Majorities and Minorities

1. Majorities and Minorities I will: • Know that we are all part of different majority and minority groups. • Examine the majority and minority groups within school. • Examine the apartheid, an example of how one group can oppress another. • Discuss the importance of mutual respect and understanding.

2. Sometimes a group of people who share certain characteristics have a kind of power over others.

3. Characteristics • Sometimes there are large numbers of people who share certain characteristics. • Who has brown eyes? You people probably form the majority of the class! • Sometimes there are small numbers of people who share certain characteristics. • Who has green eyes? You people are probably form the minority of the class?

4. Majority Minority Groups in School Complete two lists

5. Boys Vs Girls • Divide yourselves into 2 groups. The groups should be based on gender e.g. a group of boys and a group of girls. • The group with the most members becomes the ‘majority’ group. • The group with the least members becomes the ‘minority’ group. • The ‘majority’ group has the most power because they are the bigger group. As a result they are allowed to decide what activity (game) we take part in next. They are also allowed to decide how the game is played and who plays it. • The ‘minority’ group have to accept the choice of the ‘majority’.

6. Questions • How did it feel to be in the majority/ minority group? • What was good/ bad about being in the majority/ minority group? • Should it be the majority group that holds the power? Why?

7. Members of Majority and Minority Groups • It is possible for us to be a member of a majority group for one characteristic but a member of the minority group for another. Jamelia is in the minority in the UK because she belongs to an ethnic minority group but She is in the majority in the UK because she is a Christian.

8. Apartheid • Apartheid means ‘separate development’. It is the name given to the system that separated the people in South Africa on the basis of their skin colour. • The laws that supported the Apartheid came into place during the 1950s. • People were separated into categories. Bantu (black African), White, Coloured (of mixed race) or Asian (Indians and Pakistanis). • ‘White’ people, even though they were the minority group, held all the power in South Africa and controlled most of the wealth. • The ‘non-white’ people, who were the majority, had no power and did not get to make decisions.

9. Living Separately Laws banned most social contacts between the races. There were: • Separate public facilities – toilets etc. • Separate schools • Race-specific jobs • Bans on ‘non-white’ people taking part in government – only ‘white’ people were allowed to vote.

10. The apartheid system began to break down in 1990 after a long struggle.

11. Poem • Write a poem encouraging people not to treat others differently because of their characteristics. Why is it important that we value and respect others.