Week 5

            While I have not been to South Africa yet, I do feel like I have an understanding of the context around race and the anti-apartheid movement because of what I have learned about America's journey to equality. After watching Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom and Selma, it is interesting to notice the similarities between the two. Both movements were rooted in different historical contexts, occurred on different continents and came into action in different time periods. So I find it very interesting and somewhat amazing, that despite these differences in the two movements, they are still very similar to one another.
             Both movements were lead about amazing, incredibly inspiring men - Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela. I believe their leadership and perseverance are key to the strength of both of the movements - in America and South Africa. Both leaders were jailed, along with colleagues multiple times, as a frequent response to their actions. MLK and Mandela both took on a high degree of responsibility and risked their families' safety and their own safety for their movements. Both Dr. King's and Mandela's home were continually assaulted or invaded. Dr. King's home was a frequent location for backlash, whether bricks were crashing in through windows or worse. Mandela even went in hiding for a portion of time to escape the threats of backlash or being arrested, while Winnie Mandela was continually disturbed, arrested, or invaded on by the government.
             Both the Civil Rights movement and the Anti-Apartheid movement utilized informal meetings to inform and organize one another. These meetings occurred in their own (non-white) spaces to assure their safety and effectiveness. The two movements were also composed of a variety of different groups, they shared the same large goal, but had different ideas about how to reach their main goal of equality. Students were involved in organizing protests within both movements, especially the sit-ins and the Soweto uprising. Both movements experienced large scale arrests in response to their protests, and unfortunately violent backlash was a common response to the actions within the movements. For example, in Soweto, Johannesburg in 1976 in response to the introduction of Afrikaans into the education system, protests were organized. Chaos broke out, and dogs were released onto protestors as well as open fire by the police. Over a thousand people were wounded and an estimated 176 people died on that day. This level of violence occurred on a somewhat smaller scale in Selma, Alabama. Shown in Selma, the march reached a bridge where they encountered a line of officers who proceeded to attack the protestors. Images spread through the media from both of these protests and played a very important role in increasing and changing public opinion in favor of the movements.
            In response to the violence both of the movements experienced to their non-violent protests, facts started occurring in both movements. Winnie Mandela and Malcolm X are two figures that advocated for violence as a form of self-defense, in response to the backlash their movements received. Although all involved in both movements were working towards the same ultimate goal, different groups thought a certain way would be a better approach than the others.
           Both films were captivating and the injustices shown made my insides twist into knots. The degree of disrespect one person can hold for another human is something I will never understand. The leadership of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Nelson Mandela, as well as their commanding presences will never cease to inspire me.

Week 7

       This week I read three different articles that were posted by my fellow Cape Town study abroad peers. I read "The Backlash Against African Women" that Joanna shared, "Here's how South Africans students talk about race and gender," suggested by Maria, and a youtube video titled "South Africa's Post Apartheid Generation," recommended by Connie. "The Backlash Against African Women" posted in the New York Times was an interesting, yet disheartening article. This articles speaks of the threat of assault non-traditional African women face on the streets. It claims that women's education programs in the 1980's are evident in the changing gender roles of Africans. African women are rising as leaders and African men don't know how to handle it. They have responded to the rise of women's power with public strippings, verbal abuse, and political attempts to keep African women in the shadows. Public strippings are "a cultural war against women's advancements in traditionally conservative but rapidly urbanizing societies." Backlash the women's uprising includes "decency bills", bullying and verbal abuse of successful women, and a bill that would have made women in rural areas subject to the chief's rule. This article compares political representation of women in America, South Africa, and Rwanda. American women represent 20% of Congress, South African women represent 40% of the National Assembly, and 64% of Rwanda's Parliament are women. I found it very interesting that Rwanda is the "only country in the world where women outnumber men in the legislature." While the successes of other women, and especially the successes of African women, are a very positive note, the challenges and backlash from society and men is rather disturbing to me. Where women in America are frequently catcalled, women in Africa who are dressed in non-traditional dress are stripped and mortified in public. <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/11/opinion/sunday/the-backlash-against-african-women.html?_r=1&module=ArrowsNav&contentCollection=Opinion&action=keypress&region=FixedLeft&pgtype=article>
        "Here's How South African Students Talk about Race and Gender" was a good read because it gave me perspectives about how South Africans at my age view current race and gender relations in South Africa. What I learned most from this article was how much race and gender are both emphasized in South Africa. Obviously race is in the microscope only twenty years out of apartheid, but the idea of women, colored or not, also being considered a marginalized group in South Africa is wild. After reading this I feel like, South Africa is almost too focused on putting everyone in "boxes" and each different "box" a South African is classified as, ties to a different form of discrimination. "South Africa is a very partriarchal setting.We usually talk about white privilege and then we find that black women are at the bottom that whole hierarchy. We find black men being oppressed by white men and at the same time they come home and oppress their black wives."
<http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-01-16/heres-how-south-african-students-talk-about-race-and-gender>
        In "South Africa's Post Apartheid Generation" I learned that Nelson Mandela's party, the ANC, has been in power since Mandela's election and although the party is not most popular today, no other party has been able to politically challenge them. Not with my surprise, I also learned that the past history of Apartheid is held with just as much importance to the generation our age, as well as their parents who were directly involved in the transition. Overall I am really impressed by the "Post Apartheid Generation's" optimism and determination towards success, despite all the misfortunes they have grown up through. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elrWczhTZBk>

Week 6

             In America, Colored and Black often refer to the same racial group, but in South Africa, the different racial groups are clearly defined and have a distinction between Colored and Blacks. I have learned that the Colored people of South Africa are different than Blacks and that Colored South Africans are still marginalized in South African politics. I learned that the Colored population entails anyone who is not of Anglo history and incorporates not only Indians but South Africans with ethnic histories that derive from centuries of blood mixing. Colored people come from mixed ancestry of “indigenous Khoi and San tribes, West African slaves, Dutch settlers, Malay indentured laborers and even some Caribbean sailors.” There is a great amount of diversity in heritage that is grouped under one category which is fascinating to me. From what I know as of now, I compare South African's Colored to America's Latinos, because although Latinos come from a variety of countries and backgrounds they are grouped into the same category based on language. I am curious about the identities Colored people identify with. With such a diverse range of backgrounds that qualify as colored, how do people define their heritages as individuals and what characteristics define Coloreds' group identity? While Black South African's racial position has been advanced following the dissolution of Apartheid and representation by the African National Congress, unfortunately Colored people are still marginalized in favor of “bona fide Africans.” I am interested to learn more about the experiences of South Africans' Colored population and the different, stratified racial groups in present day South Africa.



http://www.theroot.com/articles/world/2013/10/south_africas_coloreds_identify_most_with_blacks_in_the_us.4.html