“If we don’t intercede, we all become accomplices in this unpardonable crime, which, in the end, is the destruction of ourselves” (“Book Plumbs” 1). Mark Mathabane is conveying a message to the people around the world, that if one does not make an effort to stop the Human Rights violations occurring in South Africa under Apartheid, then they are no better than the Europeans that dehumanizing the South Africans. In 1948, Apartheid officially began, when the Europeans used the tactic of divide and conquer to weaken South Africa in order to take it over. They used the term Apartheid to describe their government, which means a system that separates according to color or race, did exactly this by separating all colored races from the whites. Not …show more content…
Even though, he was brought into a hard life when he was young, he was able to get out of South Africa to achieve many great opportunities. By working hard and taking advantages of these opportunities he was able to impact the world. He caught the most attention when he published an autobiography called Kaffir Boy. The book grabbed people’s attention all around the world, which gave insight to the mistreatment towards a person of color under Apartheid in South Africa. While the world was unaware of the substandard treatment in South Africa under Apartheid, Mark Mathabane’s book, Kaffir Boy, revealed his personal insight to the human rights violations that contributed to the end of …show more content…
When his grandmother brought him along with her to the job at the white household, he was intrigued by the “white people’s sport,” which was tennis. He was able to receive a tennis racquet by the owners of the white household, by doing little jobs for them (“Mark Mathabane” 2). This then made him more interested in the sport. By playing the sport and becoming the first black South African to play in tennis tournaments. He then excelled even further and became the best tennis player in his country (Lane 4). Being the first black South African to play in tennis tournaments and being the best in his country he grabbed the attention of the Wimbledon Champion, Stan Smith (“Mark Mathabane” 2). As a result, he was offered several scholarships to attend a college in the United States to play tennis. This was his ticket out of South Africa. In 1978, he went to the United States to attend college, where he was supported by Stan Smith. One of the major thing that he noticed when he went to America was racism there as well (‘Mark Mathabane” 3). Although, he was there for a tennis scholarship, he refused to let his athletic abilities get in the way of his education; he still thought that education was the way to freedom, freedom for South Africa (“Mark Mathabane”
Arthur Robert Ashe Jr. is a man of trust, courage, grace and honor. Although many of these attriobutes I share with Arthur, his high level of moral values and self reliance I aspire to achieve. Arthur was of African American decent and being born on July 10, 1943 in Richmond, Virginia he had to face many racial struggles and hardships. On the contrary, I was born and raised in somerset, New Jersey, in the 1990’s so my racial struggles were close to non-existent. Being of Italian- American decent, if I had lived in the time of Arthur Ashe I still would not have faced racial struggles as greatly as African Americans did in that time.
Although the struggle for equal rights, food, welfare and survival were all central themes in both narratives, through this essay one could see how similar but at the same time distinctive the injustices for race relations were in South Africa’s apartheid regime and in the Jim Crow South’s segregation era were. The value for education, the struggle to survive and racism were all dominant faces that Anne Moody and Mark Mathabane faced on a day to day basis while growing up that shaped they their incredible lives with.
In Mark Mathabane’s autobiography named Kaffir Boy, Mathabane tells the tale of the many injustices that occurred to him in his home country on the way to developing into the man he is today. Mathabane grew up in South Africa during an apartheid system that was brutal and unwavering in its hope to break the souls of its black citizens. The problems that arise become evident as Mathabane talks about them himself growing up and being confused by the atrocious actions perpetrated by the people who had been supposed to protect him. Mathabane’s life experiences are a representation of many trails that many low class Africans faced in their everyday lives. His ability to capture these moments and make them available to the rest of the world has made him into the great figure he is today. In Kaffir Boy
He was able to go to school to get an education, where he excelled and enjoyed learning. The principal confronted Mark about his reading and “said to me, ‘Are you planning to read every single book in this library?’”(253) He was smart and got a scholarship from Simba Quix. He was able to play tennis with other blacks, and some whites, then he played tennis at Barretts, a tennis ranch. He looked up to Arthur Ashe and he “even skipped school expressly to see him”(235). He was able to leave South Africa and go to America because of tennis. Mark’s life improved with tennis and his education, it became more triumph than
In past, golf provided racism and only white people could have access to it. The article, “Race Relations And The Sports Of Golf: The African American Legacy”, by Marvin P. Dawkins demonstrates that Americans exploited and exclude the African American slaves to participate in white-controlled sports. African American formed their own organization in sports like basketball or baseball. The desegregation of race relations in sports starts to increase after World War 2 (Dawkins 327). It was not the case of golf. Firstly, the author examines the development of black golf in America. Golf was the last major sport to remove the black participation at professional levels. The first black professional golfer was John Shippen. He competed in many USGA tournaments. Also, he professional golf association exclude blacks for becoming members in 1916 (Dawkins 328). This restriction was not removed until 1961. Moreover, many of black clubs was fighting against discrimination in golf. In 1950’s, middle-class blacks create the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. The black elite led in developing their organization to promote golf among African American. “Little progress had been made in terms of significant increase in the number of African American playing on PGA tour since Sifford gained full PGA membership status in 1964” (Dawkins 329). However, racism against backs ...
