A political party in South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC) supports the rights of black and mixed-race people. From the 1940s to the 1990s the ANC fought apartheid, the official separation of different races. Nelson Mandela, the first black president of South Africa, belonged to the ANC.

Background

In the early 20th century blacks made up most of the population of South Africa. However, white people ruled the country. They did not give black people equal rights. In 1912 several hundred black South Africans formed the ANC to fight for their rights.

Fight against apartheid

The ANC became an important organization in the 1940s, when the white government began a system called apartheid. The white leaders decided where black and mixed-race people could live, work, and go to school. They also did not allow them to vote. White police arrested and held nonwhite people without a trial. The ANC protested the government's discrimination against nonwhites.

In response, the government outlawed the ANC. Members of the ANC continued to protest, however. Some decided to use violence against the white rulers. The government then arrested some of the ANC's leaders, including Nelson Mandela. In 1964 the government sent Mandela to prison for life.

Many countries of the world asked South Africa to end apartheid. The people of South Africa continued to protest the white government, too. During the 1970s and 1980s the ANC gained more support and power. Finally, in 1990 the South African government lifted the ban on the ANC. It also freed Mandela and other ANC leaders from prison.

Ruling party

In 1991 Nelson Mandela became the president of the ANC. The South African government soon agreed to hold elections in which all South Africans could vote. In 1994 the ANC won a majority of seats in the National Assembly, the legislature of South Africa. Mandela became the first black president of the nation. In the early 21st century the ANC was still the strongest political party in South Africa.