oct 9, 1953 - The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act
Description:
The Reservation of Separate Amenities Act, passed in 1953, is often seen as the epitome of the petty apartheid system.
As its name implies, it provided for the strict separation by race of all public amenities.
Many public services, such as buses, trains, toilets and hospitals, had already been segregated to some extent before the advent of apartheid.
This segregation was now taken much further.
Separate entrances and service counters were made compulsory in buildings such as shops and post offices, and there were completely separate waiting rooms and stretches of platform for use by different races at train stations.
Signs informing the public that a facility was reserved for "Whites only" were soon ubiquitous, and became a notorious feature of the civic landscape of apartheid South Africa.
Added to timeline:
Apartheid in South Africa
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