In soweto on 16 june 1976 thousands of black students demonstrated against the introduction of afrikaans in education. The soweto uprising of 1976 is one of the best known events in the struggle against apartheid. The antiapartheid movement at the university of michigan, 2018 your bibliography. It is estimated that 20,000 students took part in the. These factors can certainly be traced back to the bantu education act introduced by the apartheid government in 1953. After about 4 months, at least 250,000 people in soweto and 160 african. Below are all the facts and events pertaining to the soweto uprising and riots of 1976.
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. Oct 29, 2015 the soweto riots of 1976 were the start of a very long period of serious urban unrest in south africa in opposition to the system. Soweto uprising kids britannica kids homework help. The soweto uprising, by noor nieftagodien, athens, ohio, ohio university press, 2014, 165 pp. Why these south african national holidays are so meaningful. The june 16 1976 uprising that began in soweto and spread countrywide profoundly changed the sociopolitical landscape in south africa. The 1976 soweto uprising represented a real turning point in south africas history. Melville edelstien, who was stoned to death by a mob and left with a placard reading beware afrikaners around his neck.
The antiapartheid struggle in south africa 19121992 dr. Data on school enrollment in apartheid era south africa. 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. Kurtz professor of sociologyanthropology, george mason june 2009 summary of events related to the use or impact of civil resistance 2009 international center on nonviolent conflict disclaimer. Down with afrikaans, the language of the oppressor and their slogan was viva azania. The black consciousness movement promoted a new identity and politics of racial solidarity and became the voice and spirit of the antiapartheid movement at a time when both the african national congress and the panafricanist congress had been banned in the. It was the first sustained, widespread, black action in opposition to the regime. The soweto riots of 1976 were the most brutal and violent riots that had taken place against the south african apartheid administration. There had previously been race riots in soweto around 1960, but they were very shortlived. 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.
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 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 impact of the student protests and the soweto uprising in. Conclude with a discussion of whether the police response to. 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. Lessons of the 1976 soweto rebellion workers world.
The police were flying in front of me, shooting the students on the side. The history of national youth day, soweto uprising and. The black south african students that protested on that day came from a variety of high schools in soweto. After soweto, armed activity in south africa increased, as the armed wings of the anc and pac were able to use their new recruits in sabotage missions into the country. Soweto uprising 1976 study guide by zoenobileau includes 22 questions covering vocabulary, terms and more. Dramatic television coverage of police action in the townships was screened around the world. Click download or read online button to get the 1976 soweto uprising book now.
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. 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. 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. Browse her outstanding archive doing violence to memory. The soweto uprising, 1976 exhibit divestment for humanity. 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. What began as a protest against a government education policy. The 1976 soweto uprising student protest was met with police violence. 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. Jan 18, 2020 aerial view of soweto uprising june 1976 keystone hulton archive getty images over 100 people were killed and many more injured on june 16, 1976, in soweto, south africa, following antiapartheid protests.
The police estimated that 176 people died, 19 people got injured, and 1298 people got arrested. Jun 04, 2019 the soweto uprising of 1976 is one of the best known events in the struggle against apartheid. Analysing the presentation of the 1976 soweto uprising in. The june 16 soweto youth uprising south african history online. From the soweto uprising onwards, apartheid began to collapse.
The students were unhappy because schools in the townships of soweto were forced to use the afrikaans language for teaching certain subjects. Telling soweto, june 16, 1976the appropriation of the peoples story into official histories 4. The black consciousness movement bcm was an influential student movement in the 1970s in apartheid south africa. Few outside south africa paid much attention to apartheid before june 16, 1976, when several thousand. The june 16 soweto youth uprising south african history. Sep 19, 2006 after soweto, an uprising or march would take place almost every day, often completely spontaneously. However, many antiapartheid activists have claimed that the death counts from soweto uprising were around 600700.
Its name is an english syllabic abbreviation for south western townships. The memorable day of victims of june 16 1976 soweto uprising. June 16 1976, this is the year of our late heroes and heroines of 1976. The soweto uprising of 1976 was a major protest against apartheid in south africa. Young blacks expressed their anger at apartheid by marching, rioting and setting fire to government property.
Introduced in 1974, a regulation forced all schools in the former black african neighbourhoods to use afrikaans and english in a 5050 mix. Soweto uprising 100 photographs the most influential. After soweto, an uprising or march would take place almost every day, often completely spontaneously. Jun 12, 2016 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 soweto uprising was a big turning point in the antiapartheid struggle. Explanation on 16 june 1976, police opened fire on approximately 10 000 school students in soweto during a protest against the compulsory use of afrikaans as a medium of instruction in schools. Soweto uprising project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks.
