# data[].attributes.body
Trevor Noah recently made his debut as the new host of the Emmy® and Peabody® Award–winning The Daily Show on Comedy Central. Noah joined The Daily Show with Jon Stewart in 2014 as a contributor. He continues to tour all over the world and has performed in front of sold out crowds at the Hammersmith Apollo in London and the Sydney Opera House in Australia as well as many U.S. cities. He is originally from South Africa.

# data[].attributes.body
Trevor Noah’s unlikely path from apartheid South Africa to the desk of The Daily Show began with a criminal act: his birth. Trevor was born to a white Swiss father and a black Xhosa mother at a time when such a union was punishable by five years in prison. Living proof of his parents’ indiscretion, Trevor was kept mostly indoors for the earliest years of his life, bound by the extreme and often absurd measures his mother took to hide him from a government that could, at any moment, steal him away. Finally liberated by the end of South Africa’s tyrannical white rule, Trevor and his mother set forth on a grand adventure, living openly and freely and embracing the opportunities won by a centuries-long struggle.

Born a Crime is the story of a mischievous young boy who grows into a restless young man as he struggles to find himself in a world where he was never supposed to exist. It is also the story of that young man’s relationship with his fearless, rebellious, and fervently religious mother—his teammate, a woman determined to save her son from the cycle of poverty, violence, and abuse that would ultimately threaten her own life.

The stories collected here are by turns hilarious, dramatic, and deeply affecting. Whether subsisting on caterpillars for dinner during hard times, being thrown from a moving car during an attempted kidnapping, or just trying to survive the life-and-death pitfalls of dating in high school, Trevor illuminates his curious world with an incisive wit and unflinching honesty. His stories weave together to form a moving and searingly funny portrait of a boy making his way through a damaged world in a dangerous time, armed only with a keen sense of humor and a mother’s unconventional, unconditional love.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Before we can look at the history of the apartheid period it is necessary to understand what apartheid was and how it affected people.
What was apartheid?
Translated from the Afrikaans meaning 'apartness', apartheid was the ideology supported by the National Party (NP) government and was introduced in South Africa in 1948. Apartheid called for the separate development of the different racial groups in South Africa. On paper it appeared to call for equal development and freedom of cultural expression, but the way it was implemented made this impossible. Apartheid made laws forced the different racial groups to live separately and develop separately, and grossly unequally too. It tried to stop all inter-marriage and social integration between racial groups. During apartheid, to have a friendship with someone of a different race generally brought suspicion upon you, or worse. More than this, apartheid was a social system which severely disadvantaged the majority of the population, simply because they did not share the skin colour of the rulers. Many were kept just above destitution because they were 'non-white'.

In basic principles, apartheid did not differ that much from the policy of segregation of the South African governments existing before the Afrikaner Nationalist Party came to power in 1948. The main difference is that apartheid made segregation part of the law. Apartheid cruelly and forcibly separated people, and had a fearsome state apparatus to punish those who disagreed. Another reason why apartheid was seen as much worse than segregation, was that apartheid was introduced in a period when other countries were moving away from racist policies. Before World War Two the Western world was not as critical of racial discrimination, and Africa was colonized in this period. The Second World War highlighted the problems of racism, making the world turn away from such policies and encouraging demands for decolonization. It was during this period that South Africa introduced the more rigid racial policy of apartheid.

People often wonder why such a policy was introduced and why it had so much support. Various reasons can be given for apartheid, although they are all closely linked. The main reasons lie in ideas of racial superiority and fear. Across the world, racism is influenced by the idea that one race must be superior to another. Such ideas are found in all population groups. The other main reason for apartheid was fear, as in South Africa the white people are in the minority, and many were worried they would lose their jobs, culture and language. This is obviously not a justification for apartheid, but explains how people were thinking.
Apartheid Laws
Numerous laws were passed in the creation of the apartheid state. Here are a few of the pillars on which it rested:

Population Registration Act, 1950 This Act demanded that people be registered according to their racial group. This meant that the Department of Home affairs would have a record of people according to whether they were white, coloured, black, Indian or Asian. People would then be treated differently according to their population group, and so this law formed the basis of apartheid. It was however not always that easy to decide what racial group a person was part of, and this caused some problems.

Group Areas Act, 1950 This was the act that started physical separation between races, especially in urban areas. The act also called for the removal of some groups of people into areas set aside for their racial group.

Promotion of Bantu Self-Government Act, 1959 This Act said that different racial groups had to live in different areas. Only a small percentage of South Africa was left for black people (who comprised the vast majority) to form their 'homelands'. This Act also got rid of 'black spots' inside white areas, by moving all black people out of the city. Well known removals were those in District 6, Sophiatown and Lady Selborne. These black people were then placed in townships outside of the town. They could not own property here, only rent it, as the land could only be white owned. This Act caused much hardship and resentment. People lost their homes, were moved off land they had owned for many years and were moved to undeveloped areas far away from their place of work.

