Resistance and Protests
Apartheid is Challenged
On your Left Side:
• If you were a black non-citizen in
South Africa, how would you
resist and protest against
apartheid? Explain.
• Or would you not resist and just
accept and endure? Explain.
African National Congress
Early resistance: 1912-1948
• 1912 African National
Congress founded
(original name: South
African Native
National Congress)
• Legal protests led by
African elites
Delegation from the South
African Native National
Congress that went to
England in 1914 to convey the
objections of the African people
to the 1913 Land Act
The ANC
• They advocated open resistance in the form
of strikes, acts of public disobedience, and
protest marches
• They adopted a Freedom Charter, which
had a vision of non-racial democratic state
Role of Nelson Mandela
Mandela Quotes
• On Freedom: “Our march to freedom is irreversible.
We must not allow fear to stand in our way.”
• On Racial Discrimination: “I consider myself neither
morally nor legally obliged to obey laws made by a
parliament in which I am not represented.”
• On Reconciliation: “Reconciliation and nationbuilding would remain pious words if they were
note premised on a concerted effort to remove the
real roots of past conflict and injustice.”
Mandela Quotes
• On Human Rights: “The Universal Declaration
of Human Rights served as the vindication of
the justice of our cause.”
• On Fighting Poverty: “Overcoming poverty is
not a gesture of charity. It is an act of justice.”
Nelson Mandelactivism
•
Joined African National Congress in 1944
• Formed Youth League with Oliver Tambo
– Secretary of ANCYL in 1947
• National Party won election of 1948
– New ANC president approved by
ANCYL
• President of ANCYL in 1951
• Banned from ANC in 1952
– Prohibited from attending meetings
or holding an office
– Confined to Johannesburg area
• ANC operated underground
The Treason Trial
• 156 nationalists arrested
December 5th, 1956
– Included Mandela and Albert
Luthuli, President of ANC
– Leaders of Congress Alliance
• Combination of five major
anti-apartheid
organizations
• Charged with high treason
– Punishable by death
• Acquitted in March of 1961
Human Rights – Nelson Mandela
• Protest was outlawed. Anyone caught organising a demonstration,
reading banned newspapers or speaking against the Apartheid system
was in danger of being detained without trial, tortured, imprisoned,
even sometimes murdered.
• However, Mandela’s group, the African National Congress committed
itself to using non-violent means to protest against this system
• That is, until the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960.
The Pan Africanist Congress
• Formed by more radical members of ANC
– Rivalry between ANC and PAC
• 69 demonstrators killed at Sharpeville on March 21, 1960
• Both groups formed military wings in 1961
• Umkhonto we Sizwe (“Spear of the Nation”)
– Mandela appointed first commander of MK
• PAC’s Poqo and MK prepare sabotage
Travel and Arrest
• Mandela left country in secret in 1962
• Attended Conference of Pan-African Freedom Movement of East
and Central Africa
– Conference of African nationalist leaders in Addis Ababa
– Provided with Ethiopian passport by Haile Selassie
• Traveled to Algeria for military training
– Guerilla warfare
• Next to London to visit Tambo
– Arrested upon return
MK: Resistance Becomes Violent
Opposition to Apartheid
African National Congress
Nonviolence Failed
• Founded in 1921 to fight for
equal rights; the ANC’s most
vocal leader Nelson Mandela
• ANC disbanded; worldwide
attention and condemnation
of government
• 1950s ANC launched program
of nonviolent protest; annoyed
government arrested and
imprisoned ANC leaders
• Mandela and other leaders
grew convinced that violent
protests were necessary
• 1960 nonviolent protest
against apartheid ended with
the Sharpeville Massacre;
police firing into crowd killed
70 people
• Mandela formed Umkhonto
we Sizwe (“Spear of the
Nation”) underground militant
branch of ANC
• Dedicated to sabotage
violence
in this
country
Nelson MandelaAs
and
the ANC
protested
was inevitable,
peacefully at first.
