Cultural Diversity: Honorary White Status and Shape Shifting in the Realm of Race Privilege

Current-day and Historic Applications of Apartheid

Kirk (2001) describes apartheid as laws that foster human "apartness, racial separation" (p.1). The Wall Street Journal reports that on Wednesday, June 18, 2008, Chinese South Africans are reclassified as "black" (The Wall Street Journal, 2008). There are black Africans and Indians and others who historically fall under this designation under the apartheid system. This current reclassification helps ethnic Chinese benefit from government affirmative action guidelines. These guidelines are designed to deconstruct the results of apartheid. "In 2006, the Chinese Association of South Africa sued the government, claiming that its members were being discriminated against because they were being treated as whites and thus failed to qualify for business contracts and job promotions reserved for victims of apartheid. The association successfully argued that, since Chinese-South Africans had been treated unequally under apartheid, they should be reclassified in order to redress wrongs of the past" (para. 2). This event suggests that the racial status of Chinese conveniently shifts to reflect the political climates and international relations of South Africa.

Before the apartheid concept, the Chinese come to South Africa in the early years of the 20^th century to work in gold mines (The Wall Street Journal, 2008). The host culture discourages Chinese settlement and by 1910 most return to China (The Wall Street Journal). In the 1940's as the Afrikaner government rises to power, the Chinese classification is "colored." They are forced to live away from whites, denied educational and business opportunities, are not allowed to vote (The Wall Street Journal). The new 2008 ruling applies to Chinese and their descendents living in South Africa after 1994, "about 10,200 to 20,000 people" (para. 7).