South Africa: Ordinary Whites in Apartheid Society – some dark secrets and active forgettingOrdinary Whites in Apartheid Society – dark secrets and active forgetting

Several years ago, I was invited to deliver a talk on aspects of South African history to a group of white retirees in Bloemfontein. I thought that the social history of ordinary white people in South Africa in the 1950s to 1970s might be of interest to an audience who had lived and worked under apartheid, and witnessed the negotiated settlement in 1994, that this would present them with connection points to the past, and a historical commons for telling and sharing stories of their…