freedom for africa

Freedom for Africa

Africa follows AsiaAfter India gained independence,

many other Asian countries sought independence, mostly peacefully.

African groups, like Asian groups, experienced nationalistic movements.

People of Africa wanted freedom from European control, after World War II.

GhanaGhana was the

first African country to gain independence after World War II.

Kwame Nkrumah followed Gandhi's example and used boycotts and nonviolence to get Ghana’s independence.

AlgeriaAlgerians had to

fight to gain independence from France.

The Algerian National Liberation Front had to fight hundreds of thousands of French soldiers.

KenyaIn Kenya, the British

and their settlers did not want to grant Kenya independence.

Jomo Kenyatta, the leader of Kenyan nationalism, was arrested for failing to stand up to guerilla fighters, fighting for independence.

When Kenya was given independence, Jomo was the first president.

The Congo Some places experienced more violence when they became free.

The people of the Congo were not prepared to run a country when freed.

Rival ethnicities hated each other and a civil war broke out.

Finally a dictator took over.

South AfricaSouth Africa was an unusual

country, granted independence prior to both World Wars.

However, the small white South African population created a political system that kept the majority black South African population out of power.

Apartheid

Apartheid – legalized racial segregation in South Africa

Black South Africans were denied the vote and forced to live on land bad for farming.

The African National CongressGroups protested this racist policy. The most famous group to protest apartheid

was the African National Congress. Leaders were arrested (Nelson Mandala) or

killed (Stephen Biko)

Equality

In 1989, a new president was elected and began to end apartheid.

Mandela was freed from prison soon after. In 1994, in the first universal election,

Mandela was elected president. He was the first black South African President.