Blog Post: Apartheid in South Africa

The Apartheid in South Africa, 1948 to 1991, was a system of segregation on the grounds of race, which was instituted by a white minority group who was ruling in Africa. This allowed racism and discrimination to be in the law; this affected the way South Africans voted, married, and lived their lives. The Apartheid system lasted fifty year, and during these years, many, including Nelson Mandela, fought against this system and for their freedom in South Africa.

There are many books for children to learn more about this system and what it was like before, during, and after the Apartheid. One book by Michael J. Martin called Apartheid in South Africa discusses what exactly the Apartheid in South Africa was and how long it went on. The book describes the events that led to the development of this system and how it ended. Another book is The Fall of the Apartheid in South Africa by Melissa Koosmann. This book discusses the oppressive system and some of the people that were involved in trying to end the system. Both of these books can help children understand more about the African culture and what they went through to try to gain more freedom from the whit minority who was running them.

Historical books are written for children to understand what happened in the past. These books are, mostly, written in a way that may shelter children from all the violence that happened, but these books, in particular, write about the racism in South Africa. Some books can shelter children more from the violence of the past, but these do not do that as much because they are for older children. Even though these children are older, there are certain things that authors leave out because some events are too violent for children to be reading about. In Apartheid in South Africa, Martin discusses the events of the Apartheid; Martin includes the racism within this system because the system was based on racism and discrimination. Koosmann focuses more on the people who fought against the system and how the system led to its end in her book The Fall of Apartheid in South Africa. 

This topic can be a very hard to talk about with children, but the Apartheid in South Africa can be related to the racism and discrimination that went on in the United States. This topic may be difficult to talk about with children, but theses authors write about the subject in ways that can be understandable to children, and there may be things that the authors leave out that may be in adult history books. This is to be expected in children’s books, but these authors do a good job of including the main information without leaving out big details of this event.

Koosmann, Melissa. The Fall of Apartheid in South Africa. Mitchell Lane Publishing Inc., 2010.

Martin, Michael J. Apartheid in South Africa. Greenhaven Publishing LLC, 2006.