Nelson Mandela and Oliver Tambo open first black legal firm in South Africa

In February the ANC calls on the government to repeal all unjust laws or face a 'Campaign for the Defiance of Unjust Laws'. Mass rallies and strikes staged on 6 April and 26 June attract thousands of supporters.

The government reacts by introducing harsher penalties for protests against apartheid. Campaign leaders and opposition newspapers are banned and about 8,500 people are arrested, including Mandela and Sisulu. Because of the disciplined and nonviolent nature of the campaign both receive suspended sentences.

The defiance campaign has helped build ANC membership from about 7,000 at the beginning of the year to more than 100,000 by the year's end.

Tambo and Mandela open the first black legal firm in the country.

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