Apartheid means separation or separation in the Afrikaans language. Such a simple and unpretentious word… until you realize the real-world effect that word has had on humanity. Racial discrimination, inequality, and oppression are a small part of the evil that leads men to classify other men as different or less than. There is a lesson to be learned from the study of apartheid and that lesson is that it comes in many forms and is called by many names, but that abuse of power exists today and permeates all areas of the globe. How many more great atrocities will humanity have to face before we embrace our differences and treat all men and women as our brothers and sisters? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay The precursor to apartheid legislation, in South Africa, dates back to 1850. At that time legislation was written that divided masters and servants, skilled and unskilled workers. Members of the master and skilled classes were generally white and benefited from the laws. Servants and unskilled laborers were generally non-white and were exposed to great oppression under these laws. Examples; the Masters and Servants Acts of 1856 and 1904, which made it illegal for unskilled workers to strike, and the Black Land Act of 1913 (until 1991) which prevented non-whites from owning land outside designated reserves, which represented approximately 7% of all land in South Africa. Apartheid became official national policy for South Africa when the National Party came to power in 1948, and remained in place for almost 50 years. It is important to remember that at that time whites made up only 20% of the population. About 70% of the population was black, about 2% were Asian (mostly from India), and about 8% were mixed race, classified as coloured. Although racial discrimination was nothing new in South Africa, apartheid legislation legalized human rights abuses against that nation's non-whites. Since the unification of South Africa in 1910, the white minority has pursued segregation. The National Party (made up of descendants of Dutch settlers, who lived in groups known as the Boer Republics) began to implement policies of racial segregation in which non-white South Africans were forced to live in separate areas, attend separate and inferior schools, and use public facilities separated such as separate parks, public transport and beaches. Non-whites were forced to carry identification when traveling within the country and were subject to brutality and arrest if deemed non-compliant. Marriage between people of different races was strictly prohibited and even illegal. An organization called the African National Congress responded to the apartheid laws with civil disobedience, boycotts, and strikes. This organization started what they called the Defiance Campaign and their leader was Nelson Mandela. Mandela worked as a mostly peaceful activist against racial inequality for nearly 20 years before co-founding a militant organization and was eventually arrested for conspiring against the government and sentenced to life in prison. South Africa's policies came under international scrutiny in 1960, when the then British Prime Minister, Harold Macmillan, spoke out against apartheid in his famous Wind of Change speech in Cape Town, South Africa. A few weeks later the Sharpeville massacre occurred, in which South African police shot into a crowd of protesters, killing 69 people. This resulted in a..