Soweto uprising 1

Soweto uprisingThe Soweto Uprising, also known as June 16, is a series of protests led by high school students in South Africa thatbegan on the morning of 16 June 1976.[1] Students from numerous Sowetan schools began to protest in the streets ofSoweto in response to the introduction of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in local schools.[2] An estimated20,000 students took part in the protests. The number of people who died is usually given as 176 , with estimates ofup to 700.[3][4][5] June 16 is now a public holiday, Youth Day, in South Africa, in remembrance of the events of1976.[6]

Causes of the protestsBlack high school students in Soweto protested against the Afrikaans Medium Decree of 1974, which forced allblack schools to use Afrikaans and English in a 50-50 mix as languages of instruction.[7] The Regional Director ofBantu Education (Northern Transvaal Region), J.G. Erasmus, told Circuit Inspectors and Principals of Schools thatfrom 1 January 1975, Afrikaans had to be used for mathematics, arithmetic, and social studies from standard five(7th grade), according to the Afrikaans Medium Decree; English would be the medium of instruction for generalscience and practical subjects (homecraft, needlework, woodwork, metalwork, art, agricultural science).[7]

Indigenous languages would only be used for religion instruction, music, and physical culture.[8]

The association of Afrikaans with apartheid prompted black South Africans to prefer English. Even the homelandregimes chose English and an indigenous African language as official languages. In addition, English was gainingprominence as the language most often used in commerce and industry. The 1974 decree was intended to forciblyreverse the decline of Afrikaans among black Africans. The Afrikaner-dominated government used the clause of the1909 Constitution that recognized only English and Afrikaans as official languages as pretext to do so.[9] While allschools had to provide instruction in both Afrikaans and English as languages, white students learned other subjectsin their home language.Punt Janson, the Deputy Minister of Bantu Education at the time, was quoted as saying: "A Black man may betrained to work on a farm or in a factory. He may work for an employer who is either English-speaking orAfrikaans-speaking and the man who has to give him instructions may be either English-speaking orAfrikaans-speaking. Why should we now start quarrelling [sic] about the medium of instruction among the Blackpeople as well? ... No, I have not consulted them and I am not going to consult them. I have consulted theConstitution of the Republic of South Africa ..."[10]

The decree was resented deeply by blacks as Afrikaans was widely viewed, in the words of Desmond Tutu, and laterDean of Johannesburg, as "the language of the oppressor". Teacher organizations such as the African TeachersAssociation of South Africa objected to the decree.[11] A change in language of instruction forced the students tofocus on understanding the language instead of the subject material. This made critical analysis of the contentdifficult and discouraged critical thinking.[12]

The resentment grew until 30 April 1976, when children at Orlando West Junior School in Soweto went on strike,refusing to go to school. Their rebellion then spread to many other schools in Soweto. Black South African studentsprotested because they believed that they deserved to be treated and taught equally to White South Africans. Astudent from Morris Isaacson High School, Teboho 'Tsietsi' Mashinini, proposed a meeting on 13 June 1976 todiscuss what should be done. Students formed an Action Committee (later known as the Soweto Students’Representative Council)[13] that organized a mass rally for 16 June to make themselves heard.In a BBC/SABC documentary broadcast for the first time in June 2006, surviving leaders of the uprising describedhow they planned in secret for the demonstration, surprising their teachers and families (and the apartheid police)with the power and strength of the demonstration (see 'Radio' section below).

Soweto uprising 2

The uprisingOn the morning of 16 June 1976, thousands of black students walked from their schools to Orlando Stadium for arally to protest against having to learn through Afrikaans in school. Many students who later participated in theprotest arrived at school that morning without prior knowledge of the protest, yet agreed to become involved. Theprotest was intended to be peaceful and had been carefully planned by the Soweto Students’ Representative Council’s(SSRC) Action Committee,[14] with support from the wider Black Consciousness Movement. Teachers in Sowetoalso supported the march after the Action Committee emphasized good discipline and peaceful action.Tsietsi Mashinini led students from Morris Isaacson High School to join up with others who walked from NalediHigh School.[15] The students began the march only to find out that police had barricaded the road along theirintended route. The leader of the action committee asked the crowd not to provoke the police and the marchcontinued on another route, eventually ending up near Orlando High School.[16] The crowd of between 3,000 and10,000 students made their way towards the area of the school. Students sang and waved placards with slogans suchas, "Down with Afrikaans", "Viva Azania" and "If we must do Afrikaans, Vorster must do Zulu".[17]

