South Africa- Bus Boycotts

South Africa- Bus Boycotts

Bus Boycotts in South Africa

• Fairly common- economic rather than political

• Activists would form committees & negotiate with bus companies

• Often successful- business leaders would intervene

• These boycotts were spontaneous- ANC did not control the timing

Open Ended

Why do you think bus boycotts were successful while other protests (Defiance Campaign) were not?

Alexandra Boycott 1957

• Bus fare increase led to massive boycotts that spread to other cities

• Price increase= one month salary

• Protests are about more than price increase-removal policies angered the people

• People who were unaffected joined in

Multiple Choice

Why was the Alexandra Bus Boycott much larger than previous boycotts?

• the price was going up more

• Alexandra is a very large city

• it would cost a full months pay to cover the increase

• Removal polices had created a more volatile situation

Boycott Spreads

• Sophiatown, East Rand & ther cities join

• 70k join in show of solidarity, some whites joined

• People helped each other- despite obstacles

• Boycott was "grass roots" not organized by the ANC

• Massive solidarity seen as a threat to the govt. & apartheid policies

Poll

Why was this boycott unsettling for the White goverrnment?

• Protestors showed a great deal of solidarity

• The boycott showed how angry the people were about apartheid

• They feared that a united opposition was dangerous

• They feared that an uprising was imminent

ANC & the Boycotts

• Boycott showed the power of authentic protest, white sympathy was growing

• Govt. blamed ANC, but then intervened to settle the dispute

• ANC was unsure how to harness this anger- doubted it could be controlled

• PAC started to become a rival of ANC

Open Ended

Why was it so difficult for the ANC to organize a protest as effective as the Alexandra boycott?