The racially-based land distribution and ownership in South Africa: A challenging discourse for social work

Abstract

The call to question racially-based land ownership, land expropriation without compensation and racial injustice has become significant in post-apartheid South Africa. Social workers are challenged to respond and contribute to the new discourse on racially-skewed land ownership. This conceptual chapter examines contestations of racially-based land ownership in South African society -its past, present and future. It provides a dialectical-historical perspective on land, race, socio-political and socio-economic inequalities, which in turn connects to the social dynamics with which social workers deal with the micro-, meso-and macro-level of intervention. Complex issues regarding racially-based land ownership for social work practice are teased out. Finally, the chapter proposes the key roles social workers can play in participating in land ownership issues from within a social justice approach.