Apartheid south africa and the soweto rebellion pdf. Explanation on 16 june 1976, police opened fire on approximately 10 000 school students in soweto during a protest against the compulsory use. Here is an hourbyhour account of the events that sparked the 1976 soweto students uprising. On 16 june 1976, students from secondary schools across soweto marched through the township towards the orlando stadium. Oct 29, 2015 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. The 1976 soweto uprising association for diplomatic. The 1976 soweto uprising download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi. On 16 june 1976, the guardian published an open letter from reverend. The soweto uprising of 1976 was a decisive turning point in the struggle against apartheid. 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. The 1976 soweto uprising in south africa history bibliographies in harvard style.
Soweto uprising military wiki fandom powered by wikia. Soweto uprising 100 photographs the most influential. In addition, all the black consciousness organisations were banned in. Jun, 2018 the june 16 1976 uprising that began in soweto and spread countrywide profoundly changed the sociopolitical landscape in south africa. The sharpeville massacre of 1960 and the 1976 student uprising that began in soweto triggered responses at the united nations and efforts to. In soweto on 16 june 1976 thousands of black students demonstrated against the introduction of afrikaans in education. Edmonson worked as the deputy chief of mission in pretoria from 19741976. 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. June 16, 2016, marks the 40th anniversary of the soweto uprising also called the soweto rebellion in south africa. The soweto uprising, by noor nieftagodien, athens, ohio, ohio university press, 2014, 165 pp.
Recollections of people who lived through the 1976 soweto uprising both there and elsewhere provide more authentic insights than those of outside observers. Apartheid still exists in south africa in a different way. The 1976 soweto uprising in photos the south african student protest was met with police violence. The june 16 soweto youth uprising south african history online.
In the morning of june 16 thousands of students marched peacefully through the streets of soweto to demand the scrapping of afrikaans as a medium of instruction. The soweto uprising made an impact and received attention from other. They planned a peaceful procession and gathering to demonstrate their opposition to the governments plan to change the medium. The impact of the student protests and the soweto uprising in south africa although the government backed on its afrikaans language policy in july 1976, schools throughout the country continued to be disrupted until the following year. Nieftagodiens account of the soweto student uprising of june 1976 is succinct and accessible, clear, and informative. Mar 19, 2017 a south african historical turning point shaped by black revolutionary students against the injustices of the apartheid regime education system. Historians and political analysts concur that the soweto uprising was a watershed in the national liberation struggle and ushered in. 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 africa. The township of soweto was one of the townships built by the government to house black workers. Analysing the presentation of the 1976 soweto uprising in.
In addition, all the black consciousness organisations were banned in 1977, including the womens organisations. At the same event, the minister of posts and telecommunications suggested. He remembers the soweto uprising as a point of building turbulence and change in the countrys mindset. June 16 1976, this is the year of our late heroes and heroines of 1976. The 16 june 1976 soweto students uprising as it happened. Ebook or pdf edited book email encyclopedia article govt. 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. These factors can certainly be traced back to the bantu education act introduced by the apartheid government in 1953.
Soweto uprising project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. 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. An international icon of south africans struggle for freedom,when he was shot dead by cops during a school strike. Students, teachers, parents, and civilians of soweto, south africa were involved in this boycott. Over 100 people were killed and many more injured on june 16, 1976, in soweto, south africa, following antiapartheid protests. 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. The soweto uprising of 1976 is one of the best known events in the struggle against apartheid. 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. 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 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. 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. Over 360 blacks were killed in the soweto riots of 1976.
Young blacks expressed their anger at apartheid by marching, rioting and setting fire to government property. 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. Attempts were made by concerned civic bodies, church. Lessons of the 1976 soweto rebellion workers world. The soweto uprising and its immediate causes karibu a. The soweto riots of 1976 were the most brutal and violent riots that had taken place against the south. After soweto, an uprising or march would take place. 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. International actions supporting the south african liberation struggle have responded to critical events inside south africa.
Now the family of the teenager who tried to save him reflect. Soweto uprising kids britannica kids homework help. Events that triggered the uprising can be traced back to policies of the apartheid government that resulted in. Sep 19, 2006 after soweto, an uprising or march would take place almost every day, often completely spontaneously.
In 1975 the minister of bantu education decided that half of the subjects in standard five and form one must be taught in afrikaans. 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 soweto uprising of 1976 was a major protest against apartheid in south africa. The impact of the student protests and the soweto uprising. 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.
What happened during the soweto student uprising in south africa. When highschool students in soweto started protesting for better education on 16 june 1976, police responded with teargas and live bullets. It is commemorated today by a south african national holiday, youth day, which honors all the young people who lost their lives in the struggle against apartheid and bantu education. It is estimated that 20,000 students took part in the protests. Many saw the soweto uprising as a turning point, signaling the sure end of apartheid in the near future. This bibliography was generated on cite this for me on thursday, april 12, 2018. Pdf soweto uprising 1976 onesided international solidarity. What began as a protest against a government education policy.
There was widespread opposition to the use of afrikaans as a medium of instruction. Down with afrikaans, the language of the oppressor and their slogan was viva azania. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. These are the sources and citations used to research the 1976 soweto uprising in south africa.
They planned a peaceful procession and gathering to demonstrate their opposition to the governments plan to change the medium of instruction in their schools from english to afrikaans. What happened during the soweto student uprising in south. The 1976 soweto uprising download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl. The students were unhappy because schools in the townships of soweto were forced to use the afrikaans language for teaching certain subjects. 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 impact of the student protests and the soweto uprising in. Bbc africa bureaux editor milton nkosi was a schoolboy in soweto at the time of the uprising of 16 june 1976. The soweto uprising was a series of demonstrations and protests led by black school children. This year marked the 36th anniversary of the 1976 soweto uprisings and the third anniversary of the establishment of the national youth. A schoolboys memories milton left was at school in soweto when the protests began.
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. Reported by joseph vettoretti the soweto uprising was a rebellion that took place in the town of soweto, in south africa. 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. 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. 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. It took one day for young south africans to change the course of the countrys history. In south africa, june 16 is now observed annually as youth day, which commemorates the uprising. Originally, the area of soweto was designated for those blacks employed in. After soweto, an uprising or march would take place almost every day, often completely spontaneously. The soweto uprising comprised a series of protests led by secondary school students in south africa that began on 16 june 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.
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. 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 uprising took place in 1976 in soweto township, adjacent to the city of johannesburg. An estimated 20,000 students took part in the protests. 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. Soweto and increased pressure on the apartheid state s. An audio history thirty years ago, the uprising of a group of schoolchildren forever changed south africas history. The june 16 soweto youth uprising south african history.
Student uprising in south africa in 1976 adriana schick spring 2001. Pdf recollections of people who lived through the 1976 soweto uprising both there and elsewhere provide more authentic insights than. 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. It also signaled the beginning of the end of apartheid and racism in south africa. In october 1976, transkei, the first bantustan, was proclaimed independent by the south african government. 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.
Students set fire to symbols of apartheid, such as government buildings. A south african historical turning point shaped by black revolutionary students against the injustices of the apartheid regime education system. The june 16 1976 uprising that began in soweto and spread countrywide profoundly changed the sociopolitical landscape in south africa. The soweto uprising the south african democracy education trust. Jun 04, 2019 the soweto uprising of 1976 is one of the best known events in the struggle against apartheid. The south african government basically declared war on black school children. And that was what the students of soweto thought as well. The soweto uprising was revolved around years of built up anger and bitterness that everyone had built up toward the apartheid government that just exploded all at once. The memorable day of victims of june 16 1976 soweto uprising. June 16th 1976 in soweto has played a significant role in. The soweto uprising was a riot which started on june 16th, 1976 and lasted three days. 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, 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.
Click download or read online button to get the 1976 soweto uprising book now. Their protest turned into a rebellion that spread to other parts of the. Student uprising in south africa in 1976 adriana schick spring 2001 abstract this case study is about the south african revolution during the volatile years of the 1970s, during which a number of uprisings occurred to combat the apartheid regime. A new black militancy before and after the soweto uprising.