Understanding Apartheid in South Africa through the Racial Contract

Abstract

This article examines apartheid in South Africa and uses Mills (1992) theoretical framework of the Racial Contract to understand how this system operated and flourished in South Africa. To explicate Mills’ position about racism, this paper draws from the different tenets of Critical Race Theory (CRT) where applicable. It begins by providing an illuminating overview of apartheid in South Africa and uses education, legislation and religion as examples to help unpack the racial inequalities that were rampant in the then South Africa. It further explains the Racial Contract and uses it as an analytical tool to interrogate racism in South Africa. Mills’ argument is that the racial contract was never a contract since it was nonconsensual, hence negating the validity of its existence in South Africa. Mills contends that the Racial Contract is still in force and now operates in a more de facto stance. This paper recommends that for South Africa to transform it has to understand the ‘modus operandi’ of racism from a Critical Race Theory perspective in order to unearth the subtle nature of its manifestation in the post-apartheid era.