Hector pieterson, age, was one the first students to be killed during the 1976 student uprising in soweto. Analysing the presentation of the 1976 soweto uprising in grade 9. Read, highlight, and take notes, across web, tablet, and phone. The soweto uprising, 1976 public history um lsa history. The book especially highlights the happenings of 1976 and 1977, two years of strife in this politically charged township which was the home of all the founding fathers of what sol calls, our cherished freedom nelson mandela, walter sisulu, nthato motlana, desmond tutu, mothopeng and sobukwe. The special committee takes note of a resolution on the soweto massacre adopted by the organization of african unity oau at the twentyseventh ordinary session of the council of ministers at the end of june 1976, that the only effective guarantee for the african people of south africa against the repetition of the massacres is the launching. Here he recalls what it was like being in the middle of events that would change south africa. The book adroitly mixes archival research with oral history, and navigates smoothly between grand political history and microlevel social analysis. When highschool students in soweto started protesting for better education on 16 june 1976, police responded with teargas and live bullets. Plate 1 courtesy of baileys african history archive baha. These are three ways in which the students who participated in the 1976 soweto uprising have. The narrator goes to find her absent fathers grave, superstitiously hoping that it might save her marriage. The soweto uprising was a series of demonstrations and protests led by black school children.
It took one day for young south africans to change the course of the countrys history. Soweto became the largest black city in south africa, but until 1976 its population could have status only as temporary residents, serving as a workforce for johannesburg. It was 1976, the apartheid era in south africa a government edict was issued stating that afrikaans would be the universal language of instruction in black schools. June 16 soweto uprising timeline timeline created by devdan21. Niq mhlongos new shortstory collection begins in sowetos avalon cemetery. June 16, 2016, marks the 40th anniversary of the soweto uprising also called the soweto rebellion in south africa.
When the soweto uprisings of june 1976 took place, sifiso mxolisi ndlovu, the author of this book, was a 14yearold pupil at phefeni junior secondary school. It grew into the largest black city in south africa, as blacks streamed to joburg to work in the white economy but were required to live in separate black areas. It is estimated that 20,000 students took part in the protests. Response to the june 16 soweto youth uprising by organisations in exile. The article addressed the critique that the apartheid government in south africa used educational policies to keep the races divided, writing, the question, however, runs deeper than language. The soweto riots a short history of the riots against new education laws that turned into a mass collective rejection of apartheid south africa by thousands of working class black youths. In looking there for signs of a father, however, she finds instead another husband. Formerly a separate municipality, it is now incorporated in the city of johannesburg metropolitan municipality, suburbs of. Full text historical south african journals, books, theses, maps, legal. Soweto, under the apricot tree by niq mhlongo world. Certainly, the uprisings history has been given critical attention in the work of such authors as gail. The soweto uprising, also known as 16 june, were a series of protests led by high school students in south africa that began on the morning of 16 june 1976.
Apartheid south africa and the soweto rebellion pdf. Response to the june 16 soweto youth uprising by organisations in exile south african history online. The 1976 soweto uprising in photos the south african student protest was met with police violence. A new generation of young people was committed to the struggle against apartheid. The soweto uprising represents a real turning point in south africas history this compelling book examines both the underlying causes and the immediate factors that led to this watershed event. In this depiction, the uprising ended a decade of quiescence and was the product of a generational revolt prompted primarily by immediate and localised experience. What began as a protest against a government education policy became a watershed moment in the fight against apartheid. The article addressed the critique that the apartheid government in south africa used educational policies to keep the races divided, writing, the question, however, runs. The soweto uprising was a series of demonstrations and protests led by black school children in south africa that began on the morning of 16 june 1976 students from numerous sowetan schools began to protest in the streets of soweto in response to the introduction of afrikaans as the medium of instruction in local schools. An estimated 20,000 students took part in the protests.
Jun, 2006 bbc africa bureaux editor milton nkosi was a schoolboy in soweto at the time of the uprising of 16 june 1976. The soweto riots of 1976 were the most brutal and violent riots that had taken. It is commemorated today by a south african national holiday, youth day, which honors all the young. Over 100 people were killed and many more injured on june 16, 1976, in soweto, south africa, following anti. With his classmates, he was among the active participants in the protest action against the use of afrikaans as a medium of instruction. The uprising took place in 1976 in soweto township, adjacent to the city of johannesburg. Soweto obtained its name from the first two letters of south western township which was the original description ofthe area. The 16 june 1976 soweto students uprising as it happened. Youth day commemorates the soweto youth uprising of 16 june 1976. Soweto uprising 100 photographs the most influential.
