Overcoming Apartheid (Grade 11 NSC Matric History): Revision Notes
Overcoming Apartheid
Introduction
The struggle against apartheid in South Africa involved decades of organised resistance by black South Africans and their allies. This resistance evolved from early peaceful protests to mass mobilisation campaigns that challenged the foundations of the apartheid system. Understanding this progression helps us see how ordinary people fought for freedom and equality.
Early forms of resistance to segregation and racial discrimination
MK Gandhi's foundation for resistance
Mahatma Gandhi arrived in South Africa in 1893 as a young lawyer, initially to defend the rights of Indian and black South Africans. His experiences with racial discrimination led him to develop a powerful new form of protest.
Gandhi's experiences with discrimination in South Africa, including being thrown off a train for refusing to move from a first-class compartment, fundamentally shaped his approach to fighting injustice. These personal encounters with racism became the catalyst for developing his revolutionary philosophy of non-violent resistance.
Gandhi introduced the concept of satyagraha, which means "devotion to the truth" in Sanskrit. This philosophy promoted non-violent or passive resistance as a way to fight injustice. Instead of using violence, Gandhi encouraged his supporters to:
- Refuse to register for discriminatory laws
- Burn their registration documents in public protests
- March peacefully to demonstrate their opposition
- Accept imprisonment rather than comply with unjust laws
Practical Example: Gandhi's Satyagraha in Action
During the campaign against the $3 tax imposed on Indians, Gandhi led by example:
Step 1: He publicly declared his refusal to pay the discriminatory tax
Step 2: He organized mass meetings to explain the philosophy of satyagraha
Step 3: He encouraged followers to accept arrest rather than comply
Step 4: When arrested, he used his imprisonment to draw attention to the injustice
This approach demonstrated how moral resistance could be more powerful than physical force.
Although segregation continued to worsen, Gandhi's work laid the crucial foundation for future non-violent resistance movements. He also helped establish the Natal Indian Congress, which became a model for later political organisations fighting for equal rights.
Internal resistance from 1910 to 1939
During this period, black South Africans began organising more systematically against discriminatory laws. The South African Native National Congress (SANNC) started non-violent protests against the Land Act of 1913, which severely restricted black land ownership.
The SANNC's early tactics focused on persuasion rather than confrontation:
- Protest marches in 1919
- Supporting the 1920 strike, though this achieved limited success
- Sending deputations to the British government in 1914 and 1919 to express their frustrations
Limited Success of Early Moderate Approaches
The moderate approaches of the 1920s and 1930s proved largely unsuccessful, leading to growing frustration among black South Africans. This failure of peaceful persuasion would later drive the resistance movement toward more militant strategies in the 1940s and beyond.
An overview of resistance during the early 1940s
The 1940s marked a significant turning point in the resistance movement. Several important developments occurred simultaneously:
The Revival movement
After 1935, the Workers' Party of South Africa called for democratic reform and emphasised non-collaboration with the government. They promoted boycotts until their demands were met, showing a more assertive approach than earlier movements.
All African Convention (AAC)
The AAC played a crucial role by:
- Growing resistance against racist policies and attitudes
- Convening the All African Convention to discuss strategies for moving forward
- Providing a platform for coordinated resistance across different regions
Other important catalysts
Several key developments accelerated the resistance movement:
- 1937: The Natives' Representative Council (NRC) was formed
- 1940: Dr AB Xuma became the new president of the ANC, bringing fresh leadership
- 1943: The Non-European Unity Movement was launched, and the publication of the Atlantic Charter called for self-determination of peoples
- 1944: The ANC Youth League (ANCYL) was established under Dr Xuma's leadership
Examples of growing resistance
Practical resistance took many forms:
- 1942: Marabastad riots occurred when black municipal workers protested poor wage increases
- 1943-1944: Alexandra bus boycotts rejected increased transport fees and anti-pass campaigns
- 1946: A massive mineworkers' strike involved stay-aways from work, demonstrating the power of organised labour
The Programme of Action and the formation of alliances
The African Claims of South Africa
In 1943, ANC President AB Xuma adopted expectations based on the Atlantic Charter of 1941. This led to the development of "The African Claims of SA," which included nine key demands:
- Full citizenship rights for all South Africans
- Unqualified franchise for black men and women
- Abolition of the NRC (Natives' Representative Council)
- Unrestricted land ownership for blacks
- Abolition of the pass laws
- Free compulsory education
- Equal pay for equal work
- Adequate housing
- Absolute equality under the law
Changes in the resistance movement by the early 1950s
Transformation of the ANC
The resistance movement transformed significantly when the ANC, AAC, Indian Congress (IC), and African People's Organisation (APO) formed alliances. The ANC also changed from being a moderate organisation run by middle-class liberals to becoming a more militant movement.
This transformation created a mass liberation movement that became increasingly impatient with the slow pace of reform and the introduction of restrictive apartheid legislation.
Under Dr JS Moroka's leadership, the ANC launched the Programme of Action in 1949. This programme encouraged black workers to participate in:
- Mass action campaigns
- Civil disobedience
- Strikes and stay-aways
- Boycotts
- Other forms of non-violent resistance
The Freedom Day campaign
In March 1950, the ANC held a Freedom of Speech Convention, announcing that 1 May 1950 would be Freedom Day, with a national stay-away from work planned.
Tragic Turn: The Freedom Day Violence
However, tragedy struck on 1 May when strikers clashed with police, resulting in 18 people being killed. In response, the ANC, South African Indian Congress (SAIC), Communist Party, and APO declared 26 June as a National Day of Mourning and called for a mass stay-away from work.
This event showed how peaceful protests could quickly escalate into violence, foreshadowing the challenges that would face future resistance campaigns.
