đź“… 15 December 1940
At the ANC annual conference, held 15-17 December, Dr Alfred Bitini Xuma was elected president-general, beginning a sustained effort to rebuild the organisation’s finances, branches and public...
đź“… 4 March 1942
An ANC deputation met Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Native Affairs D.F. Reitz. It raised African military service and representation, land, education, wages, trade-union recognition, the...
đź“… 20 December 1942
The ANC conference in Bloemfontein, held 20-22 December, approved formation of a youth wing and adopted the “Atlantic Charter from the Standpoint of Africans within the Union of South Africa” and...
đź“… 16 December 1943
The annual conference adopted a revised ANC constitution and the document Africans’ Claims in South Africa, articulating demands for citizenship, land, education and political rights. A later timeline...
đź“… 14 August 1946
Following repression of the mineworkers’ strike, the Native Representative Council decided to adjourn indefinitely. African representatives rejected the body’s inability to influence government policy...
đź“… 9 March 1947
ANC president A.B. Xuma and the presidents of the Natal and Transvaal Indian Congresses, Monty Naicker and Yusuf Dadoo, signed a joint declaration of cooperation in Johannesburg. Known as the Doctors’...
đź“… 26 May 1948
The National Party won the most seats in the general election on a platform of racial segregation, and D.F. Malan became prime minister. The electoral system excluded most Black South Africans from...
đź“… 15 December 1949
At its conference of 15-17 December, the ANC adopted a Programme of Action that called for boycotts, strikes and civil disobedience instead of relying primarily on petitions and deputations. Dr J.S....
