Trump's Embrace of White South Africans Takes Dark, Unnerving New Turn (Greg Sargent, The New Republic)

[highplainsdem]

8. Exactly. DUers unfamiliar with South Africa's history need to know about the 1913 Natives Land Act:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natives_Land_Act,_1913

At least read the Historical Context and Overview sections.

A few paragraphs:

The late 19th and early 20th centuries observed a junction of colonial imperialism, economic transformation and a rise in racially divisive ideals. As European powers expanded their territories into Africa the social identities of these regions were transformed. In 1853, the British Cape Colony introduced a colourblind electoral franchise but in 1892 Cecil Rhodes got the Franchise and Ballot Act passed which disenfranchised many black Africans by tripling the wealth requirement to vote. In 1894, the Glen Grey Act was passed, beginning the segregation of races in South Africa through legislation.[citation needed]

With the surplus of natural resources, including gold and diamonds, there was a rush to assert dominance in all regions of Africa. South Africa was introduced to a surplus of mainly British and Dutch immigrants who tried to implement their own ideologies upon the indigenous people of this land. Tensions began to grow between the colonisers and the indigenous groups throughout the 19th century which ultimately lead to the introduction of the Native Land's Act in 1913. Through this act, the colonisers were able to profit majorly. The natural resources existing within the indigenous land, and the ability to use indigenous workers generated a lot of wealth.[citation needed]

The Native Land Act is remembered in South African history as one step towards the institutional discrimination and injustice of the Apartheid era and for underlying geographic segregation of races that still remains. Other policies that followed the Native Land Act include prohibition of interracial marriage, restricted access to many white-only spaces, creation of different public facilities including bathrooms, water fountains, parks and beaches.[2] It is important to note that differently from other discriminatory systems the apartheid system in South Africa was a white minority, discriminating against an indigenous, black majority. Being the minority group, the apartheid government had to ensure they kept control of their power. The way the apartheid government was able to do this was through only allowing white people to vote and hold government positions, essentially making it impossible for them to be overthrown no matter how unjustly they acted.[3]

-snip-

The Act, aimed at addressing issues related to serfdom or sharecropping, which had profound implications for indigenous people. It specifically prohibited these practices, which had been the primary sources of employment for the indigenous population. Additionally, the legislation safeguarded existing agreements regarding land leased by both parties, particularly in designated "native reserve" areas.[8] In these areas, land, held under communal tenure vested in chiefs, could neither be bought nor sold, nor used as collateral. However, the impact extended beyond the designated reserve areas. The Act also prohibited black tenant farming on white-owned land, a move that significantly affected many black farmers who were sharecroppers or labour tenants. The full implementation of these restrictions was not immediate, but when enforced, it compelled numerous black individuals living in "white" areas into wage labour.[9] Notably, before the Natives Land Act took effect, much of the white-owned land was occupied by the indigenous people engaging in share-cropping arrangements. Indigenous individuals would rent the land for cultivation, sharing the resulting crops with the landowners. This mutually beneficial system drastically changed after the implementation of the Act, as sharecropping and renting of white-owned land by indigenous people were banned. Instead of a partner-ship, the indigenous farmers had to work for their "white-master". Consequently, this prohibition created severe challenges for the indigenous population, rendering them unable to work on the land they had previously cultivated.[10] Compounded by the forced relocation into poorly planned homelands and townships allocated strictly for indigenous groups, the Act initiated a cycle of lasting poverty. The government's relocation efforts, coupled with the inability for the indigenous to find work and provide for themselves, led to a rapid increase in socio-economic issues within these communities.[11]

-snip-

There was great economic injustice as well as racial injustice. And South Africans in their 50s and older might very well have heard about the immediate effect of this legislation from their grandparents and great-grandparents. Their family's memory of recent history, not of a national history no one in their family could recall.

That does NOT excuse the killing of white farmers. But South Africa's white minority should do more to undo past injustice.

And yes, I know - the US should, too. And that bastard Trump is doing all he can to hurt blacks and Native Americans here.