Josephs university south africa study abroad program. South africans commemorate june 1976 youth uprising the hawk. 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 schools. 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 happened 4o years ago 40 years ago, a protest in the south african town of soweto was violently put down by policeand one photograph captured the tragedy subscribe. It is also observed as youth day in south africa and as day of the african child in africa. Conclude with a discussion of whether the police response to the demonstrators was justified. Students in schools like morris isaacson had anxieties as well as excitement and. June 16, 1976 uprising, students relives that day youtube. The june 16 soweto youth uprising south african history. Soweto uprising kids britannica kids homework help. Within days of the soweto uprising of 16 june, it became clear that mbuyisa would follow his father into uncertain exile. Using these documents as primary sources, write a brief narrative of the uprising and massacre.
The soweto student uprising began on the morning of june 16, 1976, when students from various schools in soweto, a neighborhood of johannesburg, went to the streets to peacefully protest the introduction of the afrikaans language as a medium of instructions in schools. Soweto protest turns violent 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. Shining so bright you could feel it on your eyes, shining on the water and creating beautiful colors, like a rainbow on the sky after a heavy rain shines so bright you could see. Sharpeville massacre, incident in the black township of sharpeville, near vereeniging, south africa, on march 21 1960, in which police fired on a crowd of black people, killing or wounding some 250 of them. There was no way they could keep to the envisaged timeline. The antiapartheid movement at the university of michigan. Telling soweto, june 16, 1976the appropriation of the peoples story into official histories. What began as a protest against a government education policy. Then in 1972 the government gave in to pressure from business to improve the bantu education system to meet businesss need for a better trained black workforce. June 16 soweto uprising timeline timetoast timelines. The june 16 soweto youth uprising south african history online.
Soweto, south africathousands of people gathered at orlando soccer. The june 16 1976 uprising that began in soweto and spread countrywide profoundly changed the sociopolitical landscape 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. The soweto uprising, 1976 exhibit divestment for humanity.
Inside story the uprising that changed south africa. The number of protesters killed by police is usually given as 176. It was one of the first and most violent demonstrations against apartheid in south africa. The antiapartheid movement at the university of michigan, 2018 your bibliography. Noor nieftagodien south african research chair at the. What began as a protest against a government education policy became a watershed moment in the fight against apartheid. Case study 2 and activity 2 use mind mapping and a template to help pupils. 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. The students were unhappy because schools in the townships of soweto were forced to use the afrikaans language for teaching certain subjects. South africa tries 11 in soweto riots the new york times. 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. Examines race relations, the origins of apartheid, and the different peoples who settled in south africa. It is exam time for senior pupils, and the exams must be written in afrikaans.
The soweto uprising was a movement that rose to fight the oppressive leadership of the national party np. What does the soweto uprising mean for a new generation of young south africans 40 years on. It was also amazing in how far and how fast it spread. In south africa, june 16 is now observed annually as youth day, which commemorates the uprising. What happened during the soweto student uprising in south. Soweto uprising news newspapers books scholar jstor february 2008 learn how and when to remove this template message. Oppression through inferior education and the 1976 soweto uprising.
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. June 16, 2016, marks the 40th anniversary of the soweto uprising also called the soweto rebellion in south africa. The south african students movement sasm one of the first organisations of black high school students form the south african students movement who would go on to play an important role in the 1976 uprising. Riots erupt in soweto riots erupt again in soweto and spread to other townships in south africa. The movement was against the afrikaans medium decree which insisted on afrikaans and english being made the official languages in the school. By aryn baker soweto and time staff june 15, 2016 4. Afrikaans was used for mathematics, arithmetic, and social studies while english was. 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 mapping of the june 16 1976 soweto student uprisings routes. 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.
It is estimated that 20,000 students took part in the protests. Their protest turned into a rebellion that spread to other parts of the. Bbc africa bureaux editor milton nkosi was a schoolboy in soweto at the time of the uprising of 16 june 1976. Soweto uprising of 1976 history bibliographies cite. Background information subject knowledge for teacher. Soweto johannesburg soweto history soweto information. These are the sources and citations used to research soweto uprising of 1976. 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. It was the first sustained, widespread, black action in opposition to the regime. This is a list of riots that have occurred, mostly in the united states and the uk, in the context of urban conditions and more broadly urban decay pre1960s 1863 new york city draft riots 16 july 1863, lower manhattan, new york city, us. The soweto uprising takes place on the day that the internal security amendment act comes into operation. Riots carried out by members of the white working class, predominantly protesting against draft laws passed that year in the. Soweto uprising of 1976 history bibliographies in harvard style. The history of national youth day, soweto uprising and.
On the morning of june 16, 1976, thousands of black students walked from their schools to orlando stadium for a rally to protest against a recently passed law that afrikaans would be the language of instruction in all south african schools. Soweto came to the worlds attention on 16 june 1976 with the soweto uprising, when mass protests erupted over the governments policy to enforce education in afrikaans rather than their native language. Between 1972 and 1976 the number of pupils at secondary schools increased from 12,656 to 34,656. Soweto uprising 100 photographs the most influential. At that time stanley, our driver, screamed and said. 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.
Celebrating the 1976 soweto uprising the open university. The soweto uprising was a series of demonstrations and protests led by black school children. An audio history thirty years ago, the uprising of a group of schoolchildren forever changed south africas history. In 1974, south africa passed the afrikaans medium decree forcing all black schools to use afrikaans and english as the languages of instruction. It is hard to get a clear picture of exactly what happened on the day. June 16 soweto youth uprising timeline 19761986 south. 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 1976 soweto uprising association for diplomatic. June 16, 1976 soweto student uprising of 1976 soweto 19. The soweto riots of 1976 were the most brutal and violent riots that had taken place against the south african apartheid administration.
When the police and the protestors clash at least 176 people are killed including yearold hector pieterson. Four years since soweto june 16, 1980 south africa has sought to prevent turbulence around todays anniversary of the 1976 soweto riots by banning political gatherings of more than 10 people. The uprising took place in 1976 in soweto township, adjacent to the city of johannesburg. There had previously been race riots in soweto around 1960, but they were very shortlived. The soweto uprising of 1976 was a major protest against apartheid in south africa. June 16 soweto youth uprising timeline 19761986 south african. The studentled protests in soweto known as the soweto uprising claimed about 23 lives in soweto alone on the day of the march. Along the way they gathered youngsters from other schools, including a. After about 4 months, at least 250,000 people in soweto and 160 african. Police opened fire in orlando west on 10,000 students marching from naledi high school to orlando stadium. Soweto uprising soweto came to the worlds attention on 16 june 1976 with the soweto uprising, when mass protests erupted over the governments policy to enforce education in afrikaans rather than their native language. The 30th anniversary of the soweto uprising of 1976 is coming up, and he.
Apartheid timeline timeline created by bigdaddylong16. The organizers of the protest, the action committee of soweto students representative council ssrc, made sure that they got as many students to the venue. Within four months of the soweto revolt 160 african communities all over the country were involved in resistance. 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 served black africans. Examine the documents on the soweto uprising and massacre. The challenge to white rule escalates over the years. An action committee called the soweto students representative council is formed to organise the demonstration, with two representatives from each school. 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. Telling soweto, june 16, 1976the appropriation of the peoples story into official histories part 1.
A schoolboys memories milton left was at school in soweto when the protests began. Soweto uprising and riots of 1976 in the early morning hours of june 16, 1976, crowds of students began swelling around the orlando stadium in soweto. The minister of justice again bans public meetings under the riotous assemblies act, until the end of august. Press release religious text report software website.