By Linley Benson
When visiting The Apartheid Museum, I was struck by the relationship between South Africa’s mining industry and the foundations of Apartheid and racial segregation. When gold was first found in what was to become Johannesburg in 1886, The English had literally struck an economic gold mine. This discovery was the trigger of the economy for this region, making the English the largest purveyor of gold in the world. From this discovery, Johannesburg was built, soon becoming the most cosmopolitan city in Africa. But this discovery came with a price, and the price was paid on the native black Africans. As this discovery was not only a trigger to the economy, but the trigger to racist labor.According to RV Selope Thelma, one can view “the period between the discovery of gold on the Witwatersrand and the establishment of the city of Johannesburg as a turning point in the history of not only Southern Africa but of the whole continent.”
The discovery of gold was what put South Africa at the forefront of economic exploration by European settlers for potential mining opportunities, and the surrounding countries as well. However, this discovery came at a price, and the price was paid on black African laborers. This is mainly because of the employment of cheap black labor by the English to mine for the gold. The labor was brutal and exhausting, and required a lot more workers than the English had anticipated. They determined that they could employ more blacks for much cheaper costs, and therefore were replacing the white Afrikaners with cheap black labor. With a negative reaction from the white Afrikaners as they believed they were losing their jobs to less qualified workers,white supremacist groups began to form to fight for their superiority over blacks. With a new government put into place as well, there were segregation laws put into place to put whites above blacks. As such, segregation was built on the usage of migrant labor, and Apartheid was born.
The environment that was born and fed throughout the segregation of black laborers and the whites grew into a perfect breeding ground for Apartheid. People from this generation were born into racist and segregated environments and cultures, and South Africa was quickly becoming more segregated until the point when Apartheid was set into place. Segregation, and the Apartheid, evolved as a consequence of the growing economy and mining industries that built South Africa.
The Apartheid museum had a very powerful effect on me, as it took the details of the Apartheid, conditions, and background, to a much deeper level. I had before connected how the Apartheid has had an effect on current economic conditions and opportunities for different races in South Africa, but I had not before connected how the beginnings of South Africa’s economy was also the beginnings of Apartheid. I saw in much more detail the torments, stories, and horrors that raged during the apartheid regime, and the true testimonials of some important players in opposing the government. The museum was a powerful reminder of what had happened, and how the history of South Africa is connected past and present.
As well, it provided a very clear layout of how Apartheid came to be formed, who was in charge, and why the roots of it went so deep into the culture of the South African people. It was especially interesting to me to see the play Egoli after having taken this mining perspective in viewing the Apartheid, as the play gave me a look into the more personal experience of black miners. In the play, you could see clearly the conditions of the workers, the hardship of their lives, and the racial implications. As well, it was a good portrayal of how those who worked the hardest were receiving the littlest, but Johannesburg’s economy depended on the work that they did.
I know have a much better understanding of why Johannesburg is known as the city of gold, and how Apartheid is so tied into mining. However, I still wonder why these mining conditions and racisms still exist today, even though we are fully aware of how drastic of an effect the mining industry had on wealth disparities in South Africa. Is it because the black laborers are still stuck in the apartheid time conditions and aren’t provided with opportunities to find a way out? Do they feel like this is their only opportunity for employment? How does the reflect on the country as a whole and how the government still remains to treat its people?
