Day 5 – The Apartheid Museum

On Saturday, we traveled to Ormonde, a northern section of Johannesburg, and started our day with a visit to the Apartheid Museum. 

It’s hard to wrap your head around the idea that one physical space could actually ‘contain’ enough artifacts and provide enough stories to adequately portray the story of Apartheid.  How do you do justice to a system that enslaved and discriminated against almost 80% of a nation’s population AND also show what that nation did to win back their freedom?  It would seem to be an impossible task.  On the other hand, when we think of a museum, we think of OLD things, ‘relics’ from our past – so it *does* make you feel a bit proud to think that Apartheid now resides locked up in museum cases.  No matter how you may view the idea of a museum for Apartheid, this place has done the job right!

As soon as you try to enter the museum, you know you are in for something out of the ordinary.  There are actually TWO entrances, one labeled ‘Whites’ and the other ‘Non-Whites’:

When you purchase your ticket, the museum generates a ticket that randomly classifies you as White or Non-White:

My museum ticket – which randomly classified me as White

You must go through the entrance that matches your ticket and scan the bar-code on your ticket in order for the turnstile to let you in.  What better way to invoke the insanity of Apartheid!  Now, that may seem ‘cute’, but the experience does not stop there.  Each entrance leads the visitor down a different path through the first exhibit.  Not surprisingly, those entering as Non-White get an abbreviated path through the first exhibit, while those entering as White get to observe multiple rows of artifacts.  Within your first 60 seconds in the museum, you are already feeling some inequality and probably feeling a bit uncomfortable, as well.  Good – this isn’t supposed to be ‘fun’!   (Note:  There is a way for those Non-Whites to go back and see the full exhibit, so don’t think one group gets shortchanged in their museum experience).

Even after all that, the first exhibit has been constructed to get you thinking right from the start.  The curators found examples of different ID cards, which were mandatory for non-whites under Apartheid, and enlarged them to mega-poster size.  Rather than hang them on a wall, these cards are displayed in wire cages, which gives the viewer the feeling that they are watching animals in a kennel:

Example of an Apartheid-era identification card 

These are quite the sight and made even more powerful because they are the very first thing you come upon after entering the museum.

At this point, you are directed into a courtyard, where you find artwork from the San and Bantu people.  When I came upon these, I have to admit I was confused.  Where were the Boers?  Where were the white Europeans?  The display explained that this is a museum devoted to exploring injustices against ALL South African people.  Taking a chronological approach, the journey begins with the discrimination and containment of these two tribal groups early in the 1600s.  Artwork from these groups depicts figures with European dress and weapons standing apart from figures in more traditional dress.  Clearly, these were two aspects about the initial colonists that really stood out in the minds of the San and Bantu. 

Once you get back into the museum proper, you are led on a long, winding path, through the help of exhibit signs with numbers and arrows.  This is NOT an easy path, as it twists and turns, sometimes doubling you back to a different section of the same room, and sometimes in the opposite direction, only to turn around again!  Like Apartheid itself, it’s complex and confusing.  In all, there are 21 distinct sections that lead you from the earliest days of discrimination, through the founding of the Republic of South Africa and the formal establishment of Apartheid, through the resistance movement and finally into modern day South Africa, and its new Constitution.  The museum asked that no pictures be taken inside, so I unfortunately have little to show you in the way of outstanding artifacts (of which there were MANY).

(I have to admit, I couldn’t resist sneaking one illegal inside picture!  One exhibit illustrated the wide variety of governmental acts that had to be continually passed in order to restrict the freedom of non-whites.  The display showed a long list of these Apartheid laws, and I just had to capture it:

Examples of Laws Meant to Discriminate against Non-Whites (148 of them!)

As noted, this display alone has 148 laws – some of them as unbelievable as the Native Building Workers Act of 1951, in which black citizens were prohibited from working at construction sites in white cities…!  (Explanations for many of the laws listed in this exhibit can be found here if you want to learn more).

This museum doesn’t take a ‘quick and dirty’ approach to this very emotional subject.  With 21 permanent exhibits, each containing displays, timelines, audio tracks, video clips, etc., the museum wants you to take your time and see everything.  Their pamphlet, “Guide to the Apartheid Museum”, gives you advice on how to proceed through all the exhibits.  It tells you that if you ‘proceed at a reasonable pace’ and ‘engage briefly’ with all the exhibits, it should take you two hours to complete the tour.  (Note:  I went at a quick pace, skipped a 20-min video, and just managed to get through everything in a bit more than two hours!)  There is also a suggestion for an abbreviated tour, if you are pressed for time, where certain exhibits can be skipped.  This tour is estimated to take only one hour.  I say, if you’ve come this far, you might as well see it all!

In addition to the permanent exhibits, the museum also has temporary exhibits, which focus on particular aspects of the Apartheid struggle.  During our time in South Africa, the temporary exhibit was on Nelson Mandela.   While this may seem like an ‘overkill’ topic, I think the museum did a solid job portraying the life and impact of Mandela in a clear and detailed manner.  The exhibit was centered around themes (leader, statesman, etc), and collected evidence and artifacts to demonstrate these themes.  In all, it is well worth seeing.

It is very hard to sum up the experience of touring the Apartheid Museum.  It was clearly a thoughtful, detailed plan intended to be powerful, yet hopeful.  I think it succeeded in both those areas!

Note to teachers:  The museum website has a LOT of great resources.  Find the Download or Resources tabs !