A 2006 BBC/SABC documentary corroborated the testimony of Colonel Kleingeld, the police officer who fired thefirst shot, with eyewitness accounts from both sides. In Kleingeld's account, some of the children started throwingstones as soon as they spotted the police patrol, while others continued to march peacefully. Colonel Kleingeld drewhis handgun and fired a shot, causing panic and chaos. Students started screaming and running and more gunshotswere fired.[18]

The police loosed their dogs on the children, who responded by stoning the dogs to death. The police then began toshoot directly at the children.One of the first students to be shot dead was 13-year-old, Hector Pieterson. He was shot at Orlando West HighSchool and became the symbol of the Soweto uprising.[19] The police attacks on the demonstrators continued and 23people, including two white people, died on the first day in Soweto. Among them was Dr Melville Edelstein, whohad devoted his life to social welfare among blacks.[20] He was stoned to death by the mob and left with a signaround his neck proclaiming 'Beware Afrikaaners' .[21]

The violence escalated as the students came under attack; bottle stores, and beer halls - seen as outposts of theapartheid government - were targeted as were the official outposts of the state. The violence abated by nightfall.Police vans and armoured vehicles patrolled the streets throughout the night.Emergency clinics were swamped with injured and bloody children. The police requested that the hospital provide alist of all victims with bullet wounds. The hospital administrator passed this request to the doctors, but the doctorsrefused to create the list. Doctors recorded bullet wounds as abscesses.[13][19]

The 1,500 heavily armed police officers deployed to Soweto on 17 June carried weapons including automatic rifles,stun guns, and carbines.[13] They drove around in armoured vehicles with helicopters monitoring the area from thesky. The South African Army was also ordered on standby as a tactical measure to show military force. Crowdcontrol methods used by South African police at the time included mainly dispersement techniques.

Soweto uprising 3

CasualtiesThe number of people who died is usually given as 176 with estimates up to 600.[22] The original government figureclaimed only 23 students were killed . The number of wounded was estimated to be over a thousand men, women,and children.

AftermathThe aftermath of the uprising established the leading role of the ANC in the liberation struggle, as it was the bodybest able to channel and organize students seeking the overthrow of apartheid. So, although the BCM's ideas hadbeen important in creating the climate that gave the students the confidence to strike out, it was the ANC'snon-racialism which came to dominate the discourse of liberation amongst blacks. The perspectives set out in JoeSlovo's essay No Middle Road - written at just this time and predicting the apartheid regime had only the choicebetween more repression and overthrow by the revolutionaries - were highly influential.[23]

The Soweto Uprising was a turning point in the liberation struggle in South Africa. Prior to this event, the liberationstruggle was being fought outside of South Africa, mostly in Rhodesia (later Zimbabwe), South West Africa (laterNamibia) and Angola. But from this moment onwards, the struggle became internal and the government securityforces were split between external operations and internal operations.The clashes also occurred at a time when the South African Government was being forced to "transform" apartheidin international eyes towards a more "benign" form. In October 1976, Transkei, the first Bantustan, was proclaimed"independent" by the South African Government. This attempt to showcase supposed South African "commitment"to self-determination backfired, however, when Transkei was internationally derided as a puppet state.For the state the uprising marked the most fundamental challenge yet to apartheid and the economic (see below) andpolitical instability it caused was heightened by the strengthening international boycott. It was a further 14 yearsbefore Mandela was released, but at no point was the state able to restore the relative peace and social stability of theearly 1970s as black resistance grew.Many white South African citizens were outraged at the government's actions in Soweto, and about 300 whitestudents from the University of the Witwatersrand marched through Johannesburg's city centre in protest of thekilling of children. Black workers went on strike as well and joined them as the campaign progressed. Riots alsobroke out in the black townships of other cities in South Africa.Student organizations directed the energy and anger of the youth toward political resistance. Students in Thembisaorganized a successful and non-violent solidarity march, but a similar protest held in Kagiso led to police stopping agroup of participants and forcing them to retreat, before killing at least five people while waiting for reinforcements.The violence only died down on 18 June. The University of Zululand's records and administration buildings were setablaze, and 33 people died in incidents in Port Elizabeth in August. In Cape Town 92 people died between Augustand September.Most of the bloodshed had abated by the close of 1976, but by that time the death toll stood at more than 600.The continued clashes in Soweto caused economic instability. The South African rand devalued fast and thegovernment was plunged into a crisis.The African National Congress printed and distributed leaflets with the slogan "Free Mandela, Hang Vorster",immediately linking the language issue to its revolutionary heritage and programme and helping establish its leadingrole (see Baruch Hirson's "Year of Fire, Year of Ash" for a discussion of the ANC's ability to channel and direct thepopular anger).

