A Day To Remember ( Day of The African Child))
On June 16, 1976 thousands of South African school children took the streets to protest the Apartheid government for human rights and a end to the violence. The Soweto uprising started as a peaceful demonstration against the Afrikaans Medium Decree of 1974 that forced all black students to learn Afrikaans and English as the main languages of instruction.
Before the law was ruled a 1972 poll showed that 98% of young Sowetans did not want to learn Afrikaans and according to Desmond Tutu it was viewed as “the language of the oppressor”. On June 16, 1976 thousands of students rallied to Orlando Stadium and when the police arrived shots were fired. The first person shot was Hastings Ndlovu and the second was 12 year old Hector Peterson who’s body became a symbol of the violent regime and police brutality. Bottles were thrown and stones were tossed at the police patrolmen who began opening fire causing chaos and eventually over 500 people died mainly school children. The government originally claimed only 23 students were killed but research has shown those to be false accounts.
Since that tragic day happened over 33 years ago we know celebrate the day better known as Youth Day in South Africa or the Day of the African Child across the world.
