Global InformationMusic in the movement against apartheid information
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The apartheid regime in South Africa began in 1948 and lasted until 1994. It involved a system of institutionalized racial segregation and white supremacy, and placed all political power in the hands of a white minority.[1][2][3] Opposition to apartheid manifested in a variety of ways, including boycotts, non-violent protests, and armed resistance.[4] Music played a large role in the movement against apartheid within South Africa, as well as in international opposition to apartheid.[5][6] The impacts of songs opposing apartheid included raising awareness, generating support for the movement against apartheid, building unity within this movement, and "presenting an alternative vision of culture in a future democratic South Africa."[7]
The lyrical content and tone of this music reflected the atmosphere that it was composed in. The protest music of the 1950s, soon after apartheid had begun, explicitly addressed peoples' grievances over pass laws and forced relocation. Following the Sharpeville massacre in 1960 and the arrest or exile of a number of leaders, songs became more downbeat, while increasing censorship forced them to use subtle and hidden meanings.[8] Songs and performance also allowed people to circumvent the more stringent restrictions on other forms of expression.[6] At the same time, songs played a role in the more militant resistance that began in the 1960s. The Soweto uprising in 1976 led to a renaissance, with songs such as "Soweto Blues" encouraging a more direct challenge to the apartheid government. This trend intensified in the 1980s, with racially mixed fusion bands testing the laws of apartheid, before these were dismantled with the release of Nelson Mandela in 1990 and the eventual restoration of majority rule in 1994.[8] Through its history, anti-apartheid music within South Africa faced significant censorship from the government, both directly and via the South African Broadcasting Corporation; additionally, musicians opposing the government faced threats, harassment, and arrests.
Musicians from other countries also participated in the resistance to apartheid, both by releasing music critical of the South African government, and by participating in a cultural boycott of South Africa from 1980 onward. Examples included "Biko" by Peter Gabriel, "Sun City" by Artists United Against Apartheid and a concert in honour of Nelson Mandela's 70th birthday. Prominent South African musicians such as Miriam Makeba and Hugh Masekela, forced into exile, also released music critical of apartheid, and this music had a significant impact on Western popular culture, contributing to the "moral outrage" over apartheid.[9] Scholars have stated that anti-apartheid music within South Africa, although it received less attention worldwide, played an equally important role in putting pressure on the South African government.
- ^ Grundlingh, Albert (2004). ""Rocking the boat"? The "Voëlvry" music movement in South Africa: Anatomy of Afrikaans anti-apartheid social protest in the eighties" (PDF). The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 37 (3): 483–514. doi:10.2307/4129042. JSTOR 4129042. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 July 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2014.
- ^ Bartusis, Mark (2012). Gomez, Edmund; Premdas, Ralph (eds.). Affirmative Action, Ethnicity and Conflict. New York: Routledge Books. pp. 126–132. ISBN 978-0415627689.
- ^ Mayne, Alan (1999). From Politics Past to Politics Future: An Integrated Analysis of Current and Emergent Paradigms. Westport, Connecticut: Praeger. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-275-96151-0.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Vershbow 2012was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Drewett 2003, p. 153.
- ^ a b Jolaosho, Tayo. "Anti-Apartheid Freedom Songs Then and Now". Folkways Magazine. Smithsonian. Retrieved 24 October 2016.
- ^ Gilbert 2007, pp. 435–436.
- ^ a b Schumann 2008, pp. 17–39.
- ^ Schumann 2008, pp. 17–20.