In the United States we refer to certain sectors of the country as "melting pots", areas of immense ethnic differences. In comparison, South Africa draws many similarities to these extreme ethnic differences. However, up until 1993 differences in South Africa literally controlled your social and economic status. In the investigation to follow we will explore the revolutionary strides made in South Africa to close the gap between these differences.

Up until 1993 South Africa was under apartheid, a legal separation of the races. There were two main white ethnic groups the Afrikaners and the English. The Afrikaners are descendants of the Dutch. In 1652, The Afrikaners or "The White Tribe of Africa", had religious problems and transplanted to South Africa. They consider themselves to be native and since day one have not maintained contact with the homeland. The other white ethnic group, the English, does keep up ties with people in England. For years the English dominated the politics and government of South Africa. Up until 1948, when the Nation Party (Afrikaners) won the election and started the concept of legal apartheid. This new political regime was the same one that sided with the Nazis in World War II.

There are also several main black ethnic groups of South Africa. The largest black ethnic group (by volume) is the Tulu. The second largest black ethnic group is the Xhosa, and their members are part of the royal family. Other black ethnic groups include the Noebele, Sotho and Tswana. Famous politician Nelson Mandella, who started his career as a lawyer, is a member of the Tswana.

There are two other classifications of South African citizens include the Coloreds and Asians. The Coloreds are a white and black mixture (Afrikaners mixed with different African groups) whom under apartheid they had a higher ranking than the African tribal groups. The final classification under apartheid was the Asians. The Asians are for the most part Indians brought over in the 1800’s to work not as slaves but as indentured servants. Their most famous disciple is Ghandi, who was originally a South African. Under the apartheid Whites are at the top, Blacks at bottom, and Coloreds and Asians in the middle.

As diverse the cultures of South Africa are the same is hold true for denomination and dialect. The Afrikaners started their own religion, The Dutch Reform Church. The English are Anglicans a division of the Protestant faith. Blacks are primarily Christian (Protestant) or have created their own tribal based religion. The Coloreds follow the same denomination of the Afrikaners, and patronize the Dutch Reform Church. The Indians are disciples of Muslim, the primary religion of India. The Afrikaners and English speak English, While each black tribal group has its very own dialect. These variations amongst religion and language make South African culture very diverse. In comparison, The United States may rival South Africa in religion diversity but by no means can match language variances.

Under the Apartheid, several less than fair laws were established. Law governed every aspect of life, personal and political. The Land Act divided up the whole country for land ownership via basis of racial group. The Land Act reserved 87% of the land for whites that represented just 13% of the people. The land of South Africa is amongst the richest in the world in minerals. Diamonds, gold, and uranium litter the South African architectural make up. The "best lands" or lands where these resources were the most plentiful were reserved for the Whites. This type of discrimination can be classified as nothing less than colonialism and is rivaled only by Native Americans in the current United States.

The Immortality and Mixed Marriages Act provided those members of every group could only marry members of its own group. Until 1986, It was illegal to even date amongst the other races. This act went as far as to provide the government with the responsibility to judge newborn babies, based on color, to determine their race. So if two whites were to legitimately produce a baby who didn’t appear "pure white" he would be stripped from his current family and placed in an orphanage in the colored sector. Granted, there was perhaps the case of illegitimacy amongst the races, but to strip babies away from their rightful mothers is primitive, barbaric and just plain cruel.

Under the Apartheid jobs were restricted not to qualifications or prerequisites but quite simply to race. For the most part, Blacks didn’t go to school and were highly uneducated. Therefore Blacks couldn’t read and write therefore they were restricted to manual labor jobs. Women, if they had jobs (outside of the house), were usually maids and many of them were Black. Asians were for the most part shopkeepers and some owned small businesses in mostly Black sectors. The whites had by far the most opportune of classifications by being privileged to own and run large money making businesses. Coloreds would work in offices, and shops owned by the Indians (Asians). Coloreds had the opportunities equal to that of an American high school education. When analyzing the strict, defined guidelines under the Apartheid it makes the accomplishments of Nelson Mandela astonishing. How many Black South Africans were provided the opportunities to become lawyers? Truly an effort that probably can’t be understood or compared to anything in our country.

The Apartheid even went as far as to divide the land within the cities. Specific areas of the cities were set aside for both Black and Whites. It is because of this Dejure segregation, or legal separation, has caused several cultural patters. In the United States we have Defacto segregation, or old patters which cause people live in patterned areas. We see this in the Polish neighborhoods in Chicago, the ghettos of Los Angeles or China Town in New York. However unlike the United States, South African city segregation did not occur naturally or per chance and instead is the product of dejure segregation. It is because of this segregation that the severe discrepancy between the majority and minority may take centuries to fix.

With all the negative strides South Africa has endured in the last four hundred years recent change has brought new rays of hope. As of today the government is ran by one party, the ANC (African National Congress), with its leader Nelson Mandella. The African National Congress is the party, which is responsible for putting the end to the Apartheid system within South Africa. Their efforts for change are among the most advanced in the world. Recently South Africa has adopted a new equality clause. Their equality clause is the most advanced in the world covering all the bases. The equality clause calls for the equal rights among races, religion, sex, sexual preference, disability and other minority discriminatory conditions. Truly a revolution for a country which had been governed on the basis of these very same elements.

It is hard to estimate how long it will take to close the gap in South Africa. Some even question if it will ever close, and estimates of time range into centuries. It is at least encouraging that steps have been taken to end the oppression and create some sense of equality. It is unfortunate that South Africa has endured the eternal discrimination and unfair segregation it has. However, if there is one positive that comes out of the South African situation it is that problem is in a rendering process. Hopefully South Africa can be the role model for the many other countries, which have similar situations. Maybe with due time, they too can make discriminatory clauses as thorough as that of South Africa and follow through on them. This would put an end to oppression and make the world a better more peaceful place for everyone to live.