Black People Convention is formed

Twelve years after the banning of the African National Congress (ANC) and Pan Africanist Congress (PAC), a new political movement, the Black People Convention (BPC) was formed after a three day long conference in Pietermaritzburg. Black students under the guiding principle that they identified themselves firstly as black before being students formed this movement. The movement managed to bring together about seventy different black consciousness groups and associations under one umbrella. Because of its racial exclusivity, the government initially welcomed it as an endorsement of racial segregation and apartheid policies. When the party assumed a radical anti apartheid political agenda the government began to restrict its activities. The party elected Winnie Kgware as its first president and Steve Biko was named honorary president. It was officially inaugurated in December 1972 and banned in October 1977.