Some other important laws were the:

Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, 1949
Immorality Amendment Act, 1950
Separate Representation of Voters Act, 1951
Resistance before 1960
Resistance to apartheid came from all circles, and not only, as is often presumed, from those who suffered the negative effects of discrimination. Criticism also came from other countries, and some of these gave support to the South African freedom movements.

Some of the most important organizations involved in the struggle for liberation were the African National Congress (ANC), the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) and the United Democratic Front (UDF). There were also Indian and Coloured organized resistance movements (e.g. the Natal Indian Congress (NIC), the Coloured People's Organisation), white organized groups (e.g. the radical Armed Resistance Movement (ARM), and Black Sash) and church based groups (the Christian Institute). We shall consider the ANC.
The ANC
The ANC was formed in Bloemfontein in 1912, soon after the Union of South Africa. Originally it was called the South African Native National Congress (SANNC). It was started as a movement for the Black elite, that is those Blacks who were educated. In 1919, the ANC sent a deputation to London to plead for a new deal for South African blacks, but there was no change to their position.

The history of resistance by the ANC goes through three phases. The first was dialogue and petition; the second direct opposition and the last the period of exiled armed struggle. In 1949, just after apartheid was introduced, the ANC started on a more militant path, with the Youth League playing a more important role. The ANC introduced their Programme of Action in 1949, supporting strike action, protests and other forms of non-violent resistance. Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu started to play an important role in the ANC in this period. In 1952 the ANC started the Defiance Campaign. This campaign called on people to purposefully break apartheid laws and offer themselves for arrest. It was hoped that the increase in prisoners would cause the system to collapse and get international support for the ANC. Black people got onto 'white buses', used 'white toilets', entered into 'white areas' and refused to use passes. Despite 8 000 people ending up in jail, the ANC caused no threat to the apartheid regime.

The ANC continued along the same path during the rest of the 1950s, until in 1959 some members broke away and formed the PAC. These members wanted to follow a more violent and militant route, and felt that success could not be reached through the ANC's method.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Before we can look at the history of the apartheid period it is necessary to understand what apartheid was and how it affected people. What was apartheid? Translated from the Afrikaans meaning 'apartness', apartheid was the ideology supported by the National Party (NP) government and was introduced in South Africa in 1948.

# data[].attributes.headline
South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission

# data[].attributes.subject
South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up by the Government of National Unity to help deal with what happened under apartheid. The conflict during this period resulted in violence and human rights abuses from all sides. No section of society escaped these abuses.

The TRC was based on the Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act, No 34 of 1995 (pdf)

"... a commission is a necessary exercise to enable South Africans to come to terms with their past on a morally accepted basis and to advance the cause of reconciliation."
Mr Dullah Omar, former Minister of Justice

The TRC effected its mandate through 3 committees: the Amnesty Committee, Reparation and Rehabilitation (R&R) Committee and Human Rights Violations (HRV) Committee....more

The Register of Reconciliation gave members of the public a chance to express their regret at failing to prevent human rights violations and to demonstrate their commitment to reconciliation...more

Regulations relating to Assistance to Victims in respect of Higher Education and Training: Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act, 1995, GG 38157, RG 10305, Vol 593, R 852 & R 853 (Afr), 03 Nov 2014.

Annual call for applications: Education assistance for the TRC-identified victims of apartheid

The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development calls on TRC-identified victims of Apartheid that were declared as such by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to apply for assistance with tuition fees for basic and higher education and training.

Closing date for applications are 30 September each year.

Who qualifies for assistance?
A person declared a victim by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC); and/or their dependants or relatives.A dependant includes any person to whom the TRC-identified victim has or had a legal or customary duty to support, which would include children, grandchildren and the spouse of the identified victim.

Follow this link to view more information and and the forms.

Call for Applications: 2021 Education Assistance for the TRC-Identified Victims
Closing date for applications is 30 September 2020
Application forms are available on the website or may be requested by sending an email to:
TRCeducation@justice.gov.za

Application forms can be returned:
By registered post to: The Head: TRC Unit, The Department of Justice and Constitutional Development, Private Bag X81, Pretoria, 0001
or
By e-mail: TRCeducation@justice.gov.za

Enquiries can be directed to: TRC Unit Helpdesk, Ms Lutendo Muneri
Tel: 012 315 1234
Cell: 072 042 2016
E-mail: TRCeducation@justice.gov.za

DISCLAIMER: The information contained on this website is presented as compliled by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Therefore the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development doesn't take responsibility for the accuracy of the contents of this website.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was set up by the Government of National Unity to help deal with what happened under apartheid. The conflict during this period resulted in violence and human rights abuses from all sides. No section of society escaped these abuses.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In the Apartheid state of South Africa (1949-1994), your racial classification was everything. It determined where you could live, who you could marry, the types of jobs you could get, and so many other aspects of your life. The whole legal infrastructure of Apartheid rested on racial classifications, but the determination of a person's race often fell to census takers and other bureaucrats. The arbitrary ways in which they classified race are astounding, especially when one considers that people's whole lives hinged on the result.

The 1950 Population Registration Act declared that all South Africans be classified into one of three races: white, "native" (black African), or colored (neither white nor 'native'). The legislators realized that trying to classify people scientifically or by some set biological standards would never work. So instead they defined race in terms of two measures: appearance and public perception.

According to the law, a person was white if they were "obviously...[or] generally accepted as White." The definition of 'native' was even more revealing: "a person who in fact is or is generally accepted as a member of any aboriginal race or tribe of Africa." People who could prove that they were 'accepted' as another race, could actually petition to change their racial classification. One day you could be 'native' and the next 'colored'. This was not about 'fact' but perception.

For many people, there was little question of how they would be classified. Their appearance aligned with preconceptions of one race or another, and they associated only with people of that race. There were other individuals, though, who did not fit neatly into these categories, and their experiences highlighted the absurd and arbitrary nature of racial classifications.

In the initial round of racial classification in the 1950s, census takers quizzed those whose classification they were unsure about. They asked people on the language(s) they spoke, their occupation, whether they had paid 'native' taxes in the past, who they associated with, and even what they ate and drank. All of these factors were seen as indicators of race. Race in this respect was based on economic and lifestyle differences - the very distinctions Apartheid laws set out to 'protect'.

Over the years, certain unofficial tests were also set up to determine the race of individuals who either appealed their classification or whose classification was challenged by others. The most infamous of these was the "pencil test", which said that if a pencil placed in one's hair fell out, he or she was white. If it fell out with shaking, ' colored', and if it stayed put, he or she was 'black'. Individuals could also be subjected to humiliating examinations of the color of their genitals, or any other body part that the determining official felt was a clear marker of race.

Again, though, these tests had to be about appearance and public perceptions, and in the racially stratified and segregated society of South Africa, appearance determined public perception. The clearest example of this is the sad case of Sandra Laing. Ms. Laing was born to white parents, but her appearance resembled that of a light-skin colored person. After her racial classification was challenged at school, she was re-classified as colored and expelled. Her father took a paternity test, and eventually, her family got her re-classified as white. She was still ostracized by the white community, however, and she ended up marrying a black man. In order to remain with her children, she petitioned to be re-classified again as colored. To this day, over twenty years after the end of Apartheid, her brothers refuse to speak to her.
Posel, Deborah. "Race as Common Sense: Racial Classification in Twentieth-Century South Africa," African Studies Review 44.2 (Sept 2001): 87-113. Posel, Deborah, "What's in a Name?: Racial categorisations under Apartheid and their afterlife," Transformation (2001).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
How the State Assigned Race Under Apartheid

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In the Apartheid state of South Africa (1949-1994), your racial classification was everything. It determined where you could live, who you could marry, the types of jobs you could get, and so many other aspects of your life.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
On July 1949,the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, Act No 55 of 1949 that prohibited marriage or a sexual relationship between White people and people of other race groups in South Africa is passed. The law was introduced by the apartheid government and part of its overall policy of separateness. South Africans were required to register as members of one of four racial groups as set out in the Population Registration Act of 1950. The four groups were White, Coloured, Indian and Black. Using these categories, the apartheid government proceeded to criminalise marriages between people of different racial groups. Subsequent to the passing of this legislation, a number of people were arrested and charged for breaking its provisions. The law also nullified interracial marriages of South Africans that occurred outside of the country. It was eventually repealed in 1985 by the Immorality and Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Amendment Act that allowed inter-racial marriages and relationships.

Beningfield, J.,(2006), The Frightened Land: Land, Landscape and Politics in South Africa in the twentieth century, (New York), p.310|South End Museum Mixed Marriages Act, [online], Available at www.southendmuseum.co.za [Accessed: 04 July 2012]|African History, Apartheid Era Laws: Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act No 55 of 1949, from About.com, [online], Available at https://africanhistory.about.com [Accessed: 04 July 2012]

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act commences

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
On July 1949,the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, Act No 55 of 1949 that prohibited marriage or a sexual relationship between White people and people of other race groups in South Africa is passed. The law was introduced by the apartheid government and part of its overall policy of separateness.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Apartheid Museum

The Apartheid Museum opened in 2001 and is acknowledged as the pre-eminent museum in the world dealing with 20th century South Africa, at the heart of which is the apartheid story.

The Apartheid Museum, the first of its kind, illustrates the rise and fall of apartheid.

An architectural consortium, comprising several leading architectural firms, conceptualised the design of the building on a seven-hectare stand. The museum is a superb example of design, space and landscape offering the international community a unique South African experience.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Apartheid Museum opened in 2001 and is acknowledged as the pre-eminent museum in the world dealing with 20th century South Africa, at the heart of which is the apartheid story. The Apartheid Museum, the first of its kind, illustrates the rise and fall of apartheid.

# data[].attributes.headline
Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie. (2009). “The Danger of a Single Story.” TED Talk

# data[].attributes.subject
Chimimanda Ngozi Adichie. (2009). “The Danger of a Single Story.” TED Talk

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: The danger of a single story

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Our lives, our cultures, are composed of many overlapping stories. Novelist Chimamanda Adichie tells the story of how she found her authentic cultural voice -- and warns that if we hear only a single story about another person or country, we risk a critical misunderstanding.