Apartheid (or ‘apartness’) was a system of racial segregation and political and economic discrimination against Black and Colored South Africans.  In 1991, South Africa’s Parliament voted to repeal the legal framework for apartheid and three years later, Nelson Mandela was elected President.

While South Africa has made the political transition to majority rule and there is a growing Black middle class, it hasn’t always been smooth and widespread poverty remains a major problem.