Apartheid

Over the holidays I received a gift card for one of my favorite local bookstores and while making use of that generous gift, I picked up a particularly interesting piece of literature. It's Trevor Noah's book "Born a Crime" and as I've been making my way through it, the book has got me thinking about the oppressive system that was known as Apartheid. Being that Trevor Noah grew up during the Apartheid era of South Africa, the book delves heavily into the topic. Trevor's take on Apartheid is essentially the same as every other account I've heard of concerning the system: it's very bleak and very oppressive. Not unlike any other take on Apartheid, Mr. Noah paints the picture of a totalitarian police state where the government is basically breathing down the necks of its citizens. It's all incredibly disturbing, but absolutely necessary to understand and remember. Apartheid was essentially institutional racism, but in it's most "perfect" form. It was basically state sponsored segregation at gunpoint. While Trevor Noah is undoubtedly funny, it was absolutely heart wrenching to read that his own father had to deny their relationship while they were in public because of the laws that were in place. It was tragic to read that he had to be hidden for the vast majority of his childhood simply because of the racial background of his parents. For some background, Trevor Noah's father was Swiss and German, in other words, very white, and his mother was a native Xhosa woman. Under the laws of Apartheid, they should have never been involved let alone have had a child together. In the book, Trevor recounted how his parents decision to have a child together was just about the most reckless thing that anyone could have done. He said that his mother could have been arrested simply for being in a white neighborhood past curfew, and the charge for having interracial relations was a prison sentence usually of 5 years, so not only breaking both of those rules but having a child in the process was basically the most taboo thing that could occur, at least according to the government of South Africa at the time. I think it's absolutely paramount to clarify that the act was taboo according to the government. The "according to the government" being the most important part of that clarification. I've always been of the opinion that laws are not always morally sound. They are made by people after all, and people are obviously fallible. Therefore laws can be fallible, and Apartheid was such a perfect example of this. Trevor Noah had parents who loved him very much, and they went to great lengths to provide the best life for him that they could, at great risk to themselves. I don't think what they did was wrong, and I would hope no one else in this day and age thinks they were in the wrong either. However according to the apartheid government of South Africa, they were criminals. They were criminals for being loving parents, they were criminals for doing the utmost for their child in a system that told him he was an abomination. Something is seriously wrong there and it's with the system. Any system that forces a father and mother to conceal their relationship to their own child is wrong. There are no ifs ands or buts concerning this matter. It would break my heart if I had to walk on the other side of the street from my own son simply to avoid being arrested and having my child put up for adoption. Sadly, that was just the reality in Apartheid from what I've gathered. Trevor was far from the only biracial or mixed race child born in South Africa, but his situation was unique in that his parents didn't smuggle him out, which was the most common practice. When I read that, I wondered why that was the case, but my question was quickly answered as Trevor wrote how his mom said "why would I leave my home?". That was an incredibly powerful thing to say, and I think it really highlighted her motivation for having him in the first place. I think the act of having a mixed race child in South Africa was a political statement. It was a rebellion of sorts. It was reckless, but then again, many noble acts are. I think Trevor Noah's mother was a very brave woman, at least that's the impression I got of her from the book. The act of having him was a rebuke of Apartheid and she wasn't afraid to send that message with her actions even though it could have been dangerous for her. South Africa in general was dangerous in those days. It's not exactly perfect right now, but back then things were at another level. There was a police force specifically for the task of peaking into windows to make sure there was no mixing of races. The entire country was segregated and the goal was nothing short of complete and utter white supremacy at the expense of black exploitation. I think the fact that apartheid fell is a beautiful thing. I think it was a triumph of human nature. In the book, Trevor made the very good, yet very obvious point, that some people just want to intermingle. I completely agree. In my opinion, the most bizarre thing about apartheid was that there were people who actually believed it could last. There were individuals and even entire groups who truly thought that this was a system that could exist in perpetuity and I find that utterly baffling. Then again, racism is baffling in many regards in and of itself. It's baffling because with racists, there seems to be this idea that we can all be completely separate and that will somehow work. That was essentially what apartheid was attempting, but it was attempting it in a modern world. Racial purists might sight the fact that a long time ago people tended to stay on their own continents, but with that there is a fundamental unwillingness to acknowledge the fact that we live in a different world today. We live in a smaller world. Obviously not literally, but figuratively. With transportation reinventing itself to be more efficient every day, and information being spread faster than ever, this idea that humanity can sever connections based on racial, or really any other kind of division, is ludicrous in my mind. There are simply far too many people that agree with me for the kind of world racists want to ever come to fruition. Again that's why I regard the fall of apartheid as a beautiful thing, but it needs to be remembered that while it was a victory, it was not the end of the battle. Not only in South Africa, but in the rest of the world there continues to be unrest, there continues to be inequality and there remains work to be done, but that event in 1994 was a profoundly significant step in the right direction.