Four students begin the Greensboro lunch-counter sit-in

The founding conference of 4–6 April culminated in the launch of the Pan Africanist Congress and the election of Robert Sobukwe as president. Africanists who had separated from the ANC established...

The ANC called for a potato boycott to protest the treatment of African farmworkers. Organizing and public boycott activity developed over the following weeks. The campaign connected consumer pressure...

South African exiles and supporters gathered at Holborn Hall to call for a boycott of South African goods. The Committee of African Organisations organized the meeting. By asking consumers abroad to...

Workers at Bissau’s Pidjiguiti docks struck over wages and faced lethal police repression. The massacre became a reference point in the struggle against Portuguese colonial rule. It exposed the...

Residents opposed forced relocation from Windhoek’s Old Location to Katutura. Police opened fire during the confrontation and killed protesters. The resistance challenged colonial and apartheid...

Students trained in nonviolent action began coordinated sit-ins at segregated Nashville lunch counters. Workshops and local organizing prepared them to face hostility and arrest. The campaign...

The PAC’s anti-pass campaign called on people to leave passes behind and present themselves for arrest. Police killed 69 people at Sharpeville and also fired on protesters at Langa. Demonstrators...

Thousands marched from Langa and Nyanga to police headquarters in central Cape Town. Philip Kgosana led the peaceful demonstration amid opposition to pass laws and repression after the shootings....

The government banned the ANC and PAC following the anti-pass protests and declaration of emergency. The bans criminalized central organizations of African political opposition and forced changes in...

Student activists met at Shaw University on 15–17 April at Ella Baker’s invitation and formed the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. They shared experiences and developed an independent...