The series of events which best encapsulate the fall of apartheid happened under the presidency of FW de Klerk, the white guy shown top right. As you can see in this photo, a referendum was held during his presidency on whether de Klerk's National Party should hold negotiations with Nelson Mandela's African National Congress. Impressively, 68% of white South Africans voted yes, suggesting that even among the white beneficiaries of the system, the political tides had soured on apartheid.