Congress of the People

E190041

The Congress of the People was a pivotal 1955 multi-racial gathering in South Africa where anti-apartheid groups adopted the Freedom Charter, laying ideological foundations for the struggle against apartheid.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Congress of the People canonical 6
Congress of the People (1955) 2

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (44)

Predicate Object
instanceOf anti-apartheid event
political conference
adoptedDocument Freedom Charter
associatedWith democracy
human rights
non-racialism
attendedBy thousands of delegates
category 1955 in South Africa
Anti-apartheid movement events
Political conferences in South Africa
corePrincipleExpressed South Africa belongs to all who live in it, black and white
the people shall govern
country South Africa
date 1955
endDate 1955-06-26
followedBy increased state repression of anti-apartheid activists
hasParticipant African National Congress
Coloured People’s Congress
surface form: South African Coloured People’s Organisation

South African Congress of Democrats
South African Congress of Trade Unions
South African Indian Congress
multi-racial delegates
historicalSignificance first large-scale multi-racial political gathering in apartheid South Africa
major milestone in the South African liberation struggle
ideologicalImpact influenced the political program of the African National Congress
laid foundations for the struggle against apartheid
influenced South African constitutional negotiations
post-1994 South African Bill of Rights
languageOfProceedings multiple South African languages
legacy continued reference point for post-apartheid constitutional values
location Soweto
surface form: Kliptown, Soweto
method mass democratic consultation
opposed apartheid system
organizedBy African National Congress
Coloured People’s Congress
surface form: South African Coloured People’s Organisation

South African Congress of Democrats
South African Congress of Trade Unions
South African Indian Congress
precededBy campaign to collect demands from communities across South Africa
purpose to formulate a vision for a non-racial democratic South Africa
to unite anti-apartheid organizations around a common program
repressedBy apartheid security forces
significantEvent adoption of the Freedom Charter
startDate 1955-06-25

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (8)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Defiance Campaign followedBy Congress of the People
South African Indian Congress participatedIn Congress of the People
Walter Sisulu Square associatedWith Congress of the People
Freedom Charter adoptedAt Congress of the People
Congress Alliance coordinated Congress of the People
this entity surface form: Congress of the People (1955)
Coloured People’s Congress participatedIn Congress of the People
this entity surface form: Congress of the People (1955)
South African Congress of Democrats participatedIn Congress of the People
South African Congress of Democrats coOrganized Congress of the People