In Sport, Space and Segregation, Christopher Merrett uses physical recreation as a lens through which to tell a story of insiders and outsiders. He views the political, social, economic and cultural history of the South African city of Pietermaritzburg to trace successive ideologies of imperialism, colonial segregation and apartheid. Thus he demonstrates how sport was used to keep communities apart.
Sport in Pietermaritzburg was white sport, but the city’s geography provides an insight into the psychology of racism. After the imposition of group areas legislation, access to recreation facilities became a powerful cause for the city’s anti-apartheid coalition. Sport provided an opportunity, one of the few in a police state, for meaningful protest.
About the Author
Christopher Merrett works for The Witness, Pietermaritzburg’s daily newspaper. During the apartheid years he was secretary of the non-racial Maritzburg District Cricket Union and an inter-provincial umpire. He has written widely on the political history of South African sport and is the co-author with Bruce Murray of Caught Behind: Race and Politics in Springbok Cricket.
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