Apartheid Key Terms

Nelson Mandela

A key leader of the African National Congress who fought against apartheid and became the first black president of South Africa.

Voting Rights Act

A 1965 law that outlawed discriminatory practices like literacy tests, ensuring African Americans the right to vote.

Civil Rights Act

A landmark 1964 law that outlawed discrimination in public places and employment based on race, religion, sex, or national origin.

ANC (African National Congress)

A political organization that fought against apartheid through protests and campaigns.

SACP (South African Communist Party)

A political party allied with the ANC that played a role in ending apartheid.

Grand Apartheid

A policy aimed at large-scale segregation in South Africa.

Petty Apartheid

Policies that controlled day-to-day racial interactions in South Africa.

H.F. Verwoerd

South African Prime Minister known for expanding apartheid policies.

NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)

Founded in 1909 to fight against racial injustice and support civil rights legislation.

SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee)

A grassroots civil rights organization advocating for nonviolent protest.

Malcolm X

A civil rights leader advocating for Black empowerment and self-defense.

Chief Albert Luthuli

A nonviolent leader of the ANC and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

MK (Umkhonto we Sizwe)

The armed wing of the ANC, engaging in sabotage against apartheid.

Indigenous

Refers to native peoples of South Africa, such as the Khoe-San.

Stay-away

A mass general strike where workers protest by not attending work.

Sit-ins

Nonviolent protests where activists occupy segregated public spaces.

Freedom Charter

A declaration calling for equal rights and the end of apartheid.

Miscegenation

Marriages or relationships between different racial groups, banned under apartheid.

Thurgood Marshall

NAACP lawyer who won key civil rights cases and became the first African American Supreme Court justice.

Afrikaners

Descendants of Dutch settlers in South Africa who supported apartheid policies.