Resistance

African National Congress (ANC). Founded in 1912, the principal Black political organization. Major figures: Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo, Albert Luthuli (Nobel Peace Prize 1960).

Sharpeville Massacre (March 1960). Police opened fire on a peaceful protest against pass laws in the Black township of Sharpeville, killing 69 people, many shot in the back. The government banned the ANC. The ANC formed an armed wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe ("Spear of the Nation"), led by Mandela.

Mandela's imprisonment (1962–1990). Mandela was arrested in 1962 and convicted at the Rivonia Trial (1963–1964) of sabotage. Life sentence. His closing statement:

"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."

Mandela spent 27 years in prison, mostly on Robben Island. "Free Nelson Mandela" became a global rallying cry.

Soweto Uprising (June 1976). Black schoolchildren protested a policy requiring instruction in Afrikaans. Police fired on demonstrators, killing hundreds, including 12-year-old Hector Pieterson, whose photograph became iconic.

International pressure. South Africa was expelled from international sporting events, boycotted economically, and isolated diplomatically. The U.S. Congress passed the Comprehensive Anti-Apartheid Act in 1986 over President Reagan's veto.