The Group Areas Act was passed on July 7, 1950, and its implementation began soon after. It was a key piece of apartheid legislation in South Africa, designed to enforce racial segregation by dictating where people of different racial groups could live, work, and own property. The Act was motivated by the apartheid government’s goal of maintaining white supremacy and controlling the movement and settlement of non-white populations, particularly in urban areas.
The Act’s purpose was to ensure that whites retained the most desirable areas, while non-whites were forcibly removed from these areas and relocated to less developed and often remote locations. This segregation was intended to minimize contact between races and to prevent non-whites from living in or near areas reserved for whites. The Group Areas Act played a crucial role in institutionalizing racial division and deepening socio-economic disparities that continue to affect South Africa today.
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