1952
A woman sat in the wagon reserved for White people to protest against Apartheid.
IMAGE: KEYSTONE-FRANCE/GETTY IMAGES
As these signs showed, the restrictions intruded into all aspects of life. While Colored and Indian groups had access to some privileges, the sharpest distinction was between Black and White. The 1953 Separate Amenities Act of 1953 stated that separate facilities no longer had to be "substantially equal."
The result: Black-only bus stops serviced inferior Black-only buses. Black-only ambulances stopped at inferior Black-only hospitals. Black-only education was provided at inferior Black-only schools and universities. Beaches, bridges, swimming pools, washrooms, cinemas, benches, parks and even burial grounds were all segregated.
There were a handful of places where segregation didn't occur, notably drug-dealing nightclubs and churches. Though the lack of segregation in churches was not for want of trying. Blacks could not attend White churches under the 1957 Churches Native Laws Amendment Act, but the law was largely unenforced.
South African President P.W. Botha began to tear down Petty Apartheid in the late 1970s and early 1980s. But while the outward — and literal — signs of Apartheid started to be removed under Botha, the level of brutality against Blacks increased. Following the end of the Apartheid system in 1994, Botha was found responsible for gross violations of human rights under the nation's Truth and Reconciliation Commission. He maintained he had no regrets.
