The
Soweto uprising, also know as June 16, is a series of protests led by high
school students in South Africa that began on the morning of 16 June 1976.
Students from numerous Sowetan schools began to protest in the streets of
Soweto in response to the introduction of Afrikaans as the medium of
instruction in local schools