Alistair boddyevans is a teacher and african history scholar with more than 25 years of experience. Albert ikwezi is a seventeen yearold student living in the township of soweto. Click download or read online button to get the 1976 soweto uprising book now. The june 16 soweto youth uprising south african history online. At the same event, the minister of posts and telecommunications suggested. And later on i would understand the church that i belong to and its. It began as a protest by thousands, mostly students, against the governments insistence that the afrikaans languagea language of the white minority that ruled south africabe used as the medium of instruction in sowetos high schools, which. 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. But what is certain is that the soweto uprising and its aftermath on 16th of june 1976 in soweto, south africa, a group of students led a protest against a recent decree mandating afrikaans as a. And that was what the students of soweto thought as well. Earlier in the day, albert was arrested and incarcerated on his way to the police station with his mother. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. On june 16, 1976, students in the southwest townships soweto outside of johannesburg, south africa, stayed home from school to protest the bantu educational system enacted by the racist apartheid regime in the early 1950s.
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. A south african historical turning point shaped by black revolutionary students against the injustices of the apartheid regime education system. 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. The june 16 soweto youth uprising south african history.
Share flipboard email print the memorial and grave of protestor hector pieterson who died in the 1976 soweto uprising. The soweto uprising was a big turning point in the antiapartheid struggle. Soweto uprising 1976 study guide by zoenobileau includes 22 questions covering vocabulary, terms and more. After soweto, an uprising or march would take place almost every day, often completely spontaneously. After everything was all over and time passed, june 16th is now an official holiday in south africa. The soweto uprising of 1976 was a major protest against apartheid in south africa.
The antiapartheid movement at the university of michigan, 2018 your bibliography. Down with afrikaans, the language of the oppressor and their slogan was viva azania. It is june 18, 1976, the third day of the soweto uprisings and there is little reason to think that the violence will end soon. Apartheid south africa and the soweto rebellion pdf. The antiapartheid movement at the university of michigan. 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.
It is commemorated today by a south african national holiday, youth day, which honors all the young. When highschool students in soweto started protesting for better education on 16 june 1976, police responded with teargas and live bullets. After soweto, an uprising or march would take place. Historians and political analysts concur that the soweto uprising was a watershed in the national liberation struggle and ushered in.
These factors can certainly be traced back to the bantu education act introduced by the apartheid government in 1953. Soweto, south africa cnn its the iconic image that grabbed the worlds attention and helped change the course of south african history. The sharpeville massacre of 1960 and the 1976 student uprising that began in soweto triggered responses at the united nations and efforts to boycott south african goods in many countries. The introduction of afrikaans alongside english as a medium of instruction is considered the immediate cause of the soweto uprising, but there are a various factors behind the 1976 student unrest. Edmonson worked as the deputy chief of mission in pretoria from 19741976.
The soweto riots of 1976 were the most brutal and violent riots that had taken place against the south african apartheid administration. The soweto uprising comprised a series of protests led by secondary school students in south africa that began on 16 june 1976. The soweto uprising was a series of demonstrations and protests led by black school children. The 12,656 students in 1972 almost tripled to 34,656 students in 1976. Quiz the uprising after the uprising 92 people died between august and september in cape town by the end of 1976, most of the bloodshed had stopped, but even then the death toll stood over 600 people. Soweto and increased pressure on the apartheid state s. 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. On 16 june 1976, students from secondary schools across soweto marched through the township towards the orlando stadium. An audio history thirty years ago, the uprising of a group of schoolchildren forever changed south africas history.
Today our nation commemorates the 38th anniversary of the students uprising of june 16, 1976. The image that changed the course of south africas. The soweto uprising, 1976 exhibit divestment for humanity. The south african government basically declared war on black school children. In october 1976, transkei, the first bantustan, was proclaimed independent by the south african government. Quizlet flashcards, activities and games help you improve your grades. Every one in five soweto child was attending secondary.