This timeline displays a year before june 16 and the year after. Soweto southwest township group of black townships of more than a million people on the outskirts of johannesburg, south africa. The soweto uprisings by sifiso mxolisi ndlovu all african books. Traces the history of south africa from the arrival of the bantus 2000 years ago to the 1976 soweto riots to the present day. The soweto uprising represents a real turning point in south africas historythis compelling book examines both the underlying causes and the immediate factors that led to this watershed event. What began as a protest against a government education policy. The 1976 soweto uprising represented a real turning point in south africas history. The june 16 1976 uprising that began in soweto and spread countrywide profoundly changed the sociopolitical landscape in south africa.
Soweto lies 15 kilometers southwest of johannesburg. The times later estimated more than 700 had died in the chain reaction of violence over the year. Also, with all of the students being back in school, the crime rate in soweto decreased dramatically. Sowetofounding of a township the stories were set in soweto, althou gh they neither began nor ended there. In 1975 protests started in african schools after a directive from the then bantu education. Forty new schools were built in soweto between 1972 and 1976. The soweto uprising by noor nieftagodien overdrive rakuten. But how would marxists handle historical divisions between black and white. Events that triggered the uprising can be traced back to policies of the apartheid government that resulted in the introduction of the bantu education act in 1953. Police opened fire in orlando west on thousands of students marching from naledi high school to orlando stadium. The june 16 soweto youth uprising south african history. Womens role in the 1976 soweto revolt and mounting pressure on the apartheid state. It was one of the coldest winters in south africas history, and i was only 10 years old.
The soweto uprising was a riot which started on june 16th, 1976 and lasted three days. Students from numerous sowetan schools began to protest in the streets of soweto in response to the introduction of afrikaans as the medium of instruction in local schools. The soweto uprising made an impact and received attention from other countries. Dec 02, 2007 riots and oppression in south africa 1976. He confronts what he calls a consensus account of the rebellion.
Africa marking soweto uprising bbc guardian unlimited audio. Soweto uprising military wiki fandom powered by wikia. At least 12 people are reported to have been killed in a series of violent clashes between black demonstrators and police in several south african townships. Dec 19, 2017 julian browns analysis of the prehistory of the soweto uprising seeks to break new ground. June 16 soweto uprising timeline timetoast timelines. People, places and apartheid commissioned by the department of education by 10. Africa marking soweto uprising bbc guardian unlimited audio recording of antoinette sithole pieterson on the soweto uprising an extensive mashup with info on the events on 16 june 1976 youth and the national liberation struggle 18941994 south african history online helena pohlandtmccormick. Thirty years ago, the uprising of a group of schoolchildren forever changed south africas history. Researching the 1976 soweto uprising in the state archives of south africa. On june 16, 1976, black high school children in soweto protested against the afrikaans medium decree of 1974 which forced the schools to use afrikaans as one african heritage a blog about african history, and heritage, through audio and video files. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Examines race relations, the origins of apartheid, and the different peoples who settled in south africa.
This is the day the country reflects on the massacre of school children during the soweto uprising of 1976. African students movement who would go on to play an important role in the 1976 uprising. The soweto uprising, also known as 16 june, is a series of protests led by high school students in south africa that began on the morning of 16 june 1976. June 16 marks the commemoration of national youth day in south africa. The apartheid government got what they deserved, and everything worked out for the students not only in soweto, but it made a huge impact on the rest of south africa as well. Even to contemporaries it seemed to mark the beginning of the end of apartheid. By car, it is most easily reached from the m1 highway, which curves around the edges of the inner city of johannesburg, past. Origins and development of the uprising in soweto and the rest of south africa, junedec. Get the full story on the struggle against apartheid here. Sharpeville massacre and the 1976 soweto uprising marked shifts, either minute and. It is lavishly illustrated with photos and documents, and virtually every page has quotes from soweto residents gathered during the authors research. A wealth of documents on south africas history and the antiapartheid.
