Born a Crime | Facing History & Ourselves

Born a Crime

Resources 9
Last Modified April 8, 2021
Description
Gallery

Apartheid Resistance Posters

These posters represent six distinct aspects of the anti-apartheid movement's struggle for democracy in South Africa during the 1980s.

Poster advertising a rally in Capetown contains an illustration of people marching carrying a "UDF" flag.
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Mini-Lesson

How to Bring Spoken Word Poetry into the Classroom

For National Poetry Month, introduce students to spoken word poetry and explore its power to give voice to issues that impact our communities.

Smiling student gesturing during classroom discussion
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Chapter

Before Apartheid

Understand the history of people living and settling in the South African region and explore how racial and ethnic identities created tension in the years leading to apartheid.

Sol Plaatje was the co-founder of the African National Congress (ANC). As an activist and politician, he spent much of his life fighting for the enfranchisement and liberation of the South African people.
Reading

My Name

Consider the importance of African naming practices in South African poet Magoleng wa Selepe’s poem about the effects of colonialism on African identity.

This Tswana-Venda wedding demonstrates the continued importance of traditional culture in contemporary South African society.
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Chapter

Early Apartheid: 1948-1970

Learn about the early development of apartheid as the white South African government formed a legal system of racial hierarchy and non-white South Africans resisted these laws.

A group of women hold signs in demonstration against the pass laws in Cape Town on August 9, 1956, the same day as the massive women’s protest in Pretoria.
Reading

Apartheid Policies

Read the National Party’s 1948 statement in support of apartheid, which justifies separation as a way to preserve the white European race.

The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act (passed in 1953) led to signs such as the one shown above. The Act prohibited people of different races from using the same public amenities.
Reading

Experiencing Apartheid

Writer Mtutuzeli Matshoba provides a vivid account of life under apartheid through the story of his friend who was forcibly ejected from his home.

Notes
Resources for students reading Born a Crime by Trevor Noah
A child walks to school through the barren village of Qunu, South Africa, located just outside of the town of Mthatha.
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Chapter

Growing Resistance Meets Growing Repression

Investigate the resurgent wave of international and domestic anti-apartheid activism that led to increased violence before both sides compromised over a legal conclusion to apartheid.

A group of mourners carry a United Democratic Front Banner during a mass funeral.
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Chapter

Transition to Democracy

Examine the continuing struggle for South Africa as it creates a representative democracy, attempts to heal from the legacy of apartheid, and searches for a new, inclusive identity.

The signing of the Republic of South Africa's Constitution in May 1996.