Apartheid Museum

Two weeks ago I went to the Apartheid Museum in Joburg. Deep breath. What an experience. the history of Apartheid is complex and my understanding is shallow, so I won't attempt a summary. But I can say a bit about my museum experience. Overall, it meant a lot to have hitherto knowledge gained through reading visualized and verbalized in photo, video, and artifact formats.

The passage through the rise and fall of the Apartheid system begins with segregated gates, and corridors flanked by caged pass books. This scourge of a document is what blacks had to carry on them at all times, especially in urban areas where only whites had rights and blacks were alien workers. Police could command a person to produce his pass book at any time for whatever reason, failing which he could be locked up, beaten up, etc.


There was an intrepid photographer who travelled about the country, capturing scenes of the brutality and inhumanity of Apartheid - as well as ways of coping and keeping spirits up. I also felt invasive in snatching a few shots, but these images were so striking I couldn't help but record some.

The museum is more than a chronicle of hardships, although those portions are the most heart-rending and memorable to me. It strives for an honest and accurate historical account of how such an abominable system came to be, and how if fell apart. To provide understanding in addition to a display of something we hope never happens again.

I think the curators did an excellent job, telling things straight about Apartheid's crafters without vilifying the white community, and not glossing over the difficult issues like violence within the black community. Seven pillars by the entrance embody principles and ideals of the new South Africa. The political transition, though no the economic one, has been truly stellar and deservedly revered.