South Africa 1.4 (Role and Significance of Individuals and Groups)

Alfred Xuma

He was one of the past leadres of the ANc, but was largely considered to be an ineffective president-general. He was later replaced by James Moroka as the ANC’s secretary general.

James Moroka

He replaced Alfred Xuma as the ANC’s secretary general. His ideas were more dynamic and characterized the Youth League Movement. He was replaced by Albert Luthuli.

May Day Stay-at-Home

May Day Stay-At-Home was a general strike response to the new wave of apartheid laws in 1950. It was organized alongside SACP to fight the Suppression of Communism Act.

Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA)

It was shaped following the growth in African labor post-WWI. White intellectuals were mostly prominent within this party.

Nelson Mandela

He was the volunteer-in-chief of the Defiance Campaign. He later became a leading member of the ANC Youth League and was eventually imprisoned following the Rivonia Trial. He remained in jail for 27 years and was released in 1990.

Chief Albert Luthuli

He replaced James Moroka as ANC secretary general and was issued a government banned order for his defiance against apartheid. Luthuli was a committed Christian and traditional man, making it harder for the government to paint the ANC in a bad light to manipulate the public’s perception of anti-apartheid.

South African Communist Party (SACP)

This was the Black equivalent of the CPSA and it joined with the ANC on many occasions to fight against apartheid. They helped organize the Congress of Peoples as well as the May Day stay-at-home strikes.

Plan of Economic Advancement

The ANC was percieved as too political and concerned with legislation affecting the Black middle class rather than addressing extreme poverty, leading to the adoption of the Programme of Economic Advancement. They wanted to highlight their commitment to fighting economic inequality under apartheid.

School Boycott

Under Chief Albert Luthuli, the ANC was able to organize many school boycotts in order to protest the curriculum being taught to young, malleable Black South African children under apartheid laws like the Bantu Education Act.

Robert Sobukwe

He orchestrated one of the breakway groups in the ANC, creating the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) in response to the incorporation of the Freedom Charter goals in the ANC’s consitution. The PAC went on to leech off of support that the ANC garnered.

All-in African Conference

After the Treason Trial charges fell through and Mandela and others were found not guilty, they prepared to be arrested for good sometime soon. Mandela addressed delegated at the All-in African Conference, organized by the ANC. He urged the government to admit its error or face a general strike that would cripple the nation.

ANC Armed Struggle

Mandela and the other leaders within the ANC understood that non-violence would not stand on its own and urged anti-apartheid members to take up the armed struggle. This led to the formation of the underground armed wing of the ANC known as MK.

Operation Mayibuye

MK, the armed wing of the ANC, planned Operation Mayibuye as a guerilla warfare tactic to fight back against apartheid. In a raid at Liliesleaf farm, their plants were uncovered and they were taken to court in the ensuing Rivonia Trials.

Federation of South African Women (Lilian Ngoyi and Helen Joseph)

Female activists like Lilian Ngoyi (black female president) and Helen Joseph (white female secreatary) led organization like the Federation of South African Women and used their influence to challenge apartheid laws. They organized boycotts, strikes, and sit-ins despite facing arrest, harassment, and torture too.