However,itinwould
1960bewhen
wrong
and
unrealistic
for
What
do
you
think?
police opened fire on a peaceful protest in
African leaders to continue
Sharpeville, killing
69
black
Africans
and
preaching peace and
Is it sometimes
necessary
to
use
wounding
186, Nelson
Mandela
realised
nonviolence
at a time
when
that
non-violent
protests
would
not
violence
tothe
achieve
something
government
met
ourend
the system of apartheid.
peaceful
demands
with
force.
good?
Most of the peaceful protestors had been
shot in the back.
Nelson Mandela on the New
Militant Approach
• As violence in this country was
inevitable, it would be wrong and
unrealistic for African leaders to
continue preaching peace and
nonviolence at a time when the
government met our peaceful demands
with force.
Resistance Underground
• The ANC decided to take up armed resistance to
the government
• They still had peaceful protests, but also took on
terrorist tactics, such as intimidation, bombing,
murder and sabotage
• The Prime Minister declared a state of emergency
and forces could detain people without a trial.
• Over 18,000 demonstrators were arrested,
including many leaders of the ANC and PAC
• Together with ANC leader Nelson Mandela, they
were charged with treason in 1964 and sentenced
to life imprisonment.
Spear of the Nation
• A militant wing of the ANC
• Its leaders included Nelson Mandela, Walter
Sisulu, & Govan Mbeki.
• All were arrested for sabotage against the
government, put on trial, & given lifetime
imprisonment
MK attacks
• 1960s MK relatively quiet
– Problems: no internal support
structure
• Dramatic increase in actions in late ’70s
and ’80s
– Reasons: new regional bases, new
internal support structures
• Main repertoires: from sabotage to
bombings
– 190 acts of sabotage between October
1961 and July 1963.
– 1976-1982: 150 attacks
– 1980s- 100s of bombings
• 1983- MK bombs air force
headquarters.
• 19 people killed and more than
200 injured.
MK Targets:
•
“"(e) Selection of targets to be tackled
in initial phase of guerrilla operations
with a view to causing maximum
damage to the enemy as well as
preventing quick deployment of
reinforcements. In its study the
Committee should bear in mind the
following main targets:
–
–
–
–
Strategic road, railways and other
communications.
power stations
police stations, camps and military
forces
irredeemable Government
stooges."
(1969)
The Rivonia Trial
• Charged for leaving country
– Sentenced to five years in prison
• MK HQ at Lilieslief raided on
July 11th, 1963
– Arrested leaders charged with
221 counts of sabotage
• Mandela delivered four hour
statement
– “I am Prepared to Die”
• Sentenced to life imprisonment plus
five years
On your Left Side: What does
Mandela mean by this speech?
“ During my lifetime I have dedicated myself to
this struggle of the African people. I have fought
against white domination, and I have fought
against black domination. I have cherished the
ideal of a democratic and free society in which all
persons live together in harmony and with equal
opportunities. It is an ideal which I hope to live for
and to achieve. But if needs be, it is an ideal for which
I am prepared to die.”
The ANC and Nelson Mandela were listed
as terrorists by the US government until
2008. In many countries around the
world, people fighting for justice and
equality are considered to be terrorists.
What do you think this famous saying
means?
One man’s terrorist is another
man’s freedom fighter.
On your Left Side: What
does Mandela mean?
“I was made by the law, a criminal, not
because of what I had done, but because
of what I stood for, because of what I
thought, because of my conscious. Can it
be any wonder to anybody that such
conditions make a man an outlaw of
society?” Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela in Prison
• Would you be
willing to
spend 27
years in jail
for a cause?
• Why or why
not?
Nelson Mandela spent 27 years in solitary confinement in this cell.
Protests
The shanty towns became centers
for black groups who resisted the
white government.