Since then, on the occasion of the twentieth and then twentyfifth anniversary of the uprising, several new books have. In june 1976, soweto attracted international attention, when a student demonstration against the compulsory teaching of afrikaans in bantu schools sparked a series of riots against the apartheid regime. Alistair boddyevans is a teacher and african history scholar with more than 25 years of experience. Along the way they gathered youngsters from other schools, including a yearold student named hector pieterson. In a statement on 17 june 1976, the acting chairman and the rapporteur of the committee pointed out that the events in soweto were yet another example of the brutality of the pretoria regime, and demonstrated the growing militancy of the oppressed people and their courage in the face of inhuman repression. It also brought into the political equation the role of youth, who were to play a vital role in the township revolts of the 1980s. An audio history thirty years ago, the uprising of a group of schoolchildren forever changed south africas history. A short history of the riots against new education laws that turned into a mass. Christianity and a willingness to endure the hardships of manual labour. Even though over 360 blacks were killed during the soweto uprising, in the end everything ended up in its place. An audio history a fivepart series looks at south africas halfcenturylong struggle for democracy through rare sound recordings the voices of freedom fighter nelson mandela, and. On june 16th, 1976, in south africa, a group of school children in the black township of soweto decided to hold a protest. This book examines the origins of the policy of apartheid, its imple.
Its name is an english syllabic abbreviation for south western townships. Few outside south africa paid much attention to apartheid before june 16, 1976, when several thousand soweto students set out to protest the introduction of mandatory afrikaanslanguage instruction in their township schools. The police brutally suppressed the disturbances, killing 618. Has audio clips of radio freedom, the voice of the african national congress during. The soweto uprising, also known as 16 june, is a series of protests led by high school students in south africa that began on the morning of 16. In the book, kaffir boy, a young boy called david described the polices actions on the first day of the riot. The soweto uprising by noor nieftagodien overdrive. Abstractthe soweto uprising comprised a series of protests led by. A look back in history around the soweto youth uprising. In the series curriculum of connections, we bring together critical voices, ideas, and projects working towards educational, artistic, and research practices. This uprising started on 16 june as a peaceful protest march organized by school students in soweto. Tom lodges book on sharpeville has a complete account of the origins. The name soweto was first used in 1963 and within a short period of time, following the 1976 uprising of students in the township, the name became internationally known.
The following books have been ordered at the bookstore. Angry youths threw stones and beer bottles at police, as a protest against the compulsory use of afrikaans as the main teaching language in black. Soweto uprising project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. The politics of the sharpeville massacre and soweto uprising. Soweto was the site of the famous 1976 uprising, and it is now a place of official and commercial commemoration. With his fifth book, mhlongo returns home to excavate different kinds of stories than those writ large in national and international memory. Students, teachers, parents, and civilians of soweto, south africa were involved in this boycott. Explanation on 16 june 1976, police opened fire on approximately 10 000 school students in soweto during a protest against the compulsory use. An investigation by us newspaper newsday in december 1976 concluded that 332 had died in soweto, and more than 435 nationally. The 1976 soweto uprising download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl. Julian browns analysis of the prehistory of the soweto uprising seeks to break new ground. The uprising triggered a long and oftenviolent confrontation between black protesters and the white south african. On june 16, 1976, black high school children in soweto protested against the afrikaans medium decree of 1974 which forced the schools to use afrikaans as one. All around was an ocean of black faces, yet there was hardly a sound.
Bbc africa bureaux editor milton nkosi was a schoolboy in soweto at the time of the uprising of 16 june 1976. Soweto and increased pressure on the apartheid state s. Soweto became the epicenter of black political and cultural life, and burst onto the world stage in 1976, when students rioted against school conditions. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want.
It began as a protest by thousands, mostly students, against the governments insistence that the afrikaans languagea language of the. The michigan daily, the um student newspaper, spread the story of the soweto uprising on campus starting with a june 17, 1976 article titled blacks riot in south africa. Deputy minister andries treurnicht told blacks they would only be taught in afrikaans white peoples language most teachers did not speak afrikaans extremely difficult language to learn. Soweto tours the hector pieterson memorial part of the. Heres an hourbyhour account of the events that sparked the 1976 soweto students uprising. The june 16 soweto youth uprising south african history online. The soweto massacre or soweto uprisings also known as june 16, were some of the biggest massacre of the apartheid regime in south africa, mostly because it showed police repression against kids. He has since become a symbol of youth resistance to apartheid.