Racial (re)classification during apartheid South Africa:
Regulations, experiences and the meaning(s) of ‘race’
Yvonne Erasmus
St George’s, University of London
Thesis presented to the University of London for the degree of
Doctor of Philosophy
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I declare that the work presented in this thesis is entirely my own.
Word count (inclusive of tables and figures; exclusive of bibliography and
appendices): 94,919
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Abstract
The Population Registration Act (No. 30 of 1950) laid down the procedures for
classifying and reclassifying the South African population into three main racial groups:
“White”; “Native” (renamed “Bantu” then “Black”); and “Coloured” (later subdivided
into seven subgroups: “Cape Coloured”; “Malay”; “Griqua”; “Chinese”; “Indian”;
“Other Asiatic”; and “Other Coloured”), using three classificatory criteria: appearance;
acceptance; and descent. This thesis examined the development and implementation of
racial (re)classification and what this might reveal about the meanings of race during
apartheid. Quantitative and qualitative analyses were used to analyse primary and
secondary data, including: official statistics; documentary material; and interviews. The
thesis reached three main conclusions. First, race was not operationalised consistently
over the forty years the Act was in place. Instead, three distinct phases were evident in
very different rates of reclassification: variable rates from 1950 to 1967; low and
relatively stable rates between 1968 and 1979; and substantially elevated rates during the
1980s. These three phases could be mapped to changes in legislation affecting the
definitions of the racial groups and the (re)classification procedures, and in some cases
to the political context during each phase. The second conclusion was that race was not
operationalised consistently by each of the actors (State, legislature and individual
classifiers) and tribunals (Race Classification Boards and the Supreme Courts) involved.
The government became increasingly concerned with its ability to enforce race
classifications, and the Boards applied a raft of strategies to discredit objections to
(re)classification. In contrast, the Courts adopted a more even-handed approach and
often challenged the government’s and Boards’ (re)classificatory procedures and
decisions. Finally, the documentary evidence and interviews with those involved with
racial (re)classification found that race was informed more by commonsense than by
scientific principles, although no common commonsense existed and race therefore had a
range of different meanings.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1
1.1
1.2
1.3
1.3.1
1.3.2
1.3.3
1.4
1.5
1.5.1
1.5.2
1.5.3
1.5.4
1.6
1.7
Chapter 2
2.1
2.2
2.2.1
2.2.2
2.3
2.3.1
2.3.2
2.4
2.5
2.6
2.7
Chapter 3
3.1
3.2
3.2.1
3.2.2
PAGE
Introduction, theoretical framework and literature
review
Social constructionism: Its strengths and limitations
Why use a social constructionist approach in this thesis?
The changing meanings of race
Bio-scientific and social meanings of race
Race as commonsense
Race, commonsense and social construction
The operationalisation of racial identity: From the concept
of race to the process or ‘race-ing’
The meanings and operationalisation of race in South
Africa
Perceptions of difference in pre-apartheid South Africa
Race in apartheid and post-apartheid South Africa
The meanings of race
The operationalisation of race through the process of
racial (re)classification
The process of classification and reclassification
The legal, bureaucratic and judicial aspects of
(re)classification
The scope of the reclassification process
The consequences of (re)classification
(Re)classification and the meanings of race
Overview of the questions addressed in each Chapter
In summary
Methodology and Methods
The ‘qualitative’/’quantitative’ divide
Two types of data
Documentary sources
Interviews
Tools for data analysis
Quantitative analysis
Qualitative analysis
Content analysis
Discourse analysis
Thematic analysis
Reliability and validity
Ethics
The role of the researcher in the research process
Dissemination of the findings and archiving
Preventing “creeping integration” between races: The
Population Registration Act, the government, and
racial (re)classification
Introduction
Methods
South African Government Gazette
House of Assembly Debates
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13
15
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3.2.3
3.3
3.4
3.4.1
3.4.2
3.4.3
3.5
3.5.1
3.5.2
3.6
3.7
Chapter 4
4.1
4.2
4.3
4.3.1
4.3.2
4.3.3
4.4
4.5
Chapter 5
5.1
5.2
5.2.1
5.2.2
5.2.3
5.3
5.4
5.5
5.5.1
5.5.2
5.6
5.6.1
5.6.2
5.7
5.7.1
5.7.2
Data analysis
The 1950 Population Registration Act: Explicit aims and
rationale
The reclassification process: Mending and tightening the
procedures
Closing loopholes in the process of appeal
Clarifying and extending the (re)classificatory powers of
the Secretary and the State
Regulating matters of evidence: The burden of proof and
the kinds of evidence allowed
Measuring race: Negotiating the boundaries of the different
groups
Regulating the non-White (Black and Coloured) groups
Definition of a Black person
Definition of a Coloured person
Regulating the White/Coloured boundary
Discussion
Conclusion
Racial reclassification during apartheid: Temporal
trends and variation amongst racial groups
Introduction
Methods
Results
Temporal variation in reclassification rates
The different routes to reclassification
Reclassifications between the different racial groups
Discussion
Conclusion
The Race Classification Boards and the negotiation of
racial boundaries
Introduction
Methods
The National Archives of South Africa
The Department of Home Affairs
Ethics and data analysis
The nature of the data
Introduction to the cases
The format of the Board proceedings
Onus and the burden of proof
Legal representation in the Board hearings: A choice or a
necessity?