Massey, Douglas A. and Nancy A. Denton. American Apartheid. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993.
Smith , Earl. Race, Sport and the American Dream. Durham, North Carolina: Carolina Academic Press, 2007.
Discrimination and segregation of African Americans had existed for generations. Whites and blacks were separated in schools, churches, on buses, in restaurants and on the playing fields. In the early 1900’s, there was not only continued bias towards African Americans; many lived in contiguous neighborhoods, minimizing interaction with other Americans. Sports where African Americans once demonstrated dominance such as cycling and horse racing discriminated also. Cyclist Marshall “Major” Taylor at one time dominated American cycling until “jealous white rivals colluded to force Taylor to see his sustenance in Europe by 1901” (Wiggins, p.158) Taylor was a pioneer for African American athletes. He “overcame the constraints of a society bounded by the racial hypocrisy...
Glamour and money are not the only components surrounding sports; many athletes experience what can be considered the dark side of sports. In the article The Meaning of Serena Williams by Claudia Rankine, some not so glamorous aspects of her life are highlighted. One of the most prominent rough parts of her life includes the racism that constantly surrounded her as an athlete. Whether it be the name calling and humiliation, or being paid less compared to a white woman, Serena has endured it all through her career; it is how she handles such cases that promotes her positive character.
In the recent news, there was a story about South Africa and its quarrels. What happened was there was a black man who tried to enter South Africa illegally, and he was caught. As a punishment, the white South African police let their dogs attack the black man and rip him apart. Just because the racist laws of South Africa have been rewritten less than a decade ago, does not mean that the people of different races have forgotten about that ordeal. It is these problems that Nadine Gordimer writes about.
In the book, No Future Without Forgiveness, it introduces that South Africa was one of a land that experienced the most profound apartheid and racial oppression. It stacked hundreds of years of oppression, hatred and killings between the blacks and whites. Fortunately, there are some great people helping South Africa out of the woods. The author of this book, Desmond Tutu, perfectly reconciled the conflict and contradiction in South Africa. Therefore, after reading this book, what I want to appeal is that people should have equal rights. Meanwhile, in this paper?s following analysis, I will discuss as the blacks, what unequal and cruel
The scholars expounds that Black athletes were commodities on the playing field to help win games and bring in revenue to their respected schools. However, the schools were just as eager and willing to leave their Black players behind and dishonoring the player as a part of the team. Therefore, not compromising the team’s winning and bring in profits for the school. Sadly, Black athletes at predominately White institutions (PWIs) who believed that they were bettering the live of themselves and their families members by going to college and playing collegiate sports to increase their post secondary careers. However, these athletes were only “show ponies” for their schools. Unfortunately, Black athletes had allegiance to their school; however, the school turned their backs on the athletes to protect the profit and notoriety of the school and the programs. Money and respect from White fans and spectators were more important to the PWIs than standing up for the respect of their Black players. Racial bigotry in sports was rampant and it was only going to get worse.
Mark’s father is one of the major antagonist, he was opposed anything to do with Mark getting an education in a school. He was a very traditional man and he didn’t like anything that had to do with the “white man”. He thought it was nonsense to get a whiteman’s education and he wouldn’t provide the money that was necessary to get Mark through school. Mark was helped through this situation by his Mother who was the person who wanted Mark so desperately to attend school. She decided to go against Mark’s Father and send Mark to school. She then had to get a job which was illegal for her to do so because she didn’t have the required pass from the South African government. With the little money that his mother made and some money that his grandmother gave him he was
South Africa really began to suffer when apartheid was written into the law. Apartheid was first introduced in the 1948 election that the Afrikaner National Party won. The plan was to take the already existing segregation and expand it (Wright, 60). Apartheid was a system that segregated South Africa’s population racially and considered non-whites inferior (“History of South Africa in the apartheid era”). Apartheid was designed to make it legal for Europeans to dominate economics and politics (“History of South Africa in the apartheid era”).
Sphiro I and Tebeau K., 2011. After Apartheid: Reinventing South Africa. University of Virginia Press.