How did the African National Congress help end white minority rule in South Africa?

The African National Congress (ANC) played a central role in dismantling white minority rule and the system of apartheid in South Africa through a combination of nonviolent resistance, armed struggle, and eventual political negotiation.

Early Resistance and Nonviolence

Founded in 1912, the ANC initially focused on maintaining voting rights. By the 1940s, it revitalized its efforts against racial discrimination. In 1952, the ANC, in collaboration with the South African Indian Congress, organized a defiance campaign where thousands passively courted arrest to protest discriminatory laws. In 1955, the ANC adopted the Freedom Charter, which asserted that South Africa belonged to all its people regardless of race.1

Militancy and Underground Struggle

Following the 1960 Sharpeville massacre, the government banned the ANC. The organization subsequently turned to sabotage and guerrilla warfare, forming its military wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe, in 1961. While many leaders, including Nelson Mandela, were imprisoned, the ANC continued its operations from exile.21

Transition to Democracy

By the 1980s, internal unrest and international pressure forced the government to negotiate. After the ban on the ANC was lifted in 1990, Mandela led negotiations for a transition to universal suffrage. In 1994, the ANC won the country's first democratic, multiethnic election, marking the end of white minority rule.34