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Page 2A The Maroon Tiger April 1986
President Gloster Visits South Africa
by Hugh M. Closter,
President of Morehouse College
I have always wanted to visit
South Africa and see apartheid,
the oppressive and dis
criminatory system of segrega
tion that operates in that coun
try. On three previous occasions,
when I was in Africa, I tried
unsuccessfully to obtain a visa
which would permit me to enter
South Africa. The opportunity to
visit South Africa finally came last
month, when I was appointed as
a member of a delegation of
sixteen black Americans, in
cluding twelve presidents of
black colleges, to study the
educational system of South
Africa with a view toward
recommending ways in which
the public and private sectors of
the United States may contribute
to the upgrading of the educa
tion of blacks in South Africa.
“Blacks are denied
citizenship in the land of
their fathers.”
I have never seen such an
amazing combination of physical
beauty, temperate climate, and
natural resources as I found in
South Africa. The country is
unbelievably beautiful with its
lofty mountains, rolling hills, and
attractive beaches. The climate is
generally moderate, with the
sunny days and cool nights; and
the average mean temperature is
60 degrees. South Africa is the
leading producer of gold and
diamonds. It also is rich in other
minerals and ranks as a
successful manufacturing and
agricultural nation.
The physical beauty,
temperate climate, and natural
resources of South Africa pale
into insignificance when one
looks at the racial division and
conflict in the country. The
Afrikaners, descendants of the
original Dutch settlers, head the
government and constitute
three fifths of the white popula
tion. In South Africa five million
whites rule over and dis
criminate against 24 million
blacks, 3 million coloreds, and 1
million Asians through an amaz
ing array of racist laws. To
complicate the racial situation
evert* more, there is further
division within theethnicgroups
of South Africa. For example,
there is disagreement between
the Afrikaans-speaking and the
English-speaking whites. There
are also conflicts between the
black tribes of South Africa, and
there are clashes between clans
within these tribes. The group
that is most exploited, dis
criminated against, and
segregated, however, is the
black population that constitutes
the overwhelming majority of
the people in the country.
Let me briefly discuss what life
is like for the blacks of South
Africa.
In South Africa, blacks are
victims of apartheid, a vicious
system of racial discrimination
based on the concept of white
supremacy. At birth each South
African is assigned to a racial
group which determines where
he shall live, where he shall go to
school, where he shall work, and
where he shall be buried.
Blacks are forced to live either
in segregated townships near
cities or in tribal homelands in
rural areas. Soweto, a black
township near Johannesburg,
has 2 million inhabitants; and
there are ten tribal homelands.
Although blacks outnumber
whites around five to one in
South Africa, only 13 percent of
the land of the country is reserv
ed for blacks. Blacks do not have
the right to own land in white
areas.
Blacks are not permitted to
enter and work in white areas
without permits or passes.
Between 200,000 and 300,000
blacks are arrested each year for
violating pass laws, usually for
trying to work in cities, where
jobs are better and pay is higher.
Black South Africans must carry
pass books at all times.
“Despite the fact that
the odds against them
are overwhelming,
black South Africans are
struggling against
apartheid ...”
Blacks are denied citizenship
in the land of their fathers. They
are denied the right to vote, to
hold office, and to move freely
through the country. They are
also refused passports for foreign
travel. Even a man of the stature
of Bishop Desmond Tutu is
denied a passport and is given
papers which state that his
citizenship is undetermined.
To protect this system of
institutionalized racism known
as apartheid, South Africa has an
army that is rated, along with that
of Israel, as one of the two best-
trained military forces in the
world. This army consists of
85,000 troops backed up by
325,000 reserves and 45,000
policemen. It is well-equipped
with armored cars, 300 fighter
bombers and helicopters, and
hundreds of howitzers and
rocket launchers. This military
machine is supposed to be able
to destroy the black townships
near the cities overnight and the
black homelands in the rural
areas within a week.
Opposing this massive display
of military power is the African
National Congress, whose prin
cipal leader is Nelson Mandela
and whose current president is
Oliver Tambo. Mandela, who is
67 years old, has been a prisoner
since 1964 and is now suffering
from liver, kidney, and prostate
ailments. The ANC began as a
civil-rights organization similar
to the NAAP but now operates as
a guerrilla organization with
5,000 fighters. Banned by the
South African government since
1960, the ANC can get only
meager assistance from adjacent
black-governed countries
because these nations have
“... we must let our
African brothers and
sisters know that we are
with them.”
limited military power and are
not prepared to conduct a war
with South Africa.
