Final answer:
South Africa's apartheid policy drew inspiration from the United States' Jim Crow laws, which mandated racial segregation and discrimination through the 'separate but equal' doctrine. Both systems enforced social and economic inequality based on racial lines and are now recognized as serious human rights violations.
Step-by-step explanation:
The African country that looked extensively at the U.S.'s Jim Crow structure to help design its anti-Black policies was South Africa. During its apartheid era, South African lawmakers observed the legal segregation known as Jim Crow laws in the United States, which enforced racial discrimination and segregation. In particular, Jim Crow laws were prevalent in the Southern United States from the late 1800s until 1965, embedding the concept of 'separate but equal' within the judicial system through the landmark Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson. South Africa's apartheid system similarly enforced strict racial separation and discrimination, drawing parallels to the segregatory practices of the Jim Crow South.
Jim Crow laws facilitated a system where African Americans were denied fundamental rights and were subjected to inferior public facilities, reflecting the deeply entrenched racial inequality of the time. These laws were foundational in maintaining a social and economic hierarchy that privileged White people over Black people.
Likewise, the apartheid system in South Africa not only segregated individuals by race but also ensured economic and social control over the Black majority, similar to the post-Civil War South's intent with the Black Codes. This heinous period in both countries' histories is now widely condemned as a violation of basic human rights and equality.