The African National Congress (ANC) and the Construction of Collective Memory and Its impact in the Post-apartheid Era

Abstract

Since the entire history of existence, the African National Congress (ANC) has been using collective memory in reminding its members of the history of the organisation, firstly as a liberation movement and secondly in the democratisation period as the ruling party in South Africa. The purpose of the present paper is to expose the significant relationship between the ANC and the impact of collective memory on the history and identity of this organisation. The paper commences with the premise that memory is an active, non-stop procedure which takes place in social contexts and is inevitably influenced by them. In understanding the history and political identity of the ANC, collective memory has played a significant role in this regard. The paper notes that sometimes in grappling with the issue of collective memory, some former political activists within the ANC had difficulties in coming to terms with traumatic experiences imposed by the apartheid government during the struggle days.