1960 South African republic referendum
Okay, so in South Africa a long time ago, there were different groups of people who lived there. Some people were white and had come from other countries to live there. They were called the Afrikaners. Other people were native to South Africa and were called the black Africans.
The Afrikaners made a rule that only white people were allowed to have most of the important jobs and be in charge of the country. The black Africans weren't treated fairly and were even forced to live in separate communities away from the white people.
In 1960, the Afrikaners wanted to ask all the white people in South Africa if they supported their rules that kept the black Africans from having equal rights. This was called a referendum. They wanted to see if the white people wanted things to keep staying the same or if they wanted to change things and give black Africans more rights.
Lots of people, both the Afrikaners and other white people, thought it was wrong to treat black Africans unfairly. But some people still supported the rules and didn't want things to change.
When the referendum happened, most of the white people voted to keep things the same and not give more rights to black Africans. This was a sad time for many people, but eventually changes were made and black Africans were given more equal rights.
The Afrikaners made a rule that only white people were allowed to have most of the important jobs and be in charge of the country. The black Africans weren't treated fairly and were even forced to live in separate communities away from the white people.
In 1960, the Afrikaners wanted to ask all the white people in South Africa if they supported their rules that kept the black Africans from having equal rights. This was called a referendum. They wanted to see if the white people wanted things to keep staying the same or if they wanted to change things and give black Africans more rights.
Lots of people, both the Afrikaners and other white people, thought it was wrong to treat black Africans unfairly. But some people still supported the rules and didn't want things to change.
When the referendum happened, most of the white people voted to keep things the same and not give more rights to black Africans. This was a sad time for many people, but eventually changes were made and black Africans were given more equal rights.