We had the day off on June 16 for Youth Day. Another uniquely South African public holiday, Youth Day commemorates the Soweto Uprising of 1976 and we were asked to remember the youth who were killed on that fateful day. The students had risen up in protest against the Bantu Education Act which limited the subjects taught in black schools and therefore the future employment prospects of the black population of South Africa.
The iconic image of the lifeless body of
Hector Pieterson being carried away from the protest after being shot by the police had a galvanizing effect on the movement to free South Africa from apartheid rule. God bless his soul, he did not die in vain.
No comments:
Post a Comment