
The Black Sash turns 70
The Black Sash was founded on 19 May 1955 by six middle-class white women. The organisation was founded as the Women’s Defence of the Constitution League but was eventually shortened by the press as the Black Sash due to the women's habit of wearing black sashes at their protest meetings. These black sashes symbolised the mourning for the South Africa Constitution. The founding members gathered for tea in Johannesburg before they decided to organise a movement against the Senate Act. Between 1955 and 1994, the Black Sash provided widespread and visible proof of white resistance towards the apartheid system. Some of the members gathered for tea once again on 02 August 2025 to celebrate 70 years of the Black Sash.