The ANC and the End of Apartheid, 1960-1994

1. The ANC and the End of Apartheid, 1960-1994 HI177 | A History of Africa since 1800 Term 2 | Week 9 | Dr Sacha Hepburn

2. 1960: Sharpeville

3. Sharpeville and beyond… • March 1960: PAC sponsored anti-pass campaign in Sharpeville • Police repression: 69 killed, many more injured • Protests across South Africa lead to police repression and declaration of State of Emergency • ANC and PAC banned • Anti-apartheid activists were forced to go underground or into exile • 1960s onwards: pursuit of ‘grand apartheid’

4. The ANC in the 1960s • Move towards armed struggle and founding of Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) 1961 • Activists driven underground or into exile • 1962 Mandela captured; 1963 arrest of other key activists • 1963-4: Rivonia Trial • Overt political resistance declined but shift to a national liberation movement, with key players in exile Member of Umkhonto we Sizwe, date unknown

5. 1970s: Diversifying Resistance • Reorganization of opposition politics and the rebirth of a powerful black popular politics • Diversifying collection of individuals and groups, many of whom were young • Black Consciousness Movement: intellectual movement aimed to restore black African self-respect and confidence • Student movements, e.g. South African Students Organisation and South African Students Movement • Communists and relationships to new socialist states in Mozambique and Angola; bases also established in Zimbabwe

6. 1976: Soweto and the Role of Youth Young people in Soweto protest against apartheid education policies, 16 June 1976

7. 1976: Soweto and the Role of Youth • Schools boycott to protest against the inferior state of education for black children and imposition of Afrikaans • Demonstration on 16 June 1976 involving thousands of school children • Conflict with police – hundreds killed in several weeks, many more injured • Protest spreads across South Africa, involving schoolchildren and other anti-apartheid groups • Thousands arrested and around 12,000 children and youth go into exile

8. 1980s: Violence and Insurrection • Early 1980s, anti-apartheid movement within South Africa was splintered • 1983: United Democratic Front (UDF) founded. A non-racial organization aimed to provide direction and unity • Violence engulfed many African urban areas and fears of complete social breakdown • Government agreed to limited reforms • New constitution in 1984 provided Indian and Coloured representation but they largely boycotted elections • ‘Townships’ established in African urban areas with African-run councils but accused of corruption and violence continues • 1985 State of Emergency and mass arrests • Late 1980s: national Party loses domestic and intl support

9. 1990-1994: A negotiated end to apartheid • 1989: F. W. de Klerk becomes President. Former hardliner who pursues pragmatism and reform • 1990: ANC and PAC unbanned and Mandela released • Major apartheid legislation cancelled • Violence continues and threatens success of negotiations • Compromise leads to success – free, non-racial elections held April 1994 Nelson Mandela and F. W de Klerk

10. Conclusions: An Unfinished Struggle • End of apartheid creates high expectations for reform and redistribution • Arguably impossible for Mandela and ANC government to live up to expectations • Decades of underinvestment in non-white communities • Deep structural inequalities across South African society • Violence remained high, especially in urban areas • 2019: many South Africans continue to live in poverty, violence remains a key issue • Legacies of white colonialism and apartheid • But also reflect limitations and failings of post-apartheid governance