Apartheid: Colonialism & Nationalism

Flags and anthems are powerful symbols of nationhood. Consider the information below in relationship to the essential questions: 

• What does it mean to live in a county where entire groups of people (in fact the majority) are not recognized as citizens?
• How does the 1892 cartoon depict the relationship between the colonists and Africans?
• The poems are both written in the early years of the 20th century, yet the "apartheid era" doesn't officially begin until 1948.  What is the significance of these early poems?

The two major European populations in South Africa, the Dutch (now Afrikaners) and the English, brought flags whose use persisted until 1994. The orange-white-blue tricolor of the 17th century Netherlands was the basis for the national flag officially hoisted on May 31, 1928, by the Union of South Africa. The British Union Jack and the flags of the Transvaal and Orange Free State were added to the center of that flag. Absent was any symbol for the overwhelming majority of the population, black Africans, or for the country’s Colored (mixed-race) and Indian inhabitants.

Created in 1925 the flag of the African National Congress (ANC) is the oldest of the 3 most recognizable flags of South Africa.  The ANC flag comprises three equal horizontal stripes – black, green and gold. Black symbolizes the native people of South Africa, green represents the land and gold represents the mineral and other natural wealth of South Africa.

This flag was also the battle flag of uMkhonto we Sizwe the armed wing of the ANC established in 1961 to force the apartheid regime to the bargaining table through acts of sabotage and, if necessary, military campaigns.

The end of the apartheid era was marked by the democratic elections of April 1994, which resulted in a strong victory for supporters of the African National Congress (ANC). Many whites had feared that the black-green-yellow horizontal tri-color of the ANC, would be made the national flag. Instead, the new flag hoisted on April 27 was a compromise in design and colors intended to represent and reassure all segments of the population. Designed by Frederick Brownell, its principal symbol a Y-shape symbolizing the “converging of paths…merging history and present political realities” into a common determination to create a united and prosperous future.

Civil Rights Connection: A New Mississippi Flag has a Surprising Champion: A Segregationist’s Grandchild

Hendrix, Steve. "A New Mississippi Flag Has a Surprising Champion: A Segregationist's Grandchild." The Washington Post [Washington, DC], National ed., 21 Jan. 2019, pp. A1-A14. Washington Post, wapo.st/2FDZBR9?tid=ss_mail&utm_term=.684b388e7cd3. Accessed 21 Jan. 2019.