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“A Teaspoon of Milk in a Bucketful of Coffee:” The Discourse of Race Relations in Early Twentieth- Century South Africa
Abstract
This year, 2010, marks the centenary of the creation of the Union of South
Africa (and the modern South African state). From our vantage point, the
South Africa Act of 1909 and the formal event of Union on 31 May 1910
cannot but seem shabby milestones in the country’s long shabby history of
racially discriminatory legislation. But it may be salutary to be reminded of
just how far the public discourse on race and race relations has shifted over
the past century. In this essay I canvass a range of popular contemporary
English-language sources, mainly non-literary, in order to adumbrate the
discourse in which, in the years between the South African War and the First
World War (and beyond), white South Africans discussed the politics and
future of race relations in the country
Africa (and the modern South African state). From our vantage point, the
South Africa Act of 1909 and the formal event of Union on 31 May 1910
cannot but seem shabby milestones in the country’s long shabby history of
racially discriminatory legislation. But it may be salutary to be reminded of
just how far the public discourse on race and race relations has shifted over
the past century. In this essay I canvass a range of popular contemporary
English-language sources, mainly non-literary, in order to adumbrate the
discourse in which, in the years between the South African War and the First
World War (and beyond), white South Africans discussed the politics and
future of race relations in the country
