ANC YL+ other parties

• African nationalism, 1948-59


  African people and other non-white groups had protested about segregation and discrimination since the beginnings of South Africa
• African National Congress (ANC)


  • The main African opposition, formed in 1912 by a middle-class elite, concentrated on debate and argument but supported campaigns to improve the lives of African people and attracted grassroots support
• South African Indian Congress (SAIC)


  • Founded in 1919 to support the rights of Indians and oppose segregation, advocated passive resistance and sought to work with the ANC and other groups in a common front
• Communist Party of South Africa (CPSA)


  • A multi-racial party founded in 1921 with the aim of organising African people into trade unions and uniting with white trade unions on the basis of class rather than race, often worked closely with the ANC
• The revival of the ANC

  In 1940, under the leadership of Alfred Xuma, the ANC began to work more closely with other organisations such as the South African Indian Congress to develop a policy of non-cooperation involving civil disobedience, supported the 1946 mine-workers' strike
• The Youth League and the Defiance campaign


  • The ANC Youth League, formed in 1944, helped to galvanise the ANC into more radical action, inspired by global anti-colonial rhetoric and the new confidence of African nationalists in West Africa
• The Youth League's Programme of Action


  Adopted by the ANC in December 1949, moved away from the policy of concession-seeking from a white government to a more militant liberation organisation, informed by Africanist ambitions but not completely dictated by them
• Over the next few years, most of the ANC leadership adhered to the idea of non-racialism and to creating political space for alliance with others in South Africa who supported a fully democratic country, including white, Indian and Coloured activists
• Mandela himself, initially influenced by Lembede, swung to this view in the early 1950s
• There were thus different visions of the future, even within the ANC, of Africanism and democratic non-racialism
• The National Party, which was deeply anti-communist, banned the Communist Party in 1950
• Whites, Indians and Coloured people were not accepted into the ANC itself, but formed parallel Congress organisations - reflecting the racial divisions in South Africa
• Liberal Party


  • A significant grouping of white liberals who were highly critical of apartheid and believed in an extension of black political rights, formed in 1953 and advocated a new language of politics based on respect and equal individual rights, rather than racial rhetoric
• The Liberals attracted some black support but they were suspicious of both the ANC and communists and did not work together with them
• Liberalism was a fragile flower in South Africa at the time, largely crushed by white fears and the attractions of radical African nationalism
• The Youth Leaguers included some of the small minority who had been to university, mostly at Fort Hare, and saw themselves as having the potential to cross boundaries of class through their philosophy of Africanism
• The Youth League helped to oust the moderate president of the ANC, Dr Xuma, and eventually in 1952 they found a more sympathetic leader in Albert Luthuli, a devoutly Christian Zulu chief
• 1946 Mine-workers' strike


  A significant labor strike in South Africa, where thousands of black miners protested against low wages and poor working conditions. The strike was supported by the ANC under Alfred Xuma's leadership, and it marked a turning point in the anti-apartheid struggle.
• James Moroka


  A South African politician and medical doctor who succeeded Alfred Xuma as the president of the ANC in 1949. Moroka was more sympathetic to the militant faction's views and supported the adoption of the more radical Programme of Action.
• Alfred Xuma


  Medical doctor and president of the African National Congress (ANC) from 1940 to 1949. He played a crucial role in revitalizing the ANC and working more closely with other organizations to develop a policy of non-cooperation and civil disobedience.
• Who founded ANC YL?

  Walter sisulu formed the ANC YL in 1944