Today, I met Dr. John Kani. Dr. Kani is a co-founder of The Apartheid Museum. He is also a famous actor and playwright who is respected across the country and around the world.

When I was in school, I learned that the U.S. Civil Rights Movement was similar to the fight against Apartheid. Dr. Kani explained the differences between the two.

In the U.S, those fighting in the Civil Rights Movement wanted equality. African-Americans weren’t allowed to vote. Buses, restaurants, hotels, movie theaters, and even schools were segregated.

In South Africa, non-whites suffered these things as well. But, under Apartheid the National Party tried to keep racial groups completely separate.

South Africa started much like America. In both countries, the Dutch and British claimed lands belonging to native people. Europeans came to South Africa in the 1600s and created laws to control where the native people lived or travelled. By the mid-1900s, blacks, coloured, and Indians saw their homes taken away.

The end of Apartheid happened during my lifetime. While I was in middle school, children my age in South Africa fought and sometimes died to get a better education. Adults fought for the right to vote. These are basic rights that I have had all my life.

Keep going: Get into some South African song & dance.

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