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This resource is hosted by the Nelson Mandela Foundation, but was compiled and authored by Padraig O’Malley. It is the product of almost two decades of research and includes analyses, chronologies, historical documents, and interviews from the apartheid and post-apartheid eras.

1953. Reservation of Separate Amenities Act No 49

This act together with its many amendments "sought to create separate social environments for the White and other population groups" (Christopher 1994: 143).

Already in 1948, 'Whites Only' or 'Blankes Alleen' notices had "appeared in every conceivable place. Laws and regulations confirmed or imposed segregation for taxis, ambulances, hearses, buses, trains, elevators, benches lavatories, parks, church halls, town halls, cinemas, theaters, cafes, restaurants: and hotels, as well as schools and universities" (Thompson 1990: 197). However, since "a court had ruled that segregation was not lawful if public faculties for different racial groups were not equal (as in waiting rooms at railroad stations), Parliament passed the RESERVATION OF SEPARATE AMENITIES ACT to legalize such inequality" (Thompson 1990: 190). One of its many amendments appeared in 1960.

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