The Soweto Uprisings

Yesterday we went to SOWETO, which stands for Southwestern Township.  SOWETO has been home to some of South Africa’s most prominent leaders like Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu but what has made SOWETO more famous is the day of June 16, 1976.  On this day the youth of SOWETO would suddenly become the driving force behind the anti-apartheid movement and eventually create a free and equal democratic society in South Africa.  Students from all over the township refused to be oppressed by a government which told them that they would never be equal to whites.

In 1953 Bantu education was introduced into SOWETO.  During this period of time the Black schools in the township had poor facilities and not as many resources as white schools in South Africa.  The classrooms in SOWETO were overcrowded and in some extreme cases you could find 100 students in just one class.  In 1972 as South Africa’s industry grew, the Bantu education system began to train Black students to become skilled laborers under a white dominated industrial system.  During this period of time SASM (South African Student Movement) was founded by the youth of SOWETO and worked to promote Black consciousness to bring about the end of apartheid.  By the end of 1975 the government of South Africa was spending R644 on every white student, while only spending R42 on every Black student in South Africa.  But the tipping point came when the government decided to make Africaans the language of instruction for all the schools in South Africa.  Black students were outraged by this because students in SOWETO and in many other townships did not speak Africaans. 

On June 16, 1976 several thousand students gathered outside of Orlando West High School in SOWETO.  The students were going to hold a peace march to protest the use of Africaans as the medium language for the education system in SOWETO.  But what planned on being a peaceful march soon turned violent when a police officer hurled a stone into the crowd of students as they began the march.  After the stone was hurled into the crowd some students picked up stones themselves and hurled them back at the police who were surrounding the march.  Soon the march turned into a riot and shots were fired by the police into the crowd of students.  As this happened students began fleeing in all directions fearing for their lives.  The first student who was shot at the march, was Hector Pieterson, a thirteen year old who had tagged along with his sister out of curiosity.  Hector Pieterson, however, was not the only student who was killed that day, seven other students met their fate during the march and most of them were shot in the back as they were running away from the police who were in hot pursuit of them.  One of the more famous pictures, which captures the SOWETO uprising of June 16th, is of a fellow student Mbuyisa Makhubu picking up Hector Pieterson and carrying him to a hospital (where he ended up dying from his wounds).  After learning about Hector Pieterson’s death, thousands of other students throughout South Africa protested against the apartheid government.  In SOWETO alone 1600 students boycotted school, refusing to be a part of an educational system which was controlled by a murderous government.

During the next two days after the march the police intensified their arrests, and went after all the student leaders who organized the protests.  As one student testified “it was during the 17th ad 18th, when police went out and systematically were killing people”.  The police would even break into schools and churches to arrest students who were associated with the June 16th protest.  Many student leaders during this time left the country to join with the ANC and get military training.  After receiving military training many of the student leaders would return to South Africa as freedom fighters.  Student protests continued all the way until December and the police continued to arrest and kill many other students (an estimated 900 students were killed by police during this period of time).  As one student stated, “even if you [were] not doing anything, [the police] would shoot you”. 

The students in SOWETO stood up for their rights and protested against a regime that was constantly oppressing them.  They did not wait for the adults of the township to take action and instead took matters into their own hands.  The students during this time not only put their educational futures on the line but also their lives, in order to work towards a more free and democratic society.  I believe that it is important for students to learn more about the uprisings in SOWETO in order to see how much can be achieved when students organize themselves and work passionately for a more just and free world.

 

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