A peaceful protest turned into a massacre when police opened fire on the protestors on June 16, 1976, in Soweto, South Africa.
Young people were fighting against the apartheid government's implementation of Afrikaans as the main medium of instruction at school. They took to the streets to peacefully march to Orlando Stadium but were quickly met with police brutality according to SAHistory.org.
According to the Daily Vox when the police were unable to contain the protest and push back from students, the anti-urban terrorism unit was called in. "They came with machine guns to face up to teenagers and closed off movement into Soweto. Unarmed black police officers were withdrawn and the army came in. Helicopters dropped tear gas onto the students."
READ MORE: Our readers describe #YouthDay in 3 words
Furthermore, "skirmishes continued into the morning in some parts but the violence lasted three days before schools were officially shut", reports the Daily Vox.
Youth Day in SA commemorates the lives and bravery of the students who were killed during the Soweto Uprising. What details have we have forgotten since?
Images: Gallo Images/Bongani Mnguni
Sources: SA History, Randfontein Herald, Daily Vox
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