Experiencing Apartheid
Writer Mtutuzeli Matshoba provides a vivid account of life under apartheid through the story of his friend who was forcibly ejected from his home.
![A child walks to school through the barren village of Qunu, South Africa, located just outside of the town of Mthatha.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Democracy_2013_GirlWalkingtoSchoolMthatha_FH281816.jpg?h=a5f2f23a&itok=lR43Ngto)
The Freedom Charter
Examine the 1955 Freedom Charter, established by the ANC and supporting groups, which calls for all races to enjoy equal rights, protections, and benefits under the law.
![A group of resisters proudly pose after their release from prison in Durban during the Defiance Campaign Against Unjust Laws, 1952.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Democracy_1952_TheDefianceCampaign_FH281822.jpg?h=56feb499&itok=2LnEBZM4)
The Road to Brown
This film shows the legal case against segregation that launched the civil rights movement.
![](/sites/default/files/brightcove/videos/images/posters/image_276.jpg)
Mandela on Trial
Nelson Mandela describes the ANC and PAC’s shift from non-violent resistance of apartheid to violent sabotage under the militant faction MK in his testimony during the Rivonia Trial.
!["A young Nelson Mandela poses for a photograph in Umtata shortly before moving to Fort Beaufort to attend Healdtown Comprehensive School. "](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Nelson_Mandela_Medium_res.jpg?h=623540e1&itok=0V950_BY)
A Wife's Lament
Consider the unique experiences of black South African women during apartheid, many of whom were forced to live far away from their husbands on bantustans.
![A group of women hold signs in demonstration against the pass laws in Cape Town on August 9, 1956, the same day as the massive women’s protest in Pretoria.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-05/Democracy_1956_WomenResistPassLaws_FH281823.jpg?h=cb9047e7&itok=NA94IMQt)
Building Connections and Strengthening Community Project
This project gives students an opportunity to champion the stories of individuals and groups in their school community that they believe have been told in a limited way.
1956 Women's March, Pretoria
Female demonstrators march to the Union Buildings (official seat of the South African Government) during the 1956 Women’s March on August 9, in opposition to the 1952 pass laws.
![Female demonstrators march to the Union Buildings (official seat of the South African Government) during the 1956 Women’s March on August 9, in opposition to the 1952 pass laws.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-06/1956_WomensMarchPretoria_FH281821.jpg?h=7fb2964e&itok=jZcbDKZY)
1994 Elections
Long lines edge the William Nicol Highway, as people wait to vote during the general elections on April 27, 1994 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
![Long line of hundreds of South Africans along a busy highway.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/1994_Election_Voting_Lines_Medium_res.jpg?h=673d5a02&itok=r-7pi3J5)
Archbishop Tutu and the Chasm
Standing at the edge of a cliff labeled ‘Truth,’ Archbishop Desmond Tutu clutches a blank map. Behind him stand a perpetrator, a victim, and members of the media. A deep chasm separates them from the cliff labeled ‘Reconciliation.’
![Cartoon showing Arhcbishop Desmon Tutu standing at edge of cliff labeled "Truth".](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Archbishop_Tutu_and_the_Chasm_Medium_res.jpg?h=e4f638fd&itok=BEvm1IH4)
Bantustans in South Africa
With the passing of the Bantu Authorities Act in 1951, the apartheid set in motion the creation of ten bantustans in South Africa, illustrated in this map.
![Map of South Africa showing the borders of Bantustans, native territories set aside for Black South Africans.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Bantustans_in_South_Africa_Medium_res.jpg?h=99417986&itok=p9-tMWJB)
Boer Family, 1886
The Boers, semi-nomadic farmers of Dutch descent, often lived in impoverished conditions due to social isolation and their views on racial superiority.
![A family of four adults and seven children sitting and standing in front of the doorway of a building.](/sites/default/files/styles/dynamic_stack_296_1x/public/2022-07/Boer_Family_1886.jpg?h=412eaa8a&itok=bPgdJKnv)