map of South Africa around the Apartheid time.
Apartheid timeline
1948 - April 27. 1994
May 1948
Apartheid started after the general election.
a policy or system of segregation or discrimination on grounds of race.
June 1952
Volunteers begin a peaceful resistance to apartheid by breaking the laws they think are wrong.
1953
The Bantu Education Act is passed, the law is passed that creates a separate education system for blacks and whites.
December 1956
United nations photo
Nelson Mandela, an anti-apartheid activist, is arrested with several other people for fighting against apartheid. Mandela is charged with treason, but after a four-year trial he was found not guilty.
1959
The government passes new laws to create separate homelands, called Bantustans, for the major black groups in the country. The government does this to stop blacks from being citizens of South Africa.
March 21, 1960
Apartheid requires blacks to carry passbooks, which contain personal information such as name, date of birth, and photos. When protesters show up at the Sharpeville police station without their passbooks, a riot breaks out and police killed 69 people.
United nations photo
August 5, 1962
Mandela was the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, part of the African National Congress. He was arrested for his role in bombing government targets and sentenced to life in prison.