Types of evidence presented
Leading documentary and oral evidence
The three-pronged classification criteria: Appearance,
acceptance and descent
Appearance
Acceptance
Descent
Strategies to refute or discredit objectors’ claims
Distorting the evidence: Lying, concealing and
contradicting
Knowing too much or having a vested interest in the case
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5.7.3
5.8
5.8.1
5.8.2
5.9
Chapter 6
6.1
6.2
6.3
6.3.1
6.3.2
6.3.3
6.3.4
6.4
6.4.1
6.4.2
6.5
Chapter 7
7.1
7.2
7.2.1
7.2.2
7.3
7.3.1
7.4
7.4.1
7.4.2
7.4.3
7.5
7.6
7.6.1
7.6.2
7.6.3
7.6.4
7.6.5
7.7
The ability to assess race: Having enough or too little
“race prejudice”
Discussion
Limitations
Discussion of the findings
Conclusion
Negotiating racial boundaries: Dialectic strategies of
Supreme Court judges during appeals against racial
(re)classification
Introduction
Methods
Results
The number of racial (re)classification cases published in
the Law Reports
Content analysis of judgments published in the Law
Reports
The nature of the hearings
Decisions on reclassification procedure
Judges’ use of dialectic strategies to negotiate racial
boundaries
Using procedural irregularities to negotiate racial
boundaries
Legislative ambiguity and contested racial boundaries:
The question of appearance, descent and acceptance
Informing decisions on reclassification: Questions of
reasonableness, fairness and (in)justice
Discussion
Limitations
Strategies to negotiate the racial boundaries
Conclusion
“Manufactured” race: Personal experiences of the
process and consequences of racial reclassification
Introduction
Methods
Ethics
Data collection and analysis
Sample characteristics
Introduction to respondents
Motivations for applying to be reclassified
Seeking a change in circumstances
Rectifying incorrect classifications
Accessing the reclassification process
Circumstances leading to objections to (re)classification
The nature of the reclassification process
Clerks, bureaucrats and magistrates as classifiers
Classifiers’ treatment of those reclassifying/reclassified
Deciding how to classify people: The criteria used in the
reclassification process
Supporting actions for a successful reclassification
Reflecting on reclassification: People’s thoughts and
feelings on the process
The private and public consequences of reclassification
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7.8
7.8.1
7.8.2
7.9
Chapter 8
8.1
8.2
8.3
8.3.1
8.3.2
8.3.3
8.4
8.4.1
8.4.2
8.4.3
8.4.4
8.4.5
8.4.6
8.5
8.6
Chapter 9
9.1
9.2
9.3
9.3.1
9.3.2
9.3.3
9.4
9.5
9.6
9.7
9.8
List of
References
Appendices
Appendix I
Appendix II
Appendix III
Appendix IV
Further discussion
Limitations of the data
Relevance of the data to the research questions
The flexible and fallible process of reclassification
The meaning of race and the learnt nature of racial
identity
Conclusion
“Perverted sociology”: The social construction of race
through science and society
Introduction
Methods
Scientific and social influences on the operationalisation of
race
The explicit use of science
The implicit use of science
Validity
Reliability
Homogeneity
The role of society in the social construction of race
The multiple meanings of race
The existence of some objective ‘truth’: Race was real
Race as defined by the legislation
Race was what the expert or classifier said it was
Race was what the person wanted to be (albeit within
limits)
Race was whatever was in the best interests of the person
Race was whatever society would accept
Discussion
Conclusion
Discussion and Conclusion
Generic limitations to the research
My role in the research
The social construction of race
Finding I: Temporal changes in the (re)classification
process
Finding II: Comparing (re)classification as implemented
by the different actors/sectors
Finding III: The different meanings of race
Race and science
Race and commonsense
The multiple meanings of race
Creating and administering racial identity
Implications for current race debates in South Africa
Questions for future research
Conclusion
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Ethics permission
Project information sheet
Consent sheet
