Apartheid (1948-1964) Key Terms

The leader of the PAC who believed in 'Africa for Africans.'

The white Afrikaner party that won the 1948 election and invented Apartheid.

A mass civil disobedience campaign where volunteers deliberately broke laws to overflow prisons.

A banned party allied with the ANC that influenced the socialist leanings of the Freedom Charter.

A strategy to separate races territorially and strip black South Africans of their citizenship.

The primary tactic used by MK against state infrastructure after 1961.

A statement of democratic principles demanding a non-racial, equal South Africa.

A multi-racial area destroyed by the government under the Group Areas Act.

A long legal proceeding where 156 anti-apartheid leaders were arrested but eventually acquitted.

Required black South Africans over 16 to carry a 'reference book' to control their movement.

A leader of the ANC Youth League and co-founder of MK who became a global symbol of resistance.

Segregated the education system with an inferior curriculum designed for manual labor.

The armed militant wing of the ANC and SACP, founded to conduct strategic sabotage.

A foundational law that formally classified all South Africans into strict racial categories.

A declaration granting police sweeping powers to detain people without trial for up to 180 days.

A successful non-violent economic protest where workers walked to work to avoid fare increases.

The multi-racial gathering that drafted the Freedom Charter in 1955.

Awarded to Albert Luthuli for his commitment to non-violent protest.

The primary anti-apartheid organization that evolved from non-violence to armed struggle.

The election that brought the National Party to power and began formal Apartheid.

The day-to-day segregation of public facilities and social events such as bathrooms and transport.

A breakaway group from the ANC that rejected multi-racial alliances and led the Sharpeville protest.

The President-General of the ANC in the 1950s who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

A police power introduced during the State of Emergency to hold people without trial.

An event where police killed 69 people during a peaceful PAC-led anti-pass protest.

The document black South Africans were required to carry under the Pass Laws.

A law that dictated specific residential areas for different races, leading to forced removals.

The trial of Nelson Mandela and other MK leaders for sabotage, resulting in life sentences.