It is estimated that 20,000 students took part in the protests. Inqaba was the journal of the marxist workers tendency of the african national congress anc, predecessor of the democratic. He remembers the soweto uprising as a point of building turbulence and change in the countrys mindset. The 1976 soweto uprising download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl. The 1976 soweto uprising 2 apartheid bantu education. The soweto uprising, by noor nieftagodien, athens, ohio, ohio university press, 2014, 165 pp. The soweto uprising was a riot which started on june 16th, 1976 and lasted three days. Request pdf analysing the presentation of the 1976 soweto uprising in grade 9 history textbooks the soweto uprising comprised a series of protests led by secondary school students in south. The soweto uprising of 1976 is one of the best known events in the struggle against apartheid. In addition, all the black consciousness organisations were banned in 1977, including the womens organisations. The unrest following the 1976 soweto riots continued for my entire tour of duty, on and off, and led to sharp crackdowns and further restrictions of civil liberty, the arrests of lots of leaders, and the banning of lots of organizations. The history of national youth day, soweto uprising and.
Lessons of the 1976 soweto rebellion workers world. Attempts were made by concerned civic bodies, church. On 16 june 1976, the guardian published an open letter from reverend. The studentled protests in soweto known as the soweto uprising. Pdf recollections of people who lived through the 1976 soweto uprising both there and elsewhere provide more authentic insights than. The uprising took place in 1976 in soweto township, adjacent to the city of johannesburg. The soweto riots of 1976 were the most brutal and violent riots that had taken place against the south. The soweto uprising made an impact and received attention from other.
On june 16, 1976, an estimated twenty thousand students in soweto, a township of the city of johannesburg, left their schools and marched in peaceful protest of their educational system. What began as a protest against a government education policy. 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. 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. They planned a peaceful procession and gathering to demonstrate their opposition to the governments plan to change the medium. June 16, 1976 uprising, students relives that day youtube. The uprising was as a revolt against the apartheid policies that were oppressive to the black south africans. Their protest turned into a rebellion that spread to other parts of the. The protests spread to the rest of the country and changed its social characteristics. Soweto uprising kids britannica kids homework help.
Brown argues that far from there being quiescence following the sharpeville massacre and the suppression of african opposition movements, during which they went underground, this period was marked by. Students, teachers, parents, and civilians of soweto, south africa were involved in this boycott. The apartheid governments plan was to elevate afrikaans language and culture higher than the remaining cultures in south african. Events that triggered the uprising can be traced back to policies of the apartheid government that resulted in. The 1976 soweto uprising in photos the south african student protest was met with police violence. In addition, all the black consciousness organisations were banned in. June 16th 1976 in soweto has played a significant role in. The 1976 soweto uprising association for diplomatic.
It began as a protest by thousands, mostly students, against the governments insistence that the afrikaans languagea language of the white minority that ruled south africabe used as the medium of instruction in soweto s high schools, which. The protests by the soweto uprising protests began in june 16th 1976. The state suppression of the bcm after the soweto uprising in 1976, and bikos death while in police custody in 1977, weakened the organizational base of the movement. The original version of this article commemorated the tenth anniversary of the soweto uprising, appearing in the september 1986 edition of inqaba ya basebenzi fortress of the revolution. Analysing the presentation of the 1976 soweto uprising in. The students were unhappy because schools in the townships of soweto were forced to use the afrikaans language for teaching certain subjects. A new black militancy before and after the soweto uprising. Young blacks expressed their anger at apartheid by marching, rioting and setting fire to government property. After about 4 months, at least 250,000 people in soweto and 160 african. It is called, youth day, and it was created to be a day they would remember all of the teachers and children that lost their lives, or lost everything that they had. Many saw the soweto uprising as a turning point, signaling the sure end of apartheid in the near future.
This revisionary account of the soweto uprising of june 1976 and the decade preceding it transforms our understanding of what led to this crucial flashpoint of south africas history. The 1976 soweto uprising 2 apartheid bantu education policy. The june 16 1976 uprising that began in soweto and spread countrywide profoundly changed the sociopolitical landscape in 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. On june 16, 1976 a revolt began that pitted many young black students against the brutal force of the afrikaner police in the township soweto. The soweto uprising the south african democracy education trust.