This Day in Black History: April 15, 1996

South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission launches hearings into apartheid-era crimes.
By Britt Middleton
Posted: 04/15/2012 07:00 AM EDT
Filed Under South Africa, Global News, apartheid, This Day in Black History, Nelson Mandela

South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu (C) with fellow commissioners listen to testamony from witnesses during the start of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission which opened in East London, 15 April. (Photo: PHILIP LITTLETON/AFP/Getty Images)       

On this day in 1996, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission began hearings into crimes committed in South Africa by government forces and Black guerilla movements while the country was governed under apartheid rule, a system of racially oppressive laws enforced by the white-majority government. The commission, set up by President Nelson Mandela in 1995, heard testimony from individuals seeking amnesty for their actions. It also fielded about 20,000 claims for reparations from victims. The hearing concluded on July 31, 1998.

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