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Adoption of the Freedom Charter
The three thousand delegates who gathered at Kliptown on 25 and 26 June 1955 were workers, peasants, intellectuals, women, youth and students of all races and colours. The Congress of the People constituted the most representative gathering in the history of South Africa. It adopted the Freedom Charter, a vision for a united, non-racial and democratic South Africa. -
Woman's March
The Women's March was a spectacular success. Women from all parts of the country arrived in Pretoria, some from as far afield as Cape Town and Port Elizabeth. They then flocked to the Union Buildings in a determined yet orderly manner. Estimates of the number of women delegates ranged from 10 000 to 20 000, with FSAW claiming that it was the biggest demonstration yet held. They filled the entire amphitheatre in the bow of the graceful Herbert Baker building. -
Sharpeville Massacre
When the news of the Sharpeville Massacre reached Cape Town a group of between 1000 to 5000 protestors gathered at the Langa Flats bus terminus around 17h00 on 21 March 1960. This was in direct defiance of the government's country-wide ban on public meetings and gatherings of more than ten persons. The police ordered the crowd to disperse within 3 minutes. When protesters reconvened in defiance, the police charged at them with batons, tear gas and guns. Three people were killed and 26 others wer -
Durban Strike
In January 1973 South Africa witnessed a momentous chain of events in its political history. The Durban Strikes were a turning point in the confrontation between the country's minority rulers and the worker majority. Motivated by material need and underpinned by principles of democracy and equality, the strikes conjoined academics, workers and political leaders among others, in a struggle that was to redefine the South African political landscape in the years to follow. -
Student uprising
When high-school students in Soweto started protesting for better education on 16 June 1976, police responded with teargas and live bullets. It is commemorated today by a South African national holiday, Youth day, which honors all the young people who lost their lives in the struggle against Apartheid and Bantu Education. -
Steven Biko
On Sept. 12, 1977, Stephen Biko, one of South Africa’s most influential anti-apartheid activists, died after being beaten by South African police during an interrogation. South African authorities claimed that Mr. Biko’s hunger strike caused his death. -
Neslon Mandela Release
n 1989, F.W. de Klerk became South African president and set about dismantling apartheid. De Klerk lifted the ban on the ANC, suspended executions, and in February 1990 ordered the release of Nelson Mandela. -
First Democratic Election
The South African general election of 1994 was an election held in South Africa to mark the end of apartheid, therefore also the first held with universal adult suffrage. The election was conducted under the direction of the Independent Electoral Commission (IEC). -
Truth and Reconciliation
Reconciliation Act of 1995, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), was part of the political compromises made during the negotiations that ended apartheid. The TRC was charged with investigating politically motivated gross human rights violations committed between 1960 and 1994. The intent was to prevent such atrocities from reoccurring and to begin to heal a divided nation scarred by past conflicts. South Africa’s TRC was the first truth commission to offer amnesty to individuals who fu