Thousands resisted apartheid by
refusing to work, refusing to buy
white products, going into “white
only” areas, and marching in
nonviolent demonstrations.
Sharpeville Protest
The Protest of March 21,1960: Sharpeville
• Black Protestors
• Protested against pass laws
• Wanted possession of passbooks unrequired
• Passbooks are booklets that contain your ID
• Were discriminated by race
• Treated like second class citizens
1960: Sharpeville
Massacre
• March 21 -- At least 180 black
Africans were injured and 69
killed when South African police
opened fire on approximately
300 demonstrators, who were
protesting against apartheid pass
laws, at the township of
Sharpeville in the Transvaal.
• The event came to be known as
the Sharpeville Massacre. In
response to Sharpeville, the
government outlawed the
African National Congress
(ANC).
1960 Sharpeville Massacre
• In 1960, during a
peaceful protest in
the city of
Sharpeville, 69
people were killed
• This massacre ignited
additional
demonstrations and
protests against the
unfair treatment of
non-whites
Sharpeville Uprising
Government
• Declared state of emergency
• Detained 18,000 people
• Changed from passive resistance to armed
• More security for enforcing racist laws
• Sharpeville was a turning point in South Africa
After the Sharpeville
Massacre, the government
banned (exile) all black
African political
organization, including the
ANC and the PAC.
Reaction to the Sharpeville Massacre
• Countries gave South Africa sympathy
• UN condemned the government
• Called for Resolution 134
• Resolution is a plan to make both government and the
citizens happy
• Stated start of racial harmony throughout South Africa
Conclusion
•
The Sharpeville Massacre was the start of a new beginning
for South Africa, although it came with the loss of many
innocent people.
• The bravery displayed by the blacks is outstanding.
• The protests, the riots, the strikes all led up to the racial
harmony throughout South Africa.
• With the help of the UN, other countries, and brave
government officials, the Sharpeville Massacre was the start
of a new chapter in South Africa.
Soweto Uprising
Cause of the Riot in Soweto in 1976
• When black students went to high school, they had to learn
a language.
• Most students wanted to learn English because it was a
general language that people spoke.
• However, the government forced the students to learn
Afrikaans, the language of Apartheid.
• The blacks were angry, so they boycotted the classes and
went to protest in Soweto.
Bantu Education
“There is no place for [the Bantu] in the European community above
the level of certain forms of labour ... What is the use of teaching
the Bantu child mathematics when it cannot use it in practice?
That is quite absurd. Education must train people in accordance
with their opportunities in life, according to the sphere in which
they live.”
- Henrik Verwoerd, Minister of Education, 1958
"We
shall reject the whole system of Bantu Education
whose aim is to reduce us, mentally and physically,
into 'hewers of wood and drawers of water'."
Soweto Students Representative Council, 1976
Apartheid in South Africa
• Soweto Riots- 1976
–Township near Johannesberg with
over 1 million blacks
–Centered around the teaching of
Afrikaans
–Started with class boycotts, led to
largest riots in South African history
The riot in Soweto
• The march in Soweto spread to
other towns in South Africa.
• The march in Soweto was
meant to be peaceful and
nonviolent.
• However, it wasn't taken as a
march to make a point
nonviolently.
• Many people were killed,
including thirteen year old
children.
The Soweto Uprising
• Young people had been forced to learn Afrikaans in school, the language
of the Dutch settlers.
• They were not allowed to speak or learn in their own language.
• June 16, 1976, school-children protesting the right to be taught in their
own language were shot by police. 69 school-kids died. The day is now
commemorated in South Africa as Youth Day.
• People around the world were outraged. But it was to be almost 20 years
until the Apartheid system collapsed.
• At the time, Nelson Mandela was serving his time in prison for what the
government called ‘terrorist’ activities.
1976: Soweto
When high-school students in Soweto
started protesting for better education
on June 16, 1976,police responded
with teargas and live bullets. In the
aftermath, the plan for schooling in
Afrikaans was dropped and the UN
banned sales of weapons to South
Africa in 1977.
