Congress Alliance
Encyclopedia
The Congress Alliance was an anti-apartheid coalition formed in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

 in the 1950s. Led by the ANC
African National Congress
The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...

, the Congress was a multi-racial alliance committed to a democratic South Africa.

Congress Alliance, multi-racial struggle, and the Freedom Charter

Congress Alliance was instrumental in the development of the Freedom Charter
Freedom Charter
The Freedom Charter was the statement of core principles of the South African Congress Alliance, which consisted of the African National Congress and its allies - the South African Indian Congress, the South African Congress of Democrats and the Coloured People's Congress...

, the statement of core principles of the Alliance. Characterized by its opening demand, "The People Shall Govern!", the Charter was ratified at a mass rally, the Congress of the People
Congress of the People
The Congress of the People met in Kliptown, Soweto, Johannesburg on June 26, 1955 to lay out the vision of the South African people. The Freedom Charter was the core statement of principles of the Congress Alliance, consisting of the African National Congress , the South African Indian Congress,...

, held at Kliptown
Kliptown
Kliptown is a suburb of the formerly black township of Soweto in Gauteng, South Africa, located about 17 km south-west of Johannesburg. The population of Kliptown is between 38,000 and 45,000 . Kliptown is the oldest residential district of Soweto, and was first laid out in 1891 on land which...

, Soweto
Soweto
Soweto is a lower-class-populated urban area of the city of Johannesburg in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for South Western Townships...

 in June 1955.

The Congress Alliance was part of the ANC's efforts to promote a multi-racial anti-apartheid movement.

Allied and Associated Organizations

Organizations allied and associated organizations with the Congress Alliance included:
  • African National Congress
    African National Congress
    The African National Congress is South Africa's governing Africanist political party, supported by its tripartite alliance with the Congress of South African Trade Unions and the South African Communist Party , since the establishment of non-racial democracy in April 1994. It defines itself as a...

     (ANC)
  • South African Communist Party
    South African Communist Party
    South African Communist Party is a political party in South Africa. It was founded in 1921 as the Communist Party of South Africa by the joining together of the International Socialist League and others under the leadership of Willam H...

     (SACP)
  • South African Congress of Democrats
    South African Congress of Democrats
    The Congress of Democrats was a radical, left white anti-apartheid organization founded in South Africa in late 1952 as part of the multi-racial Congress Alliance. The establishment of the COD sought to illustrate opposition to apartheid among whites...

     (COD)
  • Coloured People's Congress (CPC)
  • South African Indian Congress
    South African Indian Congress
    The South African Indian Congress was an organization founded in 1924 in Natal , South Africa. The congress is famous for its strong participation by Mahatma Gandhi and other prominent South African Indian figures during the time. Umar Hajee Ahmed Jhaveri was elected the first president of the...

     (SAIC)
  • The Federation of South African Women

The ANC led this multiracial alliance.

Arrests

In December 1956 many key members of the Alliance were arrested and charged with treason, including the entire executive committee of the ANC. 105 Africans, 21 Indians, 23 whites and 7 colored members of the Congress Alliance were arrested. Many leaders, including Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela served as President of South Africa from 1994 to 1999, and was the first South African president to be elected in a fully representative democratic election. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of Umkhonto we Sizwe, the armed wing...

, were detained in communal cells in Johannesburg Prison, resulting in "the largest and longest unbanned meeting of the Congress Alliance in years.". These arrests led to the Treason Trial
Treason Trial
The Treason Trial was a trial in which 156 people, including Nelson Mandela, were arrested in a raid and accused of treason in South Africa in 1956....

.
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