Bibliography of amendments to the Population
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272
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Appendix V
Appendix VI
Appendix VII
Appendix VIII
Registration Act (No. 30 of 1950)
Definitions of the main population groups and subgroups
as these changed over time
Detailed comparison of data sources used in Chapter 4
Original Afrikaans quotes as used in Chapters 5 and 6
Interview topic guides
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304
305
319
Tables
Table 1a
Table 4a
Table 5a
Table 5b
Table 6a
Table 6b
Table 7a
Table 7b
PAGE
A summary of the routes to reclassification and the
terminology used to distinguish between different kinds of
objections.
Reclassifications between the different Coloured subgroups
expressed as a percentage of all reclassifications recorded
within the Coloured group.
Overview of the 13 cases on which these analyses are based.
Summary of the documents obtained for each of the 13 cases
on which these analyses are based.
Variation in the distribution of successful and unsuccessful
racial (re)classification appeals heard during the 1950s, 1960s
and 1970s, at different Divisions of the South African Supreme
Court, with different types of appellants and with requests for
(re)classification between different racial groups.
Thematic summary of rulings made on procedural issues.
Overview of respondents who had first hand experience of
reclassification or had family members who had applied for
reclassification.
The different consequences of racial reclassification.
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115
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146
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Figures
Figure 3a
Figure 3b
Figure 3c
Figure 3d
Figure 4a
Figure 4b
Figure 4c
Figure 4d
Figure 4e
Figure 4f
Figure 4g
Figure 4h
Figure 4i
Figure 4j
Figure 5a
PAGE
Summary of amendments to the 1950 Population Registration
Act and secondary legislation issued under it.
Proportion of amendments addressing each of the three main
themes of the 1950 Act.
Amendments to the (re)classification procedure.
Proportion of amendments to the different racial groups.
Temporal changes in reclassification rates per 100,000 of the
population, and an indication of the periods for which additional
data are available.
A comparison of the two routes to reclassification:
reclassifications enforced and objections upheld) over the period
for which data on both were available (1967-1979).
A comparison of objections raised and objections upheld over
the period for which data on both were available (1972-1989).
Reclassifications between Black and the Coloured subgroups.
Reclassifications between the Coloured subgroups and White.
Reclassifications between the Coloured subgroups.
Reclassifications between all 9 groups and subgroups.
Temporal variation in rates of reclassification from Coloured to
White, and from White to Coloured.
Temporal variation in rates of reclassification between the
Coloured subgroups.
Temporal variation in rates of reclassification from Black to
Coloured, and from Coloured to Black.
This figure illustrates the various contexts in which acceptance
was assessed.
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Acknowledgements
I owe much to my supervisors, Prof George Ellison (St George’s University of London)
and Dr Wendy Rickard (London South Bank University), for their supervision and
support throughout my Ph.D. I am also grateful to St George’s for providing financial
support; and to Prof Thea de Wet and the University of Johannesburg for hosting me
during fieldwork. A word of thanks to Kathleen Openshaw, Jessica Babich and Gabi
Stein for their help with particular parts of the research process.
Many thanks to my family and friends for their endless support. Although there are too
many to mention, a special word of thanks to my mother (Yvonne Erasmus), Ermin
Erasmus, Kelly Luck, Ruth Stewart, James Thomas, Simon Outram, Rosie Head, Mary
Halter, Carina Fourie, Jane McGaughey, Sarah Duff, Stephanie Carvin, Jennis
Williamson, and Hennie Lötter.
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