Soweto uprising 4

International reactionThe United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 392 which strongly condemned the incident and theapartheid regime.Henry Kissinger, United States United States Secretary of State at the time, was about to visit South Africa at thetime of the riot, and said that the uprisings cast a negative light on the entire country.African National Congress (ANC) exiles called for international action and more economic sanctions against SouthAfrica.

In the mediaImages of the riots spread all over the world, shocking millions. The photograph of Hector Pieterson's dead body, ascaptured by photo-journalist Sam Nzima, caused outrage and brought down international condemnation on theApartheid government.The Soweto riots are depicted in the 1987 film by director Richard Attenborough, Cry Freedom, and in the 1992musical film Sarafina!. The riots also inspired a novel by Andre Brink called A Dry White Season, and a 1989 movieof the same title. In the 2003 film Stander, the Soweto riots start Captain Andre Stander's disillusionment withapartheid, and he seeks forgiveness from the father of a protesting student he killed.

RadioTwenty years on from the uprising, for June 1996, the Ulwazi Educational Radio Project of Johannesburg compiledan hour-long radio documentary portraying the events of 16 June entirely from the perspective of people living inSoweto at the time.[24] Many of the students who planned or joined the uprising took part, as did other witnessesincluding photographer Peter Magubane, reporter Sophie Tema, and Tim Wilson the white doctor who pronouncedHector Pieterson dead in Baragwanath hospital. The programme was broadcast on SABC and on a number of localradio stations throughout South Africa. The following year, BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service broadcast arevised version containing fresh interviews and entitled The Day Apartheid Died.[25] The programme was runner-upat the 1998 European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) TV & Radio Awards and also at the 1998 MediaAwards of the One World International Broadcasting Trust, and was highly commended at the 1998 Prix Italia radioawards. In May 1999, it was re-broadcast by BBC Radio 4 as The Death of Apartheid with a fresh introduction,providing added historical context for a British audience, by Anthony Sampson, former editor of Drum magazineand author of the authorised biography (1999) of Nelson Mandela. Sampson linked extracts from the BBC SoundArchive that charted the long struggle against apartheid from the Sharpeville massacre of 1960, through the riots of1976 and the murder of Steve Biko, and right up to Mandela’s release from prison in 1990 and the future president’sspeech in which he acknowledged the debt owed by all black South Africans to the students who gave their lives inSoweto on 16 June 1976.[26]

References[1] "The birth and death of apartheid" (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ africa/ 575204. stm). . Retrieved 17 June 2002.[2] The Youth Struggle http:/ / www. sahistory. org. za/ pages/ governence-projects/ june16/ june16. htm, 16.03.11[3] 16 June 1976 Student Uprising in Soweto (http:/ / africanhistory. about. com/ od/ apartheid/ a/ Soweto-Uprising-Pt2. htm).

africanhistory.about.com[4] Harrison, David (1987). The White Tribe of Africa.[5] (Les Payne of Newsday said at least 850 murders were documented) Elsabe Brink; Gandhi Malungane; Steve Lebelo; Dumisani Ntshangase;

