What was the name of the 1952 mass protest led by Nelson Mandela and the ANC?

The 1952 mass protest led by Nelson Mandela and the ANC was the Defiance Campaign.

The campaign began on 26 June 1952 as a coordinated act of nonviolent resistance against apartheid laws. Volunteers deliberately entered areas reserved for other racial groups, used facilities marked for different races, or violated discriminatory regulations. The actions were designed to produce arrests while maintaining disciplined nonviolence.

Mandela served as the campaign’s national volunteer-in-chief. The movement involved the African National Congress and the South African Indian Congress, and thousands of people were arrested. It became one of the largest organized challenges to apartheid before the Sharpeville era.

The campaign did not end apartheid, but it expanded ANC membership and raised Mandela’s national profile. It also helped establish his reputation as an organizer, although authorities responded with arrests, prosecutions, and increasingly restrictive legislation.