusively designated to a certain race, including cities and living areas and civic places. Racial groups had to live in segregated areas, but many minorities still worked in the white-designated areas. It was argued that non-Whites had no rights to live in the cities, so local governments did not provide any amenities to non-Whites. In effect, educational and cultural opportunities for blacks were extremely hindered and integration between the groups was unfeasible. -
Black Building Workers Act No 27
Black workers were prohibited from working skilled jobs in white urban areas, therefore making finding jobs more difficult and poverty more inevitable. -
Bantu Authorities Act No 68
Traditional tribal authorities were officially recognized. The Act also split the country into sections, called homelands ("Bantustans"), designated for each ethnic group to rule. The homelands were in poverty stricken areas and were geographically disconnected. -
Pass Laws Act
One of the most important and influential acts of legislation passed during Apartheid was the Pass Laws Act. It required Natives to carry passbooks, which were 96-page detailed reference books, at all times. The passbooks were a way for white government leaders to keep track of and to harass Natives. It was illegal to have an expired passbook or to be caught without one. Police checks were normal occurrences and even having a passbook that was in order resulted in imprisonment. -
Bantu Education Act
Schools were required to segregate schools by only admitting students from one racial group. This legislation also gave the Native Affairs Department the authority to control Africans. The schools of the different racial groups had different curriculums and school boards, but the white education had a much higher spending budget and the quality of education was better. The education of Blacks was focused on subserviance to whites and Apartheid. -
Public Safety Act No 3
Authorities were able to keep anyone in custody if they posed a threat to public safety and they were also allowed to prohibit meetings and gatherings in response to the African National Congress's (ANC) civil disobedience campaign. Civil disobedience was made punishable by three years in jail by the Criminal Law Amendment Act No 8. -
Reservation of Separate Amenities Act No 49: +
Public places and amenities such as buses, trains, restrooms, hospitals, separate entrances and service counters, parks, beaches, and swimming pools were segregated by race. Non-Whites were refused service and admittance and were arrested if they used Whites only facilities. Non-White facilities were in much worse shape and quality than White facilities. -
Black Labour Relations Regulation Act (Black Labour and Settlement of Disputes Act) No 48
This Act was an amendment to the 1937 Industrial Conciliation Act to exclude blacks from being members of registered unions by changing the meaning of "employee." The Act also prohibited black workers from striking and strikes were made illegal. -
Blacks Resettlement Act No 19
This legislated the removal of blacks from townships and "black spots" in cities through the establishment of a Resettlement Board. An example is the destruction of Sophiatown where thousands were evicted and homes were bulldozed. The resettlement areas where people were forced to move to were packed and tight. -
Industrial Conciliation Act (Labour Relations Act) No 28
Blacks were included with the revised definition of "employee" in this legislation that replaced the 1924 and 1937 Industrial Conciliation Acts. Also, black trade unions were no longer illegal, but couldn't be registered under the act. However, blacks were still prohibited from the new job reservation provision. -
Extension of University Education Act No 45
Colleges for certain African ethnic groups were created with the new ability of the Minister of Bantu Education, but black students were not permitted to study at the University of Cape Town or the University of Witwatersrand permitless. -
Representation between Republic of South Africa and Self-Governing Territories Act (Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act) No 46
Reserves became independent homelands, which divided Natives into in-groups and out-groups. Also, parliamentary representation for natives was abolished. -
Unlawful Organisations Act No 34
The African National Congress (ANC) and other groups were quickly declared "unlawful organizations" because they threatened public safety and order. -
Urban Blacks Council Act No 79
This Act was one of the first steps of urban black townships being self-governed. The act was repealed in 1997 by the Community Councils Act. -
General Law Amendment Act (Sabotage Act) No 76
The State President’s power to declare organizations unlawful was increased and was able to ban orders, restrict movement, ban social gatherings having more than one visitor at a time. Also, banned persons could be listed in the Government Gazette by the Minister. -
General Law Amendment Act
South African police officers were allowed to detain a suspect of a politically motivated crime without warrant for up to 90 days without access to a lawyer. This enhanced prior amendments by specifying political crimes, such as advocating communism or vast social/economic change in RSA. People were often released after 90 days and redetained the same day for 90 more days. Someone found guilty of a politically motivated crime could have been detained for a year because of the "Sobukwe clause." -
citations
Mr. G's Quizlet: https://quizlet.com/234307740/apartheid-in-south-africa-1948-1964-flash-cards/ Mr. G's Powerpoints: Introduction to Apartheid South Africa, The Nature and Characteristics of Discrimination Under Apartheid Wage Act: https://omalley.nelsonmandela.org/omalley/index.php/site/q/03lv01538/04lv01646/05lv01760.htm
Kiloh, Margaret; Sibeko, Archie (2000). A Fighting Union. Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa Report
