"It's a Blueprint": Black American Woman Sparks Global Debate With Powerful Apartheid Video

• An African American woman captured the attention of many people across the globe with her clip about apartheid
• The lady explained by alleging how the US supported apartheid for decades and profited from South Africans' suffering
• Comments poured in from social media users as they flooded the post, expressing their thoughts

A Black American woman’s video about apartheid has sparked widespread attention and conversation across social media platforms in South Africa.

Black American woman's video about apartheid

In the clip, which she posted under the handle @ashleytheebarroness, the woman expressed her shock and deep emotion at the realities of apartheid, the brutal system of racial segregation and oppression that plagued South Africa from 1948 until the early 1990s.

Speaking candidly, @ashleytheebarroness shared with her followers how the government of the apartheid regime, which ruined the white minority, used law, violence and propaganda to keep black South Africans poor, displaced, voiceless and invisible.

During the apartheid era, Black South Africans were not allowed to vote; they could not own land in most areas, and they could not walk in certain neighbourhoods without a passbook, or they would get arrested.

"All of this was written into law, enforced with bullets, normalised through white fear because while apartheid was happening in South Africa, America was over here pretending like it had the moral high ground, get real," said @ashleytheebarroness in the clip.

She went on to explain that during the Jim Crow era, while Black people in Alabama were fighting to sit at the front of the bus, Black folks in Johannesburg were being dragged off the bus for just "existing."

The US’s alleged involvement in apartheid

@ashleytheebarroness explained by alleging how the US supported apartheid for decades and profited from South Africans' suffering by saying:

"Here is the part most people don't know. The US supported apartheid for decades. American companies made money off cheap South African labour. Our government called Nelson Mandela a terrorist until 2008. Let that sink in..Oh my God."

Apartheid ended when Black South Africans protested; revolution and global solidarity forced the government to back down. Although the cruel regime was abolished, the economic system largely remained unchanged. According to South African government statistics, white individuals own 72% of the total farms and agricultural holdings owned by individual landowners, which amounts to 26,663,144 hectares.

"The poverty is still black and the trauma inherited, so no apartheid isn't just history, it's a blueprint, a playbook right now in 2025 we are watching it replay in real time across borders under different flags but with the same tactics, state violence, surveillance, media silence and it a system that tells the oppressed be grateful that you're not dead," @ashleytheebarroness added.

She ended by urging people to wake up, as apartheid is a "global system of control" that always begins in the same way, according to @ashleytheebarroness: by dehumanising, displacing, dividing, and then daring people to speak up.

Her heartfelt reaction resonated with many South Africans and people across the globe, who were moved by her empathy and willingness to engage with their painful history. The clip has ignited a broader reflection on South Africa’s history and opened room for debate regarding current issues taking place worldwide.

Take a look at the video below:

Netizens react to US woman’s apartheid take

The online community took the comments section to share their thoughts, saying:

Khosi Mahlangu said:

"I applaud your wisdom & knowledge."

Peter Mthethwa expressed:

"Wow, Ashley, that's so powerful sister ...very powerful, I'm loving your videos ...Facts all the way."

Phyl wrote:

"Thanks, my sister, for understanding what we are going through in South Africa...thank you...I still have my father's passbook...yhooo."

Khethiwe Zulu shared:

"And it still hurts…"

Gontse Muthusi commented:

"The story of 49 so-called refugees is triggering so many wounds for us as black ppl in SA. We are trying to forget, but they keep on reminding us."

3 More apartheid stories by Briefly News

• A South African lady, Isabell, shared the painful news of her mother’s ongoing PTSD from the apartheid era.
• South Africa experienced atrocities under the rule of the white man, and the effects of these injustices are very visible to date.
• South Africans were taken aback when a black member of the Democratic Alliance claimed that she wanted Apartheid back because the City of Tshwane’s CBD was dirty.

Source: Briefly News