On this day in 1976, the Soweto Uprising began in South Africa after the government mandated that Afrikaans be taught in school, leading to demonstrations by more than 20,000 black schoolchildren, hundreds of whom were killed by police.
The Afrikaans Medium Decree of 1974 mandated all black schools to use Afrikaans and English in equal amounts as languages of instruction. Afrikaans was strongly associated with apartheid (prominent anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu called it "the language of the oppressor"), and this decree was widely resented.
At first, resistance to the measure was scattered - on April 30th, the students of Orlando West Junior School went on strike, and other schools began to follow suit. Students eventually formed an Action Committee, later known as the Soweto Students' Representative Council, which organized a mass meeting on June 13th to develop a cohesive strategy of protest.
On the morning on June 16th, 10,000-20,000 students walked out of their schools to a mass rally, carrying signs reading "Down with Afrikaans", "Viva Azania", and "If we must do Afrikaans, Vorster must do Zulu".
The protest turned violent after students killed a trained dog that the police had sicced on them, causing the police to open fire. Among the first students to be murdered were the 15-year-old Hastings Ndlovu and the 12-year-old Hector Pieterson (shown, photo by Sam Nzima).
Social reformer Dr. Melville Edelstein was beaten to death by the mob, a sign around his neck proclaiming, "Beware Afrikaans is the most dangerous drug for our future". 23 people died on the first day in Soweto, and hundreds more were killed in the following weeks.
Emergency clinics were swamped with injured and bloody children. Police requested for the hospital to provide a list of all victims with bullet wounds, however the doctors refused, recording bullet wounds as abscesses.
The violence led to widespread riots and sympathy protests throughout South Africa, including white students from the University of the Witwatersrand. In remembrance of these events, June 16th is now a public holiday in South Africa known as Youth Day.
1976 Soweto Uprising: Youth rebellion and the burning desire for freedom
- ๐ปLink to all Hexbear comms https://hexbear.net/post/1403966
- ๐ Come listen to music and Watch movies with your fellow Hexbears nerd, in Cy.tube](https://live.hexbear.net/c/movies
- ๐ฅ Read and talk about a current topics in the News Megathread https://hexbear.net/post/5200244
- โ Come talk in the New Weekly PoC thread https://hexbear.net/post/5195185
- โจ Talk with fellow Trans comrades in the New Weekly Trans thread https://hexbear.net/post/5197809
- ๐ New Weekly Improvement thread https://hexbear.net/post/5189599
- ๐งก Disabled comm megathread https://hexbear.net/post/5075301
- Parenting Chat https://hexbear.net/post/5186781
reminders:
- ๐ You nerds can join specific comms to see posts about all sorts of topics
- ๐ Hexbearโs algorithm prioritizes comments over upbears
- ๐ Sorting by new you nerd
- ๐ If you ever want to make your own megathread, you can reserve a spot here nerd
- ๐ถ Join the unofficial Hexbear-adjacent Mastodon instance toots.matapacos.dog
Links To Resources (Aid and Theory):
Aid:
Theory:
- โค๏ธFoundations of Leninism
- โค๏ธAnarchism and Other Essays
