Apartheid and its Aftermath in South Africa (1948-64)

Legislative Framework of Apartheid

• Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act (1949): Made interracial marriages illegal.

• Immorality Act (1950): Banned sexual relations between races. Led to over 11,000 convictions by 1985.

• Population Registration Act (1950): Classified people into racial groups (white, coloured, Indian, and African) and required identity cards indicating race.

• Group Areas Act (1950): Separated residential areas based on race, affecting many black families.

Non-Violent Protests Against Apartheid in the 1950s

• ANC Programme of Action (1949): Shifted from negotiation to civil disobedience. Called for strikes and boycotts.

• Defiance Campaign (1952): Organized protests against specific unjust laws.

  • Large participation involved mass arrests but increased awareness and support for ANC.

• Freedom Charter (1955): An outcome of the Congress of the People; demanded a democratic non-racial South Africa.

People's Responses to Discriminatory Laws

• Shift in tactics by resistance groups, specifically the ANC, to include more radical approaches like boycotts and mass protests.

• Organizations such as the Federation of South African Women (FEDSAW) played pivotal roles in protests against pass laws.

• Emergence of new leaderships and groups, like the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), which adopted Africanist principles, contrasting with ANC's multi-racial strategy.

The Sharpeville Massacre (1960)

• Marked a turning point, highlighting the government's violent repression of protests.

• Transition from nonviolent to violent resistance after the massacre; changes led to the establishment of armed resistance groups such as Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK).