OCR Specification focus:
‘nature, development and effectiveness of resistance to Apartheid in this period including Nelson Mandela, ANC, Biko and the South Africa Learners’ Association, women’s groups, other forms of civil disobedience including’
The early 1960s to mid-1970s saw South African resistance movements adapt and intensify, combining grassroots activism, youth militancy, and international advocacy to challenge the entrenched Apartheid regime.
Nature of Resistance
Resistance during this period was multifaceted, uniting political organisations, community groups, and spontaneous popular protests. It combined non-violent civil disobedience, strikes, boycotts, and in some cases armed struggle. Movements ranged from clandestine operations by the African National Congress (ANC) to public demonstrations spearheaded by students and women.
Key Characteristics
Mass mobilisation of urban workers, students, and township residents.
Ideological diversity, with groups advocating African nationalism, socialism, and Black Consciousness.
Use of international pressure, highlighting Apartheid’s brutality to win global sympathy.
Black Consciousness: A political and cultural movement promoting Black pride, psychological liberation, and self-reliance among Black South Africans, rejecting white liberal leadership.
Development of Resistance
African National Congress (ANC)
The ANC, banned in 1960, shifted from peaceful protest to armed struggle through its military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK), formed in 1961. MK conducted sabotage campaigns against infrastructure to destabilise the state while avoiding civilian casualties. Despite the Rivonia Trial (1963–64) leading to the imprisonment of leaders like Nelson Mandela, the ANC maintained underground networks and strengthened its international alliances, gaining support from the Organisation of African Unity and socialist states.
Nelson Mandela’s Role
Mandela became a symbol of resistance. His leadership in forming MK and his imprisonment turned him into a global icon of anti-Apartheid struggle. His speeches, notably the 1964 “I am prepared to die” address, inspired activists and drew international attention to the injustice of Apartheid.
Steve Biko and Black Consciousness
The late 1960s and early 1970s witnessed the rise of Steve Biko and the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO). Biko’s philosophy emphasised psychological liberation and community self-help projects.
His influence was profound among youth and students, who organised strikes and cultural programmes to assert Black identity.
South African Students’ Movement
Out of Biko’s influence grew the South Africa Learners’ Association (SALA), mobilising secondary school students. SALA coordinated protests against inferior education and oppressive laws, laying groundwork for the 1976 Soweto Uprising.
Women’s Groups
Women played a pivotal role, leading rent strikes, organising food boycotts, and protesting discriminatory pass laws.
Organisations like the Federation of South African Women (FSAW) sustained community resistance when male leaders were imprisoned or in exile.
Forms of Civil Disobedience
Resistance took multiple forms, demonstrating creativity and determination:
Bus boycotts challenged economic inequality by refusing to pay increased fares.
Labour strikes, particularly in Durban in the early 1970s, highlighted workers’ grievances and pressured employers.
Community self-help projects, including clinics and literacy schemes, fostered solidarity and independence.
Defiance of pass laws, with activists deliberately courting arrest to overwhelm the legal system.
Pass Laws: Regulations requiring Black South Africans to carry identification documents to control and restrict their movement in white areas.
These actions often provoked harsh state reprisals, yet they maintained public morale and international awareness.
Effectiveness of Resistance
Internal Impact
Sustained activism kept the Apartheid government under constant pressure despite severe repression.
The growth of youth militancy injected new energy, particularly as students demanded quality education and equality.
Worker strikes undermined economic stability, showing the indispensability of Black labour.
International Influence
Resistance movements successfully internationalised the struggle, securing:
Economic sanctions and trade boycotts from sympathetic nations.
United Nations condemnations, which isolated South Africa diplomatically.
Support from anti-colonial African states that provided bases and funding for exiled activists.
Despite limited immediate legislative change, these combined efforts eroded the moral legitimacy of Apartheid and laid crucial foundations for the intensified protests of the late 1970s and 1980s.
Limits and Challenges
The banning of organisations and imprisonment of leaders hampered coordination.
State repression, including detention without trial, torture, and censorship, restricted mass mobilisation.
Rural areas remained harder to organise due to poverty and geographic isolation.
Nonetheless, by the mid-1970s the Apartheid state faced an emboldened, internationally recognised opposition. The combination of underground armed struggle, Black Consciousness ideology, and the persistent courage of students, women, and workers ensured that resistance to Apartheid not only survived but expanded in scope and influence, setting the stage for the dramatic confrontations of the later 1970s and 1980s.
FAQ
The ANC relied on secret courier systems and trusted “safe houses” to pass messages between activists.
Coded letters and invisible ink disguised sensitive information.
Messages often travelled through sympathetic church groups or international allies.
Training camps outside South Africa acted as relay points for instructions and supplies.
Churches provided meeting spaces when political gatherings were banned. Clergy such as Archbishop Denis Hurley and Father Trevor Huddleston denounced Apartheid from the pulpit, offering moral legitimacy to the movement.
Religious networks also funnelled humanitarian aid to detained activists’ families and helped smuggle literature promoting human rights.
These strikes involved over 60,000 Black workers demanding fair wages.
They forced employers to negotiate despite restrictive labour laws.
The strikes inspired the formation of new independent trade unions outside government control, laying the foundation for stronger labour resistance in later decades.
Student unions in Britain, the United States, and other countries raised funds for SASO projects and publicised arrests of South African activists.
Boycott campaigns against South African goods and sporting contacts were coordinated through global student networks, amplifying the visibility of school and university protests inside South Africa.
Women balanced activism with maintaining households disrupted by migrant labour and police raids.
They organised communal childcare during protests and strikes.
Informal trading networks funded legal support for arrested activists.
Women’s neighbourhood committees acted as rapid-response groups to warn communities of police sweeps and impending arrests.
Practice Questions
Question 1 (3 marks)
Identify three distinct forms of resistance to Apartheid used by Black South Africans between 1960 and the mid-1970s.
Mark Scheme
Award 1 mark for each correctly identified form of resistance (maximum 3 marks).
Accept any three of the following, or similar valid examples:
Non-violent civil disobedience such as boycotts or pass law defiance.
Labour strikes, for example the Durban strikes of the early 1970s.
Student protests and school-based activism, including the South Africa Learners’ Association.
Armed struggle led by Umkhonto we Sizwe (ANC’s military wing).
Community self-help projects linked to Black Consciousness.
Question 2 (6 marks)
Explain how the ideas of Black Consciousness influenced the development of resistance to Apartheid in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Mark Scheme
Level 1 (1–2 marks): Basic description of Black Consciousness with limited or no link to resistance development.
Level 2 (3–4 marks): Clear explanation of key ideas of Black Consciousness (e.g., psychological liberation, self-reliance) and some connection to increased activism or organisations.
Level 3 (5–6 marks): Detailed analysis showing how Biko’s philosophy inspired youth-led protests, strengthened cultural pride, and encouraged organisations such as SASO and the South Africa Learners’ Association, leading to widespread community action.
Credit specific examples such as school strikes, cultural programmes, and the focus on rejecting white liberal leadership as evidence of influence.