Soweto Student Uprising
• "It
was a picture that got the
world‘s attention: A frozen
moment in time that showed
13-year-old Hector Peterson
dying after being struck
down by a policeman's
bullet. At his side was his
17-year-old sister. ” (source)
Student Uprising: 1976
 Black students were
forced to learn in
Afrikaans.
 Protests against
Afrikaans started.
 More than 500 black
students killed by
white policemen.
 More than a
thousand men,
women and children
wounded.
By Mzoli Mncanca
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
1976: Soweto Riots
On June 16 Between 15,000 and
20,000 high-school students in
Soweto marched in protest, calling
for better education for blacks.
Police responded by releasing attack
dogs and firing teargas and live
bullets into the crowd.
Students threw rocks and started
setting fires to symbols of apartheid,
such as government buildings and
beer halls.
Army helicopters and Anti-Urban
Terrorism units arrived.
The battle between students and
police continued into the night.
Some estimated the death toll at
200.
Many more were injured.
The rioting spread to other towns
and the government closed the
schools
Effects of Soweto
• June 1976 – Soweto uprisings ignited new wave of
activism – call to make South Africa ‘ungovernable’
– International solidarity
– Divestment and Sanctions
– Free Mandela Campaign
Artwork re. Anti-Apartheid
movements & Race Relations: Ironic
Ad
Protesting Apartheid
Meeting Violence with Violence
• Mandela, other ANC leaders decided to meet violence with violence
• Government banned ANC, jailed Mandela
• 1976, major student protest movement in township of Soweto
Soweto Uprising
• Soweto Uprising set off by decree for black schools to teach Afrikaans—language of
white South Africans
• Police killed protesting student; peaceful march turned into revolt
Trade Sanctions
• Police crushed uprising, but over 600 killed, 4,000 wounded
• ANC fought to end apartheid; violence erupted in many black townships
• International community imposed trade sanctions on South Africa
On your Left Side:
• If you were a
black student in
South Africa,
would you have
taken part in
either of the
protests?
• Why or why
not?
• If you were alive
and a high school
or college student
in America and
saw the reports of
the two protests
on the news, what
would you think
and why?
Black Consciousness Movement
Steven Biko
Organizing From Within:
Black Consciousness Movement
• Emerges from black-only
universities
• Establishment of South African
Students Union (SASO)
• Influenced by black power in the
U.S., black theology
• Black African empowerment
through internal strength
• Self-reliant struggle: black Africans
must lead their own emancipation
movement
• Means: community reorganization, self-reliance, student
activism
“The most potent weapon in the hands
of the oppressor is the mind of the
oppressed.”
- Steve Biko, a leader of the Black
Consciousness Movement
His activities as a leader
Biko`s leadership abilities were perceptible from his
involvement with different black activist groups:
• the Student`s Representative Council
• National Union of South African
Students
• University Christian Movement
• South African Students Organisation
• Black Community Programs
• The Black Consciousness Movement
Biko was a leader in all of these groups.
Biko`s ambitions and attitudes
• Steve Biko is remembered today for the
hope and inspiration he gave to all
of South Africa
• One of Biko‘s ambitions was “to have a
new attitude towards and a new way of
life that promoted black pride“
• He believed that “the black man`s main
problem was his attitude of inferiority
and he believed that if black men thought
more of themselves, white men would
have a harder punishing the blacks under the rule of Apartheid
• Another belief was if black men united the battle of
oppression would be an easier battle
• Biko said:
“Black Consciousness is an attitude of mind, a way of life“
Black Consciousness
• In the context of the
struggle against
apartheid, Biko
argued that the first
step towards
liberation was to
reshape the way in
which black Africans
understood their own
situation
Black Consciousness
“Black Consciousness is an attitude of mind and a
way of life, the most positive call to emanate from
the black world for a long time. Its essence is the
realization by the black man of the need to rally
together with his brothers around the cause of their
oppression -- the blackness of their skin -- and to
operate as a group to rid themselves of the shackles
that bind them to perpetual servitude.”
