South Africa

Located at the southern tip of Africa, with a population of approximately 47 million, South Africa is a country known for both its racial division and its peaceful transition to democracy. Apartheid, or “separateness,” was the official policy used by the white nationalist government to entrench racial discrimination in all areas of life in South Africa between 1949 and 1994. The 1950 Group Areas Act spatially segregated different race groups from each other, typically through forced removals of the black, Indian, and so-called colored populations into underdeveloped areas on the periphery of cities and towns or into designated rural areas called “homelands.” Unequal access to educational and employment opportunities, restricted movement, and the criminalization of antiapartheid protest further divided the country.

Since the election of the ...