Gekleurdes en Pretoria se sypaadjies: 1900-1925

Abstract

Before the year 1900 Coloureds were not allowed on Pretoria’s sidewalks. After the British takeover of Pretoria this policy was changed when first respected Asians and later on Coloureds and Blacks were permitted on the sidewalks. During British crown colony government the extension of this concession evoked strong reaction from the Whites. They wanted a return to the pre-Anglo Boer War period and up to 1912 several attempts were made to secure this. After Union was established in 1910 the government worked on a law for urban Blacks, but to bar the Coloureds from the sidewalks was not considered. This attitude of the Whites of Pretoria can be attributed to their unwillingness to associate socially with Coloureds and to their fears that these privileges will lead to equal rights for Coloureds. In opposition to this some Whites regarded it as recognition of the Coloureds’ progress if they were to be allowed to use the sidewalks. The Coloureds themselves, however, looked upon this prohibition as unnecessary discrimination against them.