Rand Daily Mail publishes exposé of conditions in Homelands

Date: 11 Nov 1969
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Rand Daily Mail publishes exposé of conditions in Homelands

The English-language opposition paper, The Rand Daily Mail, covered a feature article dealing with the appalling conditions in one of the government’s Bantu Homelands. In addition to the circumstances in the homelands, the article reflected the thought process of the South African government, the media and White perceptions of Black bodies during the time. “As the Black spot removals bring more people to an already depressed part of the Tswana Bantustan, malnutrition, disease and plain starvation increase.” The Rand Daily Mail became South Africa’s most influential anti-Apartheid newspaper, known for its courageous and liberal journalism. The article managed to get the attention of international audiences in the United Kingdom, explaining to them what Apartheid was doing to the African people and the cruelty Black bodies were experiencing.

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01La Guma, Alex. Apartheid; a collection of writings on South African racism by South Africans. Intl Pub, 1971.
02https://themediaonline.co.za/2013/07/preserving-the-rand-daily-mail/ [last accessed: 2017/02/02]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2017, May 16). Rand Daily Mail publishes exposé of conditions in Homelands. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0123333

South African History Online (2017) 'Rand Daily Mail publishes exposé of conditions in Homelands', South African History Online, 16 May. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0123333 (Accessed: 23 July 2026).

South African History Online, Rand Daily Mail publishes exposé of conditions in Homelands [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0123333, (accessed 23 July 2026).

"Rand Daily Mail publishes exposé of conditions in Homelands." South African History Online, 16 May 2017, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0123333. Accessed 23 July 2026.

South African History Online. "Rand Daily Mail publishes exposé of conditions in Homelands." South African History Online. May 16, 2017. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0123333.