Apartheid Museum

Before apartheid, mission schools were among the few avenues for formal, quality education available to black South Africans, educating future leaders such as Oliver Tambo, Nelson Mandela, and Desmond Tutu. Missions also played a key role in teacher training, while Fort Hare emerged as a leading centre of non-racial higher education, producing a generation of political and intellectual leaders.

The 1953 Bantu Education Act placed African education under state control, stripping mission schools and other educational institutions of their autonomy, and introduced a deliberately inferior system designed to prepare black learners for manual labour. Mission-led teacher training was absorbed or dismantled, and the Extension of University Education Act of 1959 enforced segregation in higher education through state-controlled ethnic colleges.

These changes entrenched inequality and intensified disadvantage across an entire generation under apartheid. By the 1970s and 1980s, education had become a key focus of resistance, from the Soweto Uprising to widespread student boycotts, as young South Africans challenged a system designed to limit their futures.

Visit the Apartheid Museum to explore the history of education, inequality, and resistance under apartheid.

www.apartheidmuseum.org

The history of youth resistance in South Africa is closely tied to the fight for access to equal, meaningful education. As we mark the 50th anniversary of the student uprising of June 1976, the Apartheid Museum invites school groups to engage with that history through immersive exhibitions and guided learning experiences that bring the past into conversation with the present.

Designed for different age groups, our school tours support curriculum learning while encouraging learners to think critically about South Africa’s history and the role young people hold as a powerful force for positive change.

Find out more about our school tours and how to book today: https://www.apartheidmuseum.org/school-visits

This Youth Month, the Apartheid Museum honours the courage and sacrifice of the students who rose against apartheid education in 1976, 50 years on from this defining moment in South Africa’s history.

We have produced a 50th Anniversary Edition of ‘Timeliners 1: Soweto in Flames’, our educational comic that brings the events of 16 June 1976 to life through the story of Neo, a young time-traveller who witnesses the Soweto Uprising firsthand.

As part of our permanent exhibition, we have added the official 1976 death toll recorded by the Cillié Commission (1980), commemorating 575 lives from Soweto and other townships across the country.

We are also unveiling a sculpture of Hector Pieterson being carried by Mbuyisa Makhubu, with Hector’s sister Antoinette Sithole alongside them, as part of our permanent art collection.

Visit the Apartheid Museum this Youth Month to reflect, remember, and engage with the legacy of 1976.

Plan your visit and book tickets online: www.apartheidmuseum.org

In 1948, the National Party came to power on a platform of apartheid, beginning the formal implementation of a vast system of racial segregation and white minority rule in South Africa.

Between 1949 and 1971, 148 apartheid laws were introduced, shaping nearly every aspect of life in South Africa through controls over land, movement, residence, employment, education, political rights, and countless other restrictions imposed on the black majority.
Together, these measures formed what is described as grand apartheid: the broader framework of policies covering territorial planning, forced removals, segregation, and exclusion that underpinned apartheid rule.

The Apartheid Museum’s ‘Apartheid’ exhibition explores how this system was developed and enforced over time. Through photographs, personal stories, archival material, and historical records, the exhibition also examines the political and social conditions that enabled apartheid to take hold, offering insight into its structure and the lived realities experienced by millions of South Africans.

Visit the Apartheid Museum to explore our exhibitions and engage more deeply with the history, impact, and legacy of apartheid.

www.apartheidmuseum.org

On this day in 1948, the National Party won the South African general election, forming a government that would go on to introduce apartheid as official state policy.

The election was contested between D.F. Malan’s National Party and incumbent Jan Smuts’ United Party in a deeply unequal society, where black South Africans, who made up more than 70% of the population, were excluded from the vote. The NP campaigned explicitly on the platform of apartheid, drawing on fears of the “swart gevaar” and promising strict racial separation. It built support among small farmers, blue-collar workers, and poorer white voters, while portraying the UP as liberal elites, despite both parties ultimately upholding white minority rule and segregation in different forms.

Although the NP did not win the majority of the popular vote, it secured enough parliamentary seats through its rural constituency advantage to form a government. From this moment, it moved quickly to introduce and entrench legislation that formalised apartheid. This election marked the beginning of 46 years of continuous National Party rule.

Visit the Apartheid Museum to explore the events, policies, and histories that shaped South Africa’s past.

www.apartheidmuseum.org

Join us for a Taste of Cultures, a vibrant festival brought to you in partnership with the Apartheid Museum, SOJO Business and Tourism, and Zaza Legacy Markets!

May is Africa Month – a special time to celebrate the rich identities, unity, and diverse cultures of the continent. This year we embrace all cultures fostering a spirit of connection and shared celebration.

Experience a lively gathering featuring delicious cuisines, stunning arts and crafts, and cultural expressions from around the globe. It’s a unique opportunity to explore and enjoy our collective stories and flavours in one unforgettable event!

Save the date and join us 📍 Location: Apartheid Museum, Northern Parkway & Gold Reef Roads, Ormonde, Johannesburg.

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 aparth