The Congress Alliance and Defiance Campaign
The Programme of Action led directly to the planning of the Defiance Campaign. Anti-apartheid coalitions of the early 1950s carefully planned this campaign as a major test of non-violent resistance.
Planning and leadership
In 1952, younger members of the ANC, led by Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, and Nelson Mandela, along with other alliance members, launched the Defiance Campaign. Despite ANC leader Dr Malan's warnings that the ANC should not incite blacks to disobey laws, planning proceeded.
Nelson Mandela was appointed as the volunteer-in-chief of the campaign and travelled throughout the country to organise resistance efforts. This role marked Mandela's emergence as a key leader in the resistance movement.
The campaign in action
The Defiance Campaign became the first major non-violent resistance campaign organised by black communities, working alongside a small group of white left-wing activists.
After the Communist Party and its newspaper were banned, the ANC, Indian Congress, and Franchise Action Council met in July 1951 to plan a comprehensive campaign against unjust laws.
The Defiance Campaign in Practice
26 June 1952 marked the beginning of active resistance when protesters:
- Defied pass laws by refusing to carry required documents
- Ignored curfews imposed on black South Africans
- Entered waiting rooms and railway coaches reserved for whites only
- Entered locations without permits
- Sat on benches reserved exclusively for whites
The resisters demonstrated remarkable commitment to non-violent principles by singing liberation songs, offering no resistance when arrested, and choosing imprisonment rather than paying fines.
Responses to the campaign
The resisters demonstrated remarkable commitment to non-violent principles. They sang liberation songs, offered no resistance when arrested, and pleaded not guilty in court. Rather than paying fines, they chose imprisonment to highlight the injustice of apartheid laws.
However, violence broke out in some areas, including Port Elizabeth, Kimberley, and East London, as protesters clashed with police. Some people criticised the campaign leaders for the violence that occurred.
Consequences of the Defiance Campaign
Negative Results:
- The Communist Party was banned, forcing resisters to operate underground
- Resisters faced harassment and surveillance from apartheid authorities
- The apartheid state became more repressive, implementing harsher measures against protesters
- Violence increased in certain areas, undermining the non-violent principles of the campaign
Positive Results:
- ANC membership increased markedly, showing growing support for organised resistance
- Solidarity developed between resisters of different races, breaking down some racial barriers
- Several leftist organisations emerged to fight discrimination, many including communist members
- In July 1953, the Liberal Party was established
- The Coloured People's Congress was formed to support the protesters
- The Congress of Democrats was formed by whites who wanted universal suffrage extended to all South Africans
Many leaders were tried and given suspended sentences, and the campaign officially ended in January 1953.
How did the Freedom Charter challenge the apartheid government?
Despite government restrictions on public organising, ANC and SAIC leaders continued planning resistance activities.
The Congress of the People
Professor ZK Matthews, the Cape leader of the ANC, proposed creating a Freedom Charter. Meetings were organised to plan its launch, and a National Action Council for the Congress of the People was established.
The Council called for a Congress of the People to be held on 26 and 27 June 1955 at Kliptown near Soweto. Pieter Beyleveld, a white member of the Congress of Democrats, served as chairman of the meeting, which included 2,844 delegates from across the country.
The Freedom Charter principles
A Freedom Charter based on socialist democracy principles with equal rights for all races was adopted at Kliptown. The Charter called for:
- Democracy and human rights for all South Africans
- Land reform to redistribute land fairly
- Labour rights to protect workers
- Nationalisation of key industries
The Freedom Charter's Revolutionary Impact
The Freedom Charter was viewed as a blueprint for a democratic South Africa and directly opposed the constitution of the apartheid state. This document represented the first comprehensive vision of a non-racial, democratic South Africa and became the guiding document for the liberation struggle.
Interestingly, some Africanist members of the ANC opposed the document and broke away to form the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) in 1959, believing the Charter was too inclusive of other racial groups.
The role of women in mass mobilisation
Women played an increasingly important role in the resistance movement, particularly through organised campaigns against discriminatory laws.
Formation of FEDSAW
The Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) was launched in Johannesburg in 1954 to create a broad-based women's organisation. At this founding conference, a Women's Charter was written that:
- Openly supported the campaigns of the Congress Alliance
- Included demands that were later incorporated into the Freedom Charter
- Called for full equality of opportunity for women and the enfranchisement of all men and women in South Africa
- Organised campaigns specifically against extending pass laws to women
The 1956 Women's March
FEDSAW organised the first national protest on 27 October 1955 against the proposed extension of pass laws to women.
Historic Demonstration: The 1956 Women's March
The most significant demonstration occurred on 9 August 1956, when 20,000 South African women marched to the Union Buildings in Pretoria to deliver petitions to Prime Minister Strijdom.
The March Process:
- Women travelled from across the country to participate
- They gathered peacefully on the lawns of the Union Buildings
- When Strijdom refused to meet with them, they remained as a sign of solidarity
- The event was conducted with dignity and determination
This event established FEDSAW as a recognised force within the resistance movement and demonstrated that women had become a crucial part of the struggle for freedom.
Key Points to Remember:
- Gandhi's satyagraha established the foundation for non-violent resistance in South Africa, teaching protesters to use truth and passive resistance rather than violence
- The Programme of Action (1949) marked a shift towards more militant resistance under younger ANC leadership, encouraging mass action and civil disobedience
- The Defiance Campaign (1952) was the first major mass resistance campaign, leading to both increased repression and greater solidarity among different racial groups
- The Freedom Charter (1955) provided a blueprint for a democratic South Africa based on equality and human rights, directly challenging apartheid's foundations
- Women's involvement, particularly through FEDSAW and the 1956 march to the Union Buildings, became essential to the resistance movement's success