Issue and Opponent: The protestors during the First Defiance Campaign wanted to abolish the Pass Laws, Population Registration Act, Suppression of Communism Act, Group Areas Act, Bantu Authorities Act, and Separate Representation of (Coloured) Voters Act that were part of Apartheid legislation.
Dilemma Action: June 26, 1952, marked the official start of the “Defiance of Unjust Laws” campaign in South Africa. Throughout the country, members of the movement targeted various illegitimate laws by openly defying them. For example, in Port Elizabeth 30 African protestors were arrested by authorities for disobeying apartheid laws and entering “whites only” waiting rooms in train stations. The resisters, who were arrested for defying these apartheid laws, strategically chose to be imprisoned, rather than pay a fine, to burden the government economically and give themselves a platform when being tried in court.
Outcomes: This campaign spread quickly into the small towns and rural areas of South Africa. In direct response, police brutality increased, and the South African Security Police launched the largest police raids on the offices of the liberation campaign and the homes of liberation leaders without proper warrants. This repression only built more momentum for the campaign, leading more protestors to join the movement.