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. Pdf recollections of people who lived through the 1976 soweto uprising both there and elsewhere provide more authentic insights than those of outside. Over 360 blacks were killed in the soweto riots of 1976. Researcher helena pohlandtmccormick has made a wealth of testimony, photos and documents about the 1976 student uprising available online. Pdf soweto uprising 1976 onesided international solidarity. 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. Soweto uprising military wiki fandom powered by wikia. 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. Within days of the soweto uprising of 16 june, it became clear that mbuyisa would follow his father into uncertain exile. In south africa, june 16 is now observed annually as youth day, which commemorates the uprising. The soweto uprising, the police response, and the protests that followed led to greater international exposure, and censure, for the south african government and its policy of apartheid. The 16 june 1976 soweto students uprising south africa gateway.
Along the way they gathered youngsters from other schools, including a. The cause of the soweto uprising was that the black students didnt get a good. When highschool students in soweto started protesting for better education on 16 june 1976, police responded with teargas and live bullets. 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. Jun 16, 2016 within days of the soweto uprising of 16 june, it became clear that mbuyisa would follow his father into uncertain exile.
Even to contemporaries it seemed to mark the beginning of the end of apartheid. With his classmates, he was among the active participants in the protest action against the use of. After everything was all over and time passed, june 16th is now an official holiday in south africa. The 1976 soweto uprising download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl. The soweto uprising by noor nieftagodien overdrive. Formerly a separate municipality, it is now incorporated in the city of johannesburg metropolitan municipality, suburbs of. The soweto uprising had a very negative impact on south africas image overseas. There was widespread opposition to the use of afrikaans as a medium of instruction.
In addition, all the black consciousness organisations were banned in 1977, including the womens organisations. The antiapartheid struggle in south africa 19121992. Conclude with a discussion of whether the police response to the demonstrators was justified. Hector pieterson, a yearold student, was the first casualty of the soweto uprising. Jacana throws new light on the background to the soweto uprising, providing insight into white and black student politics, worker protest and broader. Hundreds of past and present cases of nonviolent civil resistance exist. The movement was against the afrikaans medium decree which insisted on afrikaans and english being made the official languages in the school. 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. An audio history thirty years ago, the uprising of a group of schoolchildren forever changed south africas history. Jun 16, 2016 ismail farouk was a young researcher at the hector pieterson museum in soweto in 2005 when he was commissioned to investigate alternative narratives of the 16 june uprising. It is commemorated today by a south african national holiday, youth day, which honors all the young. The antiapartheid movement at the university of michigan. 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. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want.
The soweto uprising comprised a series of protests led by secondary school students in south africa that began on 16 june 1976. The uprising took place in 1976 in soweto township, adjacent to the city of johannesburg. The soweto uprising and its immediate causes karibu a. Using these documents as primary sources, write a brief narrative of the uprising and massacre.
Nov 20, 2019 after the dust settled, official figures from the security agency put the death toll from the soweto uprising of 16 june in the mid20s. Many events omitted from this timeline are to be found in this comprehensive and moving account. In 1975 the minister of bantu education decided that half of the subjects in standard five and form one must be taught in afrikaans. The soweto uprising made an impact and received attention from other countries.
From babylon to america, the prophecy movie by school for prophets attila kakarott duration. Alistair boddyevans is a teacher and african history scholar with more than 25 years of experience. The impact of the student protests and the soweto uprising. What was the cause of this protest, and how was this con. 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. Quizlet flashcards, activities and games help you improve your grades. The south african government basically declared war on black school children. The soweto uprising was a movement that rose to fight the oppressive leadership of the national party np. The 1976 soweto uprising download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. Historians and political analysts concur that the soweto uprising was a watershed in the national liberation struggle and ushered in the demise of the apartheid system.
It also brought into the political equation the role of youth, who were to play a. Julian brown is a lecturer in the department of political studies at the university of the witwatersrand, johannesburg. Their protest turned into a rebellion that spread to other parts of the. An international icon of south africans struggle for freedom,when he was shot dead by cops during a school strike. What was the extension of university education act in south africa. 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. Examine the documents on the soweto uprising and massacre. Soweto and increased pressure on the apartheid state s. The soweto riots of 1976 were the start of a very long period of serious urban unrest in south africa in opposition to the system.
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