June 16th: National Youth Day

June 16th, 1976 marked the beginning of significant change in South Africa. The Apartheid Government had recently introduced an edict stating that all students were to be taught in Afrikaans or English only, and many black students had had enough. In the township of Soweto, situated on the outskirts of Johannesburg, several high schools in the area began to protest for their right to education in their own language.

Black children's education standards had been in a steep decline since the early 1950s. The government systematically removed large amounts of funding from the black education system, redirecting funds towards schools for white children. A law passed in 1963 prohibited black children from attending 'white' schools, forcing these children to make the choice between attending underfunded schools or not attending school at all. Although populations in townships such as Soweto grew, no new schools were built to accommodate the rising numbers of students in these areas until 1972. When the government did begin to build schools, it was for the sole purpose of training black students to be labourers in specific industries. Black students had very little control or power when it came to their education; the edict that they must now learn only in the language of their oppressors was, in many ways, the straw that broke the camel's back.

June 16th was the day of what was planned to be a peaceful protest. Thousands of students streamed down one of the main roads in Soweto, picking up students from the high schools along the way. Unfortunately, the Authorities did not allow the protest to progress, raising tension levels and giving way to violent riots in which many students were killed. Outrage at the unnecessary brutality and violence by the authorities gave way to protests and riots throughout South Africa for the remainder of 1976, with over 600 individuals killed as a direct result of the movement. Suddenly, the black population was no longer quietly allowing injustice to dictate their future. South Africa was changed.

Thankfully, the world began to take notice, too. A photo of a 12 year old boy called Hector Pieterson (below), the second child to be killed by the police during the riots, became a symbol of the violence and brutality behind the Apartheid regime. The photo was given global attention and the world began to take serious notice, with many world leaders publicly criticising the government system, introducing economic sanctions and calling for immediate change.

It took another 18 years of struggle, but in 1994, instead of engaging in a civil war that would probably still be raging today, South Africa peacefully ended apartheid and began the road to healing and justice. June 16th, now a national holiday, is a significant reminder of the day it all began.