Apartheid and the Environment: History and our backyard

As we continue to look at social movements, past and present, we learn more and more about the people behind the change, and the other factors for helping the movements to become successful. In South Africa, history was shaped by the events of apartheid, meaning "the ruling white minority maintains domination over the labor of the black majority" (Apartheid Organizing...pg5), or more simply, "separateness". As the demand and discovery of resources increased, so did the demand for labor, and before too long, the larger black population was segregated into specific areas of land, no longer considered citizens of their own country.

Thus began the history of violence apartheid brought. People around the world began to boycott good being shipped to and from South Africa as well as protest against the inhumane practices. When reading the "Anti-Apartheid Organizing On Campus and Beyond" pamphlet, I was surprised at the specific role American Universities took in protesting against apartheid in South Africa. During a time when the Vietnam War was drafting and taking the young, students in Universities around the U.S stood up and marched against apartheid, defending those who had been prosecuted. Even faculty made a stand, taking time to fight the horrors of apartheid. These movements helped spread international awareness and  led to active responses to end the brutalities.

Through these examples, it is important to see that these movements were charged by groups of students, not one leader followed by a group. It is probably true that many of these protests around America were led by an active group of students, but the movement itself was powered by every-day American students: us.

Yesterday, I volunteered with SOLV with my group, taking out invasive plant species in Mount Tabor park. When we arrived, I was surprised to see that there were many different groups of people there, not just SOLV volunteers. There was a large group from Gresham High School, helping their community by volunteering some of their hours. I was so impressed with these students; they really enjoyed helping the community and getting their hands dirty. Without these experiences, they said, they would never have really known or understood how important it is that we do practice good environmental stewardship. We are sharing these natural spaces, so why not work together to protect them?
These students are similar to the American University students in the way that they did not need a leader to follow, they see it important on their own to change the world around them. Fighting apartheid was difficult, scary, important, and global. But protecting the environment is also all these things; we cannot undermine those who take time out of their lives to make the world a safer, cleaner place for everyone.