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United Democratic Front (South Africa)

The United Democratic Front (UDF) was a South African popular front that existed from 1983 to 1991. The UDF comprised more than 400 public organizations including trade unions, students' unions, women's and parachurch organizations. The UDF's goal was to establish a "non-racial, united South Africa in which segregation is abolished and in which society is freed from institutional and systematic racism."[1] Its slogan was "UDF Unites, Apartheid Divides." The Front was established in 1983 to oppose the introduction of the Tricameral Parliament by the white-dominated National Party government, and dissolved in 1991 during the early stages of the transition to democracy.

Not to be confused with United Democratic Movement.

Background[edit]

Involvement in trade unions, beginning in Durban in 1973, helped create a strong, democratic political culture for black people in South Africa.[2] Mass urban protest could also be traced to the student upsurge in Soweto in 1976.[3]


1982 brought the effects of a world economic crisis to South Africa, and the price of gold fell in 1985.[3] The result of these things and other economic problems caused mass unemployment, especially for young black South Africans.[3]


The apartheid state wrote a new constitution in 1983 "in an attempt to allay criticism against apartheid and to set a new course."[4] The new form of government created a Tricameral Parliament which allowed Coloured and Asian South Africans "nominal representation."[5] Black people were still not allowed to participate in the government.[4][5]


During a demonstration in Langa in 1984, police shot the participants which led to further insurrection.[6] This led to a "black youth uprising" by 1985 in South Africa.[6]

Allan Boesak

Frank Chikane

Moses Chikane

Cheryl Carolus

Murphy Morobe

Mohammed Valli Moosa

Joe Gqabi

Frances Baard

Farid Esack

Jeremy Cronin

Andrew Boraine

Archie Gumede

Matthew Goniwe

Mkhuseli Jack

Helen Joseph

Mosiuoa Lekota

Yunus Mohamed

Popo Molefe

Trevor Manuel

Oscar Mpetha

Victoria Mxenge

Sister Bernard Ncube

Maite Nkoana-Mashabane

Gugile Nkwinti

Albertina Sisulu

Good, Kenneth (November 2011). (PDF). Interface. 3 (2). Retrieved 14 September 2016.

"The Capacities of the People Versus a Predominant, Militarist, Ethno-Nationalist Elite: Democratisation in South Africa c. 1973-97"

(2006). Women's Organizations and Democracy in South Africa: Contesting Authority. The University of Wisconsin Press. ISBN 9780299213831.

Hassim, Shireen

Hemson, David (1996)

For sure you are going to die! Political participation and the comrade movement in Inanda, Kwazulu‐Natal

Neocosmos, Michael (2007)

Civil society, citizenship and the politics of the (im)possible: rethinking militancy in Africa today

Neocosmos, Michael (1996). . Politeia. 15 (3). Archived from the original on 28 April 2003. Retrieved 17 September 2016.

"From People's Politics to State Politics: Aspects of National Liberation in South Africa, 1984-1994"

Sitas, Ari (September 1992). (PDF). Journal of Southern African Studies. 18 (3): 629–641. doi:10.1080/03057079208708329.

"The Making of the 'Comrades' Movement in Natal, 1985-91"

Suttner, Raymond (September 2004). . Journal of Southern African Studies. 30 (3): 691–702. doi:10.1080/0305707042000254164. S2CID 144969935. Retrieved 17 September 2016.

"The UDF Period and its Meaning for Contemporary South Africa"

Swilling, Mark (1987). (PDF).

The United Democratic Front and Township Revolt in South Africa

Van Kessel, Ineke (2000). . University Press of Virginia. ISBN 0813918685.

'Beyond Our Wildest Dreams': The United Democratic Front and the Transformation of South Africa

Vorster, Jakobus M. (27 March 2015). . HTS Teologiese Studies / Theological Studies. 71 (3). doi:10.4102/hts.v71i3.2754.

"The possible contribution of civil society in the moral edification of South African society: The example of the 'United Democratic Front' and the 'Treatment Action Campaign' (1983–2014)"

UDF Virtual Exhibition

Archived 1 December 2016 at the Wayback Machine

South Africa: Overcoming Apartheid, Building Democracy: A curricular resource for schools and colleges on the struggle to overcome apartheid and build democracy in South Africa, with seven streamed interviews with South Africans in the struggle in UDF, plus many historical documents, photographs, and educational activities for teachers & students.

Community Video Education Trust: a digital archive of 90 hours of videos taken in South Africa in the late 1980s and early 1990s. This raw footage documents anti-apartheid demonstrations, speeches, mass funerals, celebrations, and interviews with activists that capture the activism of trade unions, students and political organizations, including 40 segments on the activities of the United Democratic Front.

Online Archives