1. Introduction and definitions
Events in South Africa do not occur in a vacuum. We are part of a large continent and a much larger world. As we are not isolated, what happens in the ‘North’ has a huge impact on what happens here. For this section, it is important to understand the international background - what the world was like in the 1960s - in order to contextualise the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa in the 1970s.
Also, it is impossible to understand what happened in South Africa – the ‘small picture’ - unless we understand what happened in international relations – the ‘big picture’ - towards the end of the 1980s. During the period we are studying here – namely the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s – world politics was dominated by the rivalry between the Soviet Union (Russia) and the United States of America. This rivalry was called the Cold War.
You can read in much more depth about the impact of the Cold War in forming the world as it was in the 1960s on this link, which is another part of the Grade 12 content curriculum (this link is under construction). The content of the new history curriculum is structured to help us to understand the interaction between the wider world, the African continent and South Africa.
Definitions
What is civil society?
Did you know? South African History Online is a non-government organisation. This means that we are non-profit and rely on funding to sustain our organisation. Can you think of some other non-government organisations in South Africa?
Civil society consists of voluntary civic and social organizations and institutions. Civil society is separate from the state and from business institutions. Civil society groups consist of ordinary people who take collective action around shared aims, interests and values. Examples of these groups include charities, non-governmental organisations, community groups, women's organisations, faith-based organisations, professional associations, trade unions, self-help groups, social movements, business associations, coalitions and advocacy groups.
What are civil rights?
Civil rights are the protections and privileges given to all citizens by law. Civil rights are rights given by nations to their citizens within their territorial boundaries. Human rights, on the other hand, are rights that individuals have by nature of being born. In countries like South Africa, the United States and Europe, laws which guarantee civil rights are written down.
Examples of civil rights and liberties include:
the right to privacy
the right of peaceful protest
the right to a fair investigation and trial if suspected of a crime
the right to vote
the right to personal freedom
the right to freedom of movement
the right to equality before the law
When citizens in civil society find that their civil rights are not being granted, they may form civil rights movements to claim equal protection for all citizens. They may also call for new laws to stop current discriminations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was adopted by the United Nations Organisation in 1948. It is the basis for human rights protection and promotion around the world. The UDHR helped motivate and encourage civil rights movements in many different countries. For example, the standards set by the UDHR motivated freedom fighters in South Africa, the Civil Rights Movement in America, the Black Power Movement, and campaigns for nuclear disarmament, student movements, peace movements, and women’s movements.