Despite the fact that the odds
against them are overwhelming,
black South Africans are struggl
ing against apartheid in many
ways. First, they are urging the
government to pass civil-rights
laws. Second, they are using
passive resistance and organized
strikes in order to gain greater
advantages in pay and employ
ment. Third, they are stepping
up resistance through sabotage,
bombing, burning, rioting, and
attacks on policemen and in
formers. During the past eigh
teen months 1,260 blacks and six
whites have been killed; and
growing protests have come
from elementary- and
secondary-school children,
some of whom have been slain.
At the beginning of my
remarks I stated that the purpose
of the visit of my delegatio to
South Africa was to study the
educational system of that coun
try and recommend ways in
which the United States may
contribute to the upgrading of
the education of blacks in South
Africa. I would now like to make
a few remarks concerning our
findings and recommendations.
“Blacks are not per
mitted to enter and
work in white areas
without permits or
passes.”
During our stay in South Africa
we visited Cape Town,
Johannesburg, Soweto, Pretoria,
and the University of the North
and met with individuals ranging
all the way from top-ranking
governmental officials, outstan
ding black leaders, and recotrs of
universities to leaders of com
munities, students at univer
sities, and ordinary people of the
country. During our study of
South African education and of
ways in which the American
Government and corporations
may improve educational ser
vices and opportunities for dis
advantaged blacks in South
Africa, our delegation received
information from federal of
ficials, black leaders, community
residents, and administrators,
teachers, and students. The
group also had access to reports
and studies dealing with African
education at all levels from the
pre-school to the university.
I am sure that you will be
interested in the findings of our
delegation. We found that South
African education includes four
segregated subsystems and that
the three subsystems for non
whites are inferior to the one for
whites. We found that South
Africa spends ten times as much
on the education of the white
child as it does on the education
of the black child. We found that
47 percent of white men have
finished high school, but only .8
percent of African men have
done so. We found in South
Africa there are more than
200,000 white college graduates,
• •• South Africa spends
ten times as much on the
education of the white
child as it does on the
education of the black
child.”
but only 5,400 black college
graduates although blacks out
number whites five to one. We
found that the pupil-teacher
ratio in the public was 10.4to1 in
white schools and 33.2 to 1 in
black schools. We found that
black students have alarmingly
high rates of failures and
dropouts. We found that educa
tion is compulsory for whites,
Indians, and coloreds up to the
age of 16 but that black children
may drop out of school at the age
of eleven. We found that only 20
percent of the black public
school teachers have graduated
from high school and that only
2.4 percent have graduated from
college. We found although
blacks outnumber whites five to
one, white college students
outnumber blacks ten to one.
We found that only 36.6 percent
of black applicants were ad
mitted to college and that only 13
percent of black college students
graduate on schedule. We found
that the overwhelming majority
of black students attend African
universities and concentrate in
the humanities and social
sciences rather than in
mathematics, science, engineer
ing, and business, where there
are more employment oppor
tunities. We found that black
universities are controlled by the
government and that white
teachers outnumber black
teachers 773 to 343 in black
universities.
“In South Africa five
million whites rule over
... 24 million blacks, 3
million coloreds, and 1
million Asians through
... racist laws.”
I am sure that you are in
terested in the recommen
dations of our delegation. We
recommended that additional
books, supplies, and equipment
be provided for black schools,
which have a serious shortage of
these materials. We
recommended that black
teachers be upgraded by
providing centers of teacher
education for them in major
African cities as well as at major
university centers in the United
States. We recommended that
scholarships be provided in
order to enable talented South
African students to study at
colleges and universities in the
United States. We recommend
that faculty and student ex
changes be arranged between
American and South African
universities. We recommended
that programs of adult education
be provided for black adults in
South Africa in order to prepare
them for better paying jobs. We
recommended that educational
programs be established to ac
quaint Africans with their
historical past and cultural
values.
In conclusion, let me discuss
what can we do to support the
black liberation movement in
South Africa.
First of all, we can give finan
cial support to the organizations
that are carrying on the struggle
against apartheid — the African
National Congress, the
Southwest Africa People’s
Organization, and Trans Africa.
We black Americans do quite a
lot of talk about our fatherland
but give very little money to
organizations waging the fight
for freedom in Southern Africa.
Second, we can urge the
government of the United States
to apply effective sanctions
against the government of South
Africa. If the United States,
Britain, West Germany, and
Japan would stop trading with
the investing in South Africa, the
fight could be won. President
Reagan has already been moved
Continued on page 15A