Soweto uprising

A student-led protest that began in Soweto on June 16, 1976, against compulsory Afrikaans instruction and expanded into a nationwide revolt against apartheid.

Afrikaans Medium Decree: A 1974 South African policy requiring Black secondary schools to teach some subjects in Afrikaans. Its enforcement triggered the student march that began the uprising.
Soweto: A group of townships southwest of Johannesburg, established under apartheid for Black residents. The uprising began in its schools and streets.
June 16 as Youth Day: A South African public holiday observed on June 16 in memory of the 1976 student uprising and young people who resisted apartheid. The date of the uprising became an annual commemoration of youth resistance.
English-medium instruction in apartheid schools: The use of English alongside Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in South African schools under apartheid. Students did not reject English in the same way they opposed compulsory Afrikaans instruction.
Bantu Education Act: A 1953 South African law that established state-controlled, racially segregated education for Black people. The decree operated within the unequal school system this law had established.
June 16, 1976 student march: A protest march by Soweto students against compulsory Afrikaans instruction on June 16, 1976. The march was the uprising's opening mass demonstration.
South African Defence Force in townships: The deployment of South African military forces in Black townships during the apartheid-era state of emergency. The government answered continued unrest with military deployments and intensified repression.
Bantu Education: The apartheid-era system of racially segregated, state-controlled education designed for Black South Africans. The uprising challenged not only a language decree but the education system behind it.
South African Students' Movement: A Black student organization formed in 1968 to oppose apartheid education and organize political action. Its networks helped mobilize students against Afrikaans instruction.
Hector Pieterson: A 12-year-old student killed by police during the Soweto uprising on June 16, 1976. A photograph of his body being carried became an enduring image of the crackdown.

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