The ANC is the most traditional and most important political base for the majority of South Africa's blacks. The South African Native National Congress (SANNC) was founded in 1912 as a response to the exclusion of blacks from the political processes; it later renamed itself ANC in 1923. Until 1940 the ANC had been a relatively weak organization, as a result of weak leadership and administration, but also as a result of not having a clear political program, which in turn resulted in low membership.

With the election victory of the National Party in 1948 and the resulting intensification of discrimination, segregation and repression, the blacks changed their policy: From now on they were no longer prepared to beg for allowances, and demanded an equal share of power as well as the abolition of the legislation that had led to their loss of power. All this culminated in the announcement of the 1956 Freedom Charter, which also led to a split with the ANC's radical wing, the  Pan Africanist Congress of Azania (PAC).

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In 1960, both the ANC and PAC called for civil disobedience in the form of unarmed demonstrations against the passport laws. This action resulted in the tragic Sharpville Massacre, in which the police killed 69 demonstrators and injured a further 178. Because of the unrest caused by this action across the entire country, the government banned both the ANC and PAC on the 8th of April 1960. This signaled an end to peaceful resistance and both organizations were forced underground where they set up armed divisions called Umkhonto we Sizwe (ANC: Speer of the Nation), and Poqo (PAC: We alone).

Violence bred violence. Government offices and electrical installations were blown up. Mandela was arrested in 1964, followed by the rest of the ANC's leaders a short while later. They were all sentenced to life imprisonment. This put an end to black political resistance - for the time being. It was not until the 1970s, as the South African economy entered a period of structural crisis, Angola and Mozambique were given independence and the Black Consciousness Movement flared up, that unrest returned. This unrest was particularly strong among students and school children, who demonstrated against the introduction of Afrikaans as the language of the classroom. The school revolts began in Soweto before spreading across the entire nation. The other black resistance movements became ever more radical, allowing the ANC to benefit from the recruitment of white members.

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In the period that followed, South Africa was to experience a culture of violence that was barely controllable: Car bombs exploded in shopping centers, hand grenades were thrown into restaurants, and all this despite orders from the ANC in their exiled headquarters in Lusaka (Zambia) stressing that attacks should be restricted to non-civilian targets.

The government reacted to this situation in 1986 by declaring a state of national emergency. Instead of a continuation of violence, however, both sides chose a more pragmatic course and put out feelers as to the political temperature. This led to the first discussions and the first real exchange of opinions and plans for the future. Still imprisoned, Mandela held discussions with the former president Botha and interest groups visited the ANC headquarters in Zambia.

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The UDF was founded as a legal wing of the ANC. This was brought about by white government's decision in 1984 to exclude all political participation of the black majority and to include this in the nation's constitution. The key figure behind its formation all was Allan Boesak, president of the "World Association of Reformist Churches".

The UDF's membership was made up of around 600 organizations, church groups, business associations, sports associations, trade unions, student clubs, and women's and youth organizations and encompassed all races. 1 million members covered a wide range of society: Activists from the days of peaceful resistance in the 50s, fighters from the Soweto generation, trade unionists, church people and intellectuals.

The UDF's strategy was to organize peaceful resistance in city townships. An example of this was the mass demonstration to mark the 10th anniversary of the Soweto uprising, used by the government to introduce a national state of emergency.

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This party split from the ANC in 1959, because it saw the multi-racial concept and the f as representing a betrayal of the blacks. Black supremacy became the PAC's most important aim, all forms of group rights were rejected. Socialist ideas forced themselves to the foreground much more strongly than in the ANC. The PAC was banned together with the ANC in 1960 and went underground, where its military arm pogo (we alone) was founded, before being smashed in 1963. The party became legally acceptable in 1990. Mottos such as "death to the farmers, death to the Boers!" and "one settler, one bullet!" characterized the PAC's policy during confrontations with white groupings. PAC's armed wing, the so-called APLA (Azanian People's Liberation Army), declared war on whites and stirred up racial hatred with moonlight attacks.

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The BCM was founded to succeed the PAC, which was banned in the 60s. Under the leadership of Steve Biko and the South African student organization (SASO), a great deal of thought went into the self-confidence of blacks (Black Consciousness). Blacks were to free themselves of their negative self-opinion, an opinion that had been force-fed to them by colonial powers over centuries. As they saw it, to lift the physical and psychological suppression being forced upon them, it was essential that they developed self-confidence and a sense of belief in their own abilities, instead of believing the suggestion that they themselves were responsible for their own fate and reliant upon the whites for their well being. It is clear from this, that white help was not something these organizations wanted or encouraged. 

All Black Consciousness organizations were banned in 1977. Thousands of young activists were imprisoned, over 14,000 had left rural areas to join the movement, even more were militarized - and Steve Biko was dead.

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The NF was founded in 1983 and represents the coming together of different groupings, of which the Azanian People's Organization (Azapo) was the most influential. This was an exclusively black organization following the tradition of the BCM, which saw the fight for freedom as a class struggle, with blacks representing the working class and the whites the capitalist class. This party organized boycotts and strike action against schools and increased rent and transport costs. Azapo and the UDF supporters were often involved in bloody rivalries.

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The IFP was founded at the end of the 60s by Dr. Mangosuthu G. Buthelezi. It was open to all ethnic groups, but was supported for the most part by Zulus and found its main support in Kwazulu/Natal. Around 1 million blacks from both rural and city areas belong to the organization.

The IFP's aim was to achieve a democratic South Africa with whites playing their role while maintaining a capitalist economy. Indeed, this was one of the main reasons why it was regarded by many blacks as being an accomplice to the apartheid regime.

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[Materials on this subject: Portrait of Nelson Mandela, defeat of apartheid, documents]

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