Sue Krige, Soweto 16 June 1976, 2001, 9[6] The Soweto Uprising and Youth Day (http:/ / www. southafrica. info/ about/ history/ soweto-150606. htm)[7] Sifiso Mxolisi Ndlovu. "The Soweto Uprising" (http:/ / www. sadet. co. za/ docs/ RTD/ vol2/ Volume 2 - chapter 7. pdf). The Road to

Democracy in South Africa. 2. South African Democracy Education Trust. p. 327. . Retrieved 30 October 2011.[8] Afrikaans Medium Decree (http:/ / africanhistory. about. com/ library/ bl/ blsaJune16decree. htm)

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[9] The Rise and Possible Demise of Afrikaans as a Public Language (http:/ / web. uct. ac. za/ depts/ praesa/ OPaper14. PDF)[10] Sifiso Mxolisi Ndlovu. "The Soweto Uprising" (http:/ / www. sadet. co. za/ docs/ RTD/ vol2/ Volume 2 - chapter 7. pdf). The Road to

Democracy in South Africa. 2. South African Democracy Education Trust. pp. 331–32. . Retrieved 30 October 2011.[11] The Youth Struggle, "The 1976 Students' Revolt" (http:/ / www. sahistory. org. za/ pages/ governence-projects/ june16/ struggle. htm). South

African History Online. .[12] Sifiso Mxolisi Ndlovu. "The Soweto Uprising" (http:/ / www. sadet. co. za/ docs/ RTD/ vol2/ Volume 2 - chapter 7. pdf). The Road to

Democracy in South Africa. 2. South African Democracy Education Trust. pp. 327–328. . Retrieved 30 October 2011.[13] "The 1976 Students' Revolt" (http:/ / www. sahistory. org. za/ pages/ governence-projects/ june16/ struggle. htm). South African History

Online. .[14] "The Soweto uprising 1976" (http:/ / socialistworld. net/ eng/ 2006/ 06/ 19safrica. html). socialistworld.net. .[15] http:/ / www. joburg. org. za/ 2006/ june/ jun12_june16. stm[16] http:/ / www. joburg. org. za/ 2006/ may/ may23_mputhistreet. stm[17] F.I.J. van Rensburg. "Soweto, 1976: ’n Inklusiewe herbegin 30 jaar later?" (http:/ / www. vryeafrikaan. co. za/ site/ lees. php?id=611) (in

Afrikaans). Die Vrye Afrikaan. .[18] The Youth Struggle 16 June 1976, http:/ / www. sahistory. org. za/ pages/ governence-projects/ june16/ extract-soweto-uprising. html,

17.02.11[19] Sifiso Mxolisi Ndlovu. "The Soweto Uprising" (http:/ / www. sadet. co. za/ docs/ RTD/ vol2/ Volume 2 - chapter 7. pdf). The Road to

Democracy in South Africa. 2. South African Democracy Education Trust. p. 344. . Retrieved 30 October 2011.[20] soweto uprisings . com :: blog (http:/ / www. sowetouprisings. com/ site/ blog/ )[21] Worlds apart: the re-migration of South African Jews. Rosenberg Publishing. 2007. p. 174. ISBN 978-1-877058-35-6.[22] Harrison, David (1987). The White Tribe of Africa.[23][23] Southern Africa: the new politics, ed Basil Davidson, Penguin Books, 1976[24][24] The producers of this documentary included Keketso Semoko, Jeffrey Molawa, Moferefere Lekorotsoana and Andrew Ntsele of Ulwazi,

working together with Peter Griffiths of BBC Radio 4.[25][25] Extra material collected by Peter Griffiths and Andrew Ntsele of the Ulwazi Educational Radio Project[26][26] All details from Peter Griffiths of BBC Radio 4 in London

External links

External audio

Guardian Unlimited audio recording of Antoinette Sithole on the Soweto uprising (http:/ / audio. theguardian. tv/ sys-audio/ Guardian/ audio/2006/ 06/ 13/ antoinette. mp3)

