Both systems were characterized by systemic racism, segregation, and discrimination against black communities, resulting in profound social, economic, and political inequalities. Like African Americans in the United States, black South Africans faced institutionalized oppression, limited access to education and employment opportunities, and pervasive violence and injustice at the hands of the state. Despite these parallels, apartheid South Africa endured for so long, largely due to international complicity and geopolitical interests. The Cold War dynamics of the time, where the West saw South Africa as a strategic ally against communism, led many Western nations to turn a blind eye to the atrocities committed under apartheid. Additionally, powerful economic interests, particularly in industries like mining and agriculture, benefited from the cheap labor provided by black South Africans, creating vested interests in maintaining the status quo. It wasn't until sustained international pressure, combined with internal resistance movements and the leadership of figures like Nelson Mandela, that apartheid was finally dismantled in the early
Both systems were characterized by systemic racism, segregation, and discrimination against black communities, resulting in profound social, economic, and political inequalities. Like African Americans in the United States, black South Africans faced institutionalized oppression, limited access to education and employment opportunities, and pervasive violence and injustice at the hands of the state. Despite these parallels, apartheid South Africa endured for so long, largely due to international complicity and geopolitical interests. The Cold War dynamics of the time, where the West saw South Africa as a strategic ally against communism, led many Western nations to turn a blind eye to the atrocities committed under apartheid. Additionally, powerful economic interests, particularly in industries like mining and agriculture, benefited from the cheap labor provided by black South Africans, creating vested interests in maintaining the status quo. It wasn't until sustained international pressure, combined with internal resistance movements and the leadership of figures like Nelson Mandela, that apartheid was finally dismantled in the early