Black Consciousness
• Blacks must reclaim their identity and redefine it on
their own terms, rather than in those set by the
white oppressors.
• “The philosophy of Black Consciousness therefore
expresses group pride and the determination of the
black to rise and attain the envisaged self. Freedom
is the ability to define oneself with one’s possibilities
held back not by the power of other people over one
but only by one’s relationship to God and to natural
surroundings.”
Black Consciousness
• How do we effect that change? Education
• Biko draws attention to the corrupting effects of
education when it is in the hands of, and done for
the benefit of, the oppressor.
• White educators try to impart “civilization” and
“culture” and in doing so are -- explicitly or not -denigrating native black culture
• In the process, traditional African mores and beliefs
are ripped apart and discarded
• Biko argues that blacks need to resist the
indoctrination and rediscover their own history
Biko's Silence
• Jailed several times for his
strong protests
o Against government
• Kept in prison for years
o Detention cells
• Chained by his hands and
feet, and wrapped in urine
soaked sheets
o Jail officials
o Police officers
• Beaten to death by police
Biko‘s Murder
• A banning order was set, so leaving King William`s
Town would be illegal
• While traveling to Cape Town, he was stopped by white
police officers
• The police took him in custody
• In prison Biko was beaten with a hose, and then pushed
into a wall
•The police officers began the beating during the interrogation
because “he tried to sit down while being questioned“
• Biko`s head was pushed into the wall so severely that they
shifted the inside of his brains
• He was found six days after the killing, naked, lying dead
in his jail cell
Steve Biko
• He was “banned” by the
government in 1973, which
meant he was not permitted to
travel across the country.
• He was arrested on 21 August
1977 and, while in police
custody in Port Elizabeth,
sustained a massive head
injury.
• Police reports indicated he was
behaving erratically and
uncooperative.
• Left lying naked and shackled
to a metal grille in cell.
Steve Biko
• After arriving at the
Pretoria Central Prison he
was left naked on a floor
and unattended, awaiting
transfer to the hospital.
• A few hours later, on 12
September, alone and still
naked, lying on the floor
of a cell in the Pretoria
Central Prison, Biko died
from brain damage.
Steve Biko
• Three doctors on duty
disregarded the injury.
• On September 11,
another police doctor
recommended medical
attention, but instead he
was driven 600 miles to
Pretoria (about 12 hours),
a trip which he made
lying naked in the back of
a Land Rover.
Biko’s
Murder
• At first when questioned about this murder the police
officers told the public: “there was no beating or torture
connected to his death“
• Aother statement by the police was: “ Biko got a head
injury when we had to restrain him after he went berserk
to arrest the police officers the comission required a
confession of this brutal crime, but they had to wait long
only recently did the police confess the truth but full
reponsibility was not taken
As a result of Biko`s death in 1977, all Black
Consciousness Organizations were banned
His honourable funeral
• Thousands of Africans showed up at Biko´s funeral along
with
representatives from thirteen Western States to share
in the mourning of such a nobel leader´s death
• People say that he was a husband, a friend and a leader
• His wife Wendy once said:
“we are honored to have been
among the friends of a man born
with unusual leadership qualities
and an unrelenting dedication to
the liberation of his people.“
United Democratic Front, Strikes,
Boycotts, and More Violence
Protest in the 1980s
United Democratic Front
This organization helped get the word out to the world about apartheid.
The struggle against apartheid
• In the 1980s, the United Democratic Front was
a a multi-racial coalition of community-based
groups, trade unions, church groups, students,
that launched a grassroots struggle against
apartheid.
• In 1985, the Congress of South African Trade
Unions was formed (COSATU).
The United Democratic Front
(UDF)
• est. 1983, ANC-supported
• Primary goal: to coordinate
activities of anti-apartheid orgs,
and to resist state’s recent
constitutional reforms
• Organized as a federation of
regionally based fronts
– Umbrella federation for more
than 600 local orgs
• Prominent church leaders, civic
leaders, former ANC reps,
students
• (mostly) Espoused nonviolence
Framing…
Repertoires…
Expanding repertoires
•
Trade Unionism:
• New consumption & worker power in
black African communities
• New multi-racial unions & labor orgs
– Black union membership jumped
from 40,000 in 1975 to 247,000 in
1981 and to 1.5 million in 1985
– Congress of South African Trade
Unions (COSATU): umbrella org
representing more than 500,000
trade union members
• Strikes & protests: African labor unions
legalized in 1979
– 1984: 464 strikes; 1987: 1,148
strikes
– In 1985 more than 390 strikes
involving 240,000 workers

Schoolchild activism


Urban migration
Poor state of schools
In 1970s a black child’s
education cost one-tenth
of a white child’s

Schoolchildren
increasingly involved in
political demonstrations
 Class boycotts

Movement reorganization
• ‘Civics’
– Created in part to protest and
supplant local govt. in townships
– Neighborhood organization &
direct action
– Consumer boycotts
– Political theatre
“All the mothers and the
fathers, the brothers and
the sisters, the
grandmothers and the
grandfathers, the dogs and
the cats– they all have
joined in the struggle.”
•
1984-86 uprising: “ungovernability”
– Urban revolt & clashes between
youths & security forces
– Collapse of state authority in
some areas
– Creation of township “shadow”
governments
– Upsurge in political violence
• ’84-’88: around 3,500
people killed;
• Around 45,000 detained
without trial
– Black on black violence
• Inkatha Freedom Party, est.
1975
Street barricades in Cape Town, 1985.
State of Emergency 1986-1990
• 1986, the South African government decided that the
antiapartheid movement was threatening all-white rule
and cracked down on resistance.
• The government used mass arrests, torture, and rigged
trials to crush opposition.
• More than 20,000 people were arrested.
• Resistance increased despite the harshness of the state of
emergency.
International Responses to
Apartheid
African Americans Take on Apartheid
Slow Beginnings
• Early 1960s Western nations traded heavily with South Africa; western governments
did not want to suspend trade with South Africa
• Some international organizations moved quickly against apartheid; United Nations
voted to ban arms sales to South Africa in 1963; WHO and others ousted South
Africa from ranks; South Africa excluded from Olympics
International Protests
• European and U.S. citizens protested against apartheid; public opinion finally led
European and U.S. lawmakers to act against apartheid
• In 1985 both the UK and the U.S. leveled sanctions, penalties intended to force a
country to change its policies, against the South African government
• Companies began a policy of divestment, or shedding of business ties
Mid 1970’s – Mid 1980’s
The government implemented a series of reforms that allowed
black labor unions to organize and permitted some political
activity by the opposition.
The 1984 constitution opened parliament membership to
Asians and Coloreds, but it continued to exclude black Africans,
who made up 75% of the population.
Many countries, including the United States, imposed economic
sanctions of South Africa. More urban revolts erupted and, as
outside pressure on south Africa intensified, the government’s
apartheid policies began to unravel.
International Sanctions
• During the 70s, 80, & 90s the Union enforced
trade sanctions (arms)
• International pressure came in the form of an
economic & cultural boycott.
– Countries stopped doing business with South
Africa
– Sporting events were boycotted if they included a
South African Team
The Rest of the World

In 1960 the U.N. agreed to put pressure on S.
Africa to end Apartheid
- Why at this time? What happened in 1960?
- More official condemnations between 1962 and 1974


U.N. passed voluntary arms embargo in 1963 and
made it mandatory in 1977
25 nations, including U.S. and Britain passed
sanctions by the late 1980's
Sports Boycotts

S. Africa banned from the 1964 and 1968 Olympic
games
- George Houser an important American figure in
organizing support for boycotts


32 Countries boycotted the 1986 Commonwealth
Games
Most nations did not lift sporting bans till 1993
Apartheid in South Africa
• International Response
–Divestment- Cease business
relationships with companies that
do business in South Africa
–Sanctions (1985)- United States
imposed limited sanctions on the
South Africans; many other
European nations followed
On your Left Side with your partner:
• What does the
cartoonist mean
or is trying to
prove with each
political cartoon?
• How do you
know?
• What would be a
good sarcastic
caption for each
political
cartoon?
• Explain
Role of Desmond Tutu
Desmond Tutu
• During the 1980s the
charismatic Anglican bishop,
Desmond Tutu, rallied
western support with a call
for boycott of South Africa,
primarily through economic
sanctions.
• In 1984 he was awarded the
Nobel Peace Prize in
recognition of "the courage
and heroism shown by black
South Africans in their use of
peaceful methods in the
struggle against apartheid".
Desmond Tutu
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
• The commissions
purpose was to
investigate crimes that
happened during
apartheid.
• The commission let
victims and
perpetrators of
violence be heard and
forgiven.
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
Cont.
• The idea behind the commission
was that if perpetrators spoke up
they would be given amnesty.
• Amnesty makes a person innocent
and forgivin for their crimes.
• People from all different groups
could speak out.
• Tutu was the leading force behind
the commission.
1985 International
Demonstration Against
Apartheid
1985 Demonstration
• In 1985 an
International Day for
the Elimination of
Racial Discrimination
was organized.
• The demonstration
was held at Langa
Township in
Uitenhage.
• The day
commemorates the
anniversary of the
March 21, 1960
massacre.
1985 Demonstration
• The message
was simple:
“Freedom in
Our
Lifetime!”
On your Left side with your partner:
•Come up with a
slogan and a symbol
that are against
apartheid.
The End of Apartheid
1980s
• In 1978, new president (P W Botha) realised
apartheid was not sustainable
• Started process of reform, eg
– In 1981 beaches no longer segregated
– In 1983 blacks allowed to vote
– In 1986 Pass Laws abandoned
• Pressure from Bishop Desmond Tutu,
internationally-known for opposition to
apartheid
• In 1988, UN demands release of Mandela
End of Apartheid
• By late 1980s, SA was experiencing increasing
violence, becoming ungovernable
• In Aug 1989, Botha resigns as president
• New president, F W de Klerk, realised a new
approach was necessary
• De Klerk met Mandela and
lifts the ban on the ANC &
Mandela released from prison
The End of Apartheid
Pressure Succeeds
• 1989 South African government began to dismantle apartheid system
• President F.W. de Klerk lifted ban on anti-apartheid rallies; restored legal status of
ANC; and ordered Mandela released after 27 years imprisonment
Mandela Free
• Nelson Mandela spoke out; urging that sanctions stay in place until the “total
elimination of apartheid and the extension of the vote to all people.”
• Mandela also recalled being inspired by traditions in American history
Dismantling of Apartheid
• 1991 all apartheid laws repealed; three years later country held first all-races
election, the ANC won majority of seats; Mandela elected president
• Mandela and de Klerk shared 1993 Nobel Prize for work to end apartheid
Momentous Meetings
• In May 1988, the United Nations called for Mandela’s release
without conditions.
• In July 1989, President Botha met with Mandela.
• Both men pledged a “support for peaceful developments.”
• Both resigned due to health reasons and was succeeded as
president by F.W. de Klerk.
• Determined to break the “cycle of violence,” de Klerk ordered
the release of eight political prisoners.
Role of DeKlerk
De Klerk
• In 1989 Frederick W. de Klerk
took over as President from P.W.
Botha, who had suffered a
stroke.
• Much more liberal than Botha,
de Klerk soon openly admitted
the failure of apartheid policies.
• Important reason for collapse of
old regime was effects of many
years of economic and trade
embargo.
• Sanctions enacted by many
nations led to a desolate state
for the South African economy.
FW de Klerk
• De Klerk and Mandela met in
December.
• Mandela declared de Klerk
to be “the most honest and
serious white leader” he had
ever met.
• On February 2, 1990, de
Klerk announced the end of
the bans on the ANC, the
PAC, and over 30 other antiapartheid organizations
Free At Last!
On February 11, 1990, after 27 years in
prison, Nelson Mandela was released.
“Today the majority of South Africans, black
and white, recognize that apartheid has no
future.” – Nelson Mandela
Democracy in South Africa
• 1990, President F.W. de Klerk legalized ANC, began
negotiations to enact new constitution, end apartheid
– Released Mandela from prison
– Lifted long-standing ban on African National Congress
• De Klerk also abolished homelands, held South Africa’s first
democratic elections
– ANC swept elections
– Mandela became first black president of a democratic South Africa
End of Apartheid
• Elections set for April 1994 – 16m blacks allowed
to vote (about ½ couldn’t read)
• ANC gained 62% of the vote, 300 years of white
rule were over
Nobel Peace Prize
• Mandela and De Klerk both won the Nobel
Peace Prize in 1993 for their efforts to end
Apartheid.
• Accepting the award on December 10, 1993,
Mandela declared:
“We live in the hope that as she battles to remake
herself, South Africa will be like a microcosm of the
new world that is striving to be born.”
On your Left Side:
• If we were to
• If we were to
create a Wanted create a Hero
Poster
for
Poster for
Nelson
Mandela,
Nelson
what would be
Mandela, what
on his list of
would be on his
achievements?
list of crimes?
1994
• Reservations abolished and territories
reabsorbed into the nation of South Africa
• Apartheid caused major economic hardships
on South Africa
• International sanctions
• Decreased labor force
• Cut investments from countries like U.S.A.
• First multiracial election
• Nelson Mandela elected president of South
Africa (1994 – 1999)
A New Government
Nelson Mandela casts the first vote for the new government of South
Africa.
On April 27,1994, Nelson Mandela
became South Africa’s FIRST black
president!
On April 27, 1994, Nelson Mandela was elected
the first black president if the first free election.
“We are moving from an era of resistance, division,
oppression, turmoil, and conflict and starting a
New era of hope, reconciliation, and nation-building. I
sincerely hope that the mere casting of a vote . . . will give
hope to all South Africans.”- Nelson Mandela
On your Left Side:
• What does the cartoonist
mean with the following
political cartoon?
• What would be a good overall
sarcastic caption to use to
emphasize this message?
Presidency
•
•
•
•
•
•
Inaugurated May 10th, 1994
First black president of South Africa
Aimed to improve social and economic
conditions for black majority
– Large scale redistribution of wealth
Truth and Reconciliation Commission
– Human rights violations from old regime
– Improved living standards of black
population
• Better housing and education
Violence control
– Afrikaner Resistance Movement
• Extremists opposing new government
using terrorism
Legislation to protect workers
– Workplace safety, overtime pay, minimum
wage
Retirement
• Decided not to run for
reelection in 1997
• Supported Thabo Mbeki
– Inaugurated June 16, 1999
• Retired from public life in 2004
• Committed to fight against
HIV/AIDS epidemic
– Son Makgatho Mandela
died of AIDS on January 6th,
2005
On your Left Side: What is the main
message of this speech?
“ We have at last achieved our
political emancipation. We pledge
ourselves to liberate all our people
from the continuing bondage of
poverty, deprivation, suffering,
gender, and other discrimination
. . . Never, never, and never again
shall it be that this beautiful land
will again experience the
oppression of one by another. . .
Let freedom reign.”