External video

Soweto Uprising (2007) at the [[Internet Archive (http:/ / www. archive. org/ details/ linktv_soweto20070321)]]

BBC video of the Soweto uprisings (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ onthisday/ hi/ dates/ stories/ june/ 16/ newsid_2514000/ 2514467. stm)

• "S. Africa marking Soweto uprising" - BBC (http:/ / news. bbc. co. uk/ 2/ hi/ africa/ 5085450. stm)• Guardian Unlimited audio recording of Antoinette Sithole (Pieterson) on the Soweto uprising (http:/ / download.

guardian. co. uk/ sys-audio/ Guardian/ audio/ 2006/ 06/ 13/ antoinette. mp3)• An extensive mashup with info on the events on 16 June 1976 (http:/ / sowetouprisings. com)• Youth and the National Liberation Struggle 1894-1994 South African History Online (http:/ / www. sahistory.

org. za/ pages/ governence-projects/ june16/ index. htm)• Helena Pohlandt-McCormick. "I Saw a Nightmare..." Doing Violence to Memory: The Soweto Uprising, 16 June

1976 (http:/ / www. gutenberg-e. org/ pohlandt-mccormick) Columbia University Press, 2005

Article Sources and Contributors 6

Article Sources and ContributorsSoweto uprising  Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?oldid=539815988  Contributors: 1toysoulja, 9Nak, Alai, Allmightyduck, Anbu121, AndrewN, Andrewpmk, Andycjp, AnonMoos,Asfreeas, Ashley Y, Astanhope, Atticmouse, Aturton, Auntof6, BD2412, Badmachine, Banausbal, Banes, Ben Ben, Bnynms, Bogo1983, BrightStarSky, BrownHairedGirl, Brutaldeluxe, Call meBubba, Calliopejen1, Capricorn42, Captain panda, Caval valor, Cgingold, Chelsea99, Chicheley, ChrisO, Courcelles, DK4, DSBennie, Damiens.rf, Davewild, DeWaine, DeadEyeArrow,Dejitarob, Destynova, Detruncate, DiscipleOfKnowledge, Dl2000, DocDee, Dr. Phred Mbogo, Dsp13, El C, Everyking, Excirial, Ezeu, Farry, Filksinger, Forenti, Francoiskhayelitsha,Fudoreaper, Fæ, Gadig, Gilliam, GreenReaper, Gregorydavid, Gyrofrog, Harro5, Hex, Homedawgbrother, Horses In The Sky, Hugo999, Hyyttaa, Imagine Reason, Impi, IngSoc BigBrother,IronGargoyle, Ismail, Itroll4dalulz, JMK, Jacksmack76, JohnC, Joonasl, Joyson Prabhu, Jrry, Kaiketsu, Kajisol, Kelisi, Kelly Martin, Kingpin13, Kizor, LAX, Lapsed Pacifist, Larbelaitz,LeaveSleaves, Leuce, Lipatden, Lodp, Longhair, Loren.wilton, Lt. Col. Cole, Maarten Hermans, Makemi, Malik Shabazz, ManicParroT, MarkSutton, Markco1, MastaBaba, MatthewVanitas,Mechanical digger, Midway, Mike Rosoft, Mr Accountable, Mufka, Mujava, Mzajac, NIKE, NJR ZA, Nicvdw2, Nzpcmad, O.Koslowski, OGOL, OrangeMan, OwenBlacker, Park3r, Paul venter,Pdcook, Pkgriffiths, ProudIrishAspie, Purslane, R. fiend, Rell Canis, Rklawton, Robofish, Rodhullandemu, Ruby1942, SA Online, Severino, Skizzik, Slash Firestorm, SlimVirgin,SodiumBenzoate, Srnec, Strafpeloton2, Stumink, Sun Creator, Tabletop, Tad Lincoln, The Anome, The Thing That Should Not Be, Theblues, Tholoana23, Tide rolls, Tom Morris, Tsiaojian lee,Uncle Milty, Usrnme h8er, VsevolodKrolikov, W33nie, Welsh, Wiki13, Zaian, Zunaid, 342 anonymous edits

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