Police kill Malik Oussekine in Paris

The Congress of South African Trade Unions was launched in Durban after years of negotiations among unions. The federation linked workers' demands with opposition to apartheid and a commitment to a...

The first federal observance followed years of organizing by Coretta Scott King, civil-rights groups, trade unionists and supporters. Making King's memory part of the national calendar challenged...

COSATU called a stay-away demanding recognition of May Day as a paid public holiday. Workers and community allies made the centenary of international May Day a major demonstration of collective power....

The apartheid government declared a nationwide state of emergency and detained opponents. Restrictions on political activity, funerals and reporting sought to disrupt community and labour...

Congress completed its override of President Ronald Reagan's veto, bringing sanctions against South Africa into law. The measure restricted important economic relationships sustaining apartheid. It...

White attackers assaulted three Black men in Howard Beach, Queens. Michael Griffith died after fleeing onto a highway and being struck by a vehicle. The attack became a focus of protest and demands...

A conference running from 9 to 12 July brought an ANC delegation together with mainly Afrikaans-speaking South Africans. Organized through IDASA, the encounter challenged the apartheid state's...

The Māori Language Act came into force, recognizing te reo Māori as an official language, providing a right to use it in specified legal proceedings and establishing a language commission. Māori...

The National Union of Mineworkers began a strike on the night of 9 August over wages and working conditions. Hundreds of thousands participated during the dispute. The miners confronted a central...

Rivonia trialist Govan Mbeki was released from Robben Island. His imprisonment had removed a senior liberation organizer from public political life. The release was an important milestone in the...