THIS is YOUTH DAY in South Africa
The first time I visited the Hector Pieterson Museum was June 16, 2013. It was Youth Day. I didn’t know that when I walked in. There were groups of school children, all in uniforms of various colors, crowding the museum. I was the only white person in the building. It was humbling. I was embarrassed for what my race of people has done through the ages. I cried through the entire museum. This year, I didn’t cry as much as I walked through with my students. But the story is powerful and is as important now as ever. Next year will mark the 40th anniversary of this tragedy. I imagine and hope that international attention will be paid to this event.
Photographer Sam Nzima’s image of Hector Pieterson’s body being carried after he was shot:
The following text is taken, all directly quoted from Traveller24 Website.
“Youth Day pays tribute to the uprisings of the Soweto youth on June 16, 1976.
A 20 000-strong crowd of students gathered at Orlando West Secondary School in protest against the Bantu Education Act, established by the Apartheid Government in order to set a different curriculum for black pupils unequal to their white counterparts and to be taught in Afrikaans and English. The intention was for a peaceful march to the nearby Orlando Stadium but as they took to the streets of Soweto a clash with the Apartheid police broke out.
What happened shocked the world – with Hector Pieterson becoming the poster child of the uprising that would indirectly and ultimately lead to South Africa’s first, free and fair elections in 1994.”
Here we are, at the Soweto memorial, and the Hector Pieterson Museum, in front of the famous picture (above).
More from the Traveller24:
“Today, South Africa strives towards a non-racial society with a constitution aimed at protecting the human rights of all. While we still grapple with the legacy of the socio-economic divisions caused by the deep scars of apartheid, if anything, part of our healing is found in remembering these brave acts of the past.
“To be free is not merely to cast off one’s chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” Nelson Mandela, June 1999.
Here are nine really compelling facts about youth day worth knowing…
1. Youth Day was initially known as Soweto Day amongst the supporters of the ANC but was officially made a public holiday after Nelson Mandela became president in 1994. The new government chose to call it Youth Day, to commemorate the role all youths played in overcoming the previous regime.
2. This year marks the 39th anniversary of the Soweto uprisings, and in honour of this, the National Youth Development Agency (NYDA) has developed a national programme under the theme of “Youth Action for Economic Freedom in Our Lifetime”.
3. South Africa’s population is largely made up of young people; those who are below the age of 35 years constitute about 66% per cent of the total population. With over 54 million South Africans, 18.5 per cent are between the ages 10-19; and 24 per cent are aged 15-24 (StatSA, Mid-year population estimate).
4. Sophie Tema, the journalist who stopped her car to get Hector Pieterson help and where he eventually died, passed away in April this year.”
(Cape Town, 16 June 2015 News, Traveller24)
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