History: June 17 (#5)

History: June 17 (#5)
Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA
June 17, 1991 Apartheid: The South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act which required racial classification of all South Africans at birth.

Commentary

Commentary

On June 17, in the year 1991: Apartheid: The South African Parl iament repeals the Population Registration Act which required racial classification of all South Africans at birth. Apartheid was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa from 1948 to the early 1990s.

Commentary

Why June 17, 1991 matters: Apartheid: The South African Parliamen t repeals the Population Registration Act which required racial classification of all South Africans at birth. What began on this day left a lasting mark on history. The effects were felt immediately and continued to shape events, ideas, and lives long afterwards.

Commentary

Historical context: June 17, 1991 The 20th century brought change at a pace unprecedented in history: two wo rld wars, the rise and fall of fascism and communism, decolonisation, the Cold War, the space race, and revolutions in science, technology, and human rights all compressed into one hundred years. The event on this day: Apartheid: The South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act which required racial classification of all South Africans at birth. Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apartheid (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)