ABSTRACT
Apartheid was a set of racial policies and ideologies in South Africa specifically designed to perpetuate white supremacy through segregation and the development of different racial groups. The essence of segregating major racial groups (Africans and white) in terms of skilled employment for white and semi-skilled work for Africans was to make white more supreme than Africans. However, the increased movement of Africans into the white urban areas, and their vast employment in semi-skilled jobs, aided economic integration. With economic integration, white and Black Africans are supposed to have more sway in the country’s economy. However, reality in South Africa shows that white have more power and influence over the economy than Black Africans. This white dominance is exemplified in what is now known as economic apartheid in South Africa. Economic apartheid provides white with skilled, high-paying jobs while reserving semi-skilled or low-paying jobs for Africans, causing divisiveness amid economic integration. Although South Africa has a long and tumultuous history of economic integration, difficulties such as antagonistic white-African relations, mutual scepticism from both racial groups, and unhealthy competitiveness threaten its peaceful coexistence and survival. Feelings of racial discrimination are constantly provoking these issues, which are intrinsically rooted in apartheid. Segregation between white and Africans continues in some residential areas, jobs, and public services, with white dominating majority of the lucrative and skilled works in South Africa. As a result, the segregated African population experiences feelings of hatred, resentment, and inferiority, which they sometimes oppose through protests and demonstrations. Although the government has taken steps to address perceived feelings of oppression among non-white, such attempts raise questions about the government’s commitment and sincerity to the condition of the country’s underprivileged non-white. With postcolonial racial tensions between white and Black Africans, South Africa remains one of the world’s most difficult countries, seeking to operate within a democratic setting of rule of law in the promotion of a sustainable national identity. This article investigates the influence of apartheid on white supremacy, prosperity, and disunity in economic integration in South Africa, using the critical race theory (CRT) and the secondary method based on documentary empirical reviews. Its scope and focus include the historical context of apartheid and its effects on the enrichment and supremacy of white in South Africa’s economic sector. The findings add to the growing body of knowledge about the characteristics of white-African relations and ways for developing positive, equal relations in South Africa.
