Throughout Africa's history and particularly apartheid and British rule, race has always played a role in the struggle for liberation. The constitution under which the four South African colonies came together in 1910 to form the Union of South Africa, gave the white minority a monopoly of political representation and, hence, power. Overlapping class divisions in white society were those between English-speakers and Afrikaans-speakers. The first Union governments were dominated by the South African National Party, which brought together English and Afrikaners, together in a common political organization and represented a wide range of white interests, mainly those of "white farmers" and "professional classes" (Omer-Cooper 159). Afrikaner nationalism took a position on the segregation of the races. This segregation resulted in apartheid until its abolishment and the establishment of ANC leadership in South Africa in 1984.
At the same time as the formation of the Union Government and the National Party (NP), the African Nationalist movement and the African National Congress (ANC) emerged. These two groups, the latter ultimately led by Nelson Mandela, would become the primary adversaries in the "struggle over race policies" (Omer-Cooper 161). This analysis will discuss current race policies of the African National Congress, particularly the concept of non-racialism. A conclusion will address the challenges facing the ANCC in order to build a single national South African identity and loyalty through non-racialism.
The African National Congress has evolved in its racial policies and methods of affecting change since the end of Apartheid. At the height of Apartheid, violence was seen as the only method capable of forcing change on a wealthy, white and violent Apartheid regime. As Nelson Mandela argued regarding ANC policy during this period: "We were embarking on a new and more dangerous path, a pat...