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1912 – A Revolution Is Born - The organization known today as the African National Congress was founded on January 8, 1912, under the original name of the South African Native National Congress. The birth of the ANC required cooperation between differing tribes, and religious groups who shared the goal of liberating Black South Africans from colonialism and racial oppression.This year, South Africans will commemorate the birth of the organization that helped usher the country towards an inclusive democracy with a series of celebrations held in the city of Mangaung. —Naeesa Aziz(Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

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1913 – Oppression Mounts - Just one year after the ANC was founded, in 1913, the cornerstone of the oppressive apartheid regime was laid when the all-white Union Parliament voted the Natives Land Act into law. The Act mandated that 80 percent of the country’s land would be given to white people — who made up less than 20 percent of the population.(Photo: Keystone/Getty Images)

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1948 – Apartheid Rules the Day - Apartheid, a legal system of racial segregation, is officially adopted after the conservative National Party is voted into office. The system classified all South Africans into four racial groups, instituted strict segregation in all areas of life and stripped Blacks of their national citizenship.(Photo: Evening Standard/Getty Images)

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1955 – Races Form an Alliance - An anti-apartheid interracial coalition called the Congress Alliance is formed and holds the Congress of the People convention in Soweto. At the convention, Congress members, including ANC delegates, adopt the Freedom Charter, which demanded a nonracial democracy and a socialist-based economy.(Photo: OFF/AFP/Getty Images)

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1956 – Backlash to Resistance - One year after the hopeful conference, Nelson Mandela and 155 other South Africans who supported the Freedom Charter are charged with treason. After a trial that dragged on for four years, all are acquitted. (Photo: Keystone/Getty Images) 

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1960 – Sharpeville Massacre - On March 21, a group of unarmed, peaceful demonstrators descended upon Sharpeville police station to protest “pass laws” that required Blacks to carry identification papers or risk being arrested. Any white person could ask any Black person to present their papers at any time, even white children. Police opened fire on the crowd in Sharpeville, killing 69 and wounding hundreds. Following the attack, a state of emergency is declared and both the ANC and its counterpart, the Pan-Africanist Congress, are banned. (Photo: OFF/AFP/Getty Images)

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1960 – International Recognition - Amid heightened international awareness of ANC’s work, president chief Albert Luthuli becomes the first African to win the Nobel Peace Prize.(Photo: Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

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1961 – A Non-Violent Group Gets Militant - The ANC's guerrilla wing, Umkhonto we Sizwe (or Spear of the Nation) was founded. After its first attacks on government installations on Dec. 16, 1961, the group was classified as a terrorist organization by the governments of South Africa and the United States.(Photo: Courtesy of University of Minnesota)

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1964 - Rivonia Trial Sends Mandela to Jail - Following the raid of an ANC hideout, Nelson Mandela and 18 other ANC leaders were arrested and tried for attempting to overthrow the apartheid system. Mandela was found guilty and sentenced to life imprisonment. After spending nearly 30 years in prison as a result of the trial, Mandela was released on Feb. 11, 1990, after international calls for his release.  (Photo: OFF/AFP/Getty Images)

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1976 – Soweto Uprising -  On June 16, 1976, nearly 20,000 students took part in massive protests against the government’s decision to mandate Afrikaans as the primary language of instruction in schools. Many Black South Africans did not speak Afrikaans, which is a derivative of Dutch. Police opened fire on the students as they marched toward a rally against the policy in Soweto, leaving nearly 600 dead and many more injured. Following the event, exiled ANC members increased pressure on international governments to take action and impose economic sanctions against South Africa.(Photo: Keystone/Getty Images)

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1991 – Mandela Takes the Helm; Apartheid Begins to Fade - After Mandela’s release from prison, he is elected president of ANC and leads the group in negotiations with the government and 17 other political groups about building a new, inclusive constitution. In 1993, a draft constitution is adopted. (Photo: Patrick de Noirmont/Reuters)

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1994 – ANC Sweeps First Free Elections - In the country’s first free, all-race elections Nelson Mandela wins the presidency and the ANC's armed wing becomes part of the South African National Defense Forces. (Photo: Kevin Carter/Landov)

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1999 – Mbeki Succeeds Mandela - ANC candidate Thabo Mbeki becomes the country’s second Black president.(Photo: Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images) 

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2007 – Zuma Takes ANC Presidency - Jacob Zuma is voted ANC party president, making him poised for the national presidency in the following election.  (Photo: Siphiwe Sibeko/Landov)

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2009 – ANC Wins Again - Once again, ANC takes the parliamentary elections and Zuma becomes president. (Photo: Siphiwe Sibeko/Landov)

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2011 – Malema Under Fire - Scandal occupies the ANC after Youth League leader Julius Malema is slapped with a five-year suspension from the party for “sowing division” and “bringing the party into disrepute” after he supported regime change in Botswana and promoted an anti-white apartheid-era song. (Photo: 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa)

Photo By Photo: 2010 FIFA World Cup Organising Committee South Africa

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2012 – 100 Years of Struggle - ANC marks its 100th anniversary with celebrations in Mangaung, South Africa. (Photo: ALEXANDER JOE/AFP/Getty Images)