James Moroka

James Sebe Moroka was born on March 16, 1891, in Thaba 'Nchu, Orange Free State, the great-grandson of Barolong chief Moroka I. Graduating in medicine from the University of Edinburgh in 1918, he returned to South Africa to practice medicine in rural Thaba 'Nchu, treating Black and white patients equally.

In 1949, backed by Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, and the ANC Youth League, Dr. Moroka was elected President-General of the ANC. Under his presidency, the ANC adopted the radical Programme of Action, culminating in the 1952 Defiance Campaign—the first nationwide mass non-violent civil disobedience campaign against apartheid pass laws and racial segregation. Convicted under the Suppression of Communism Act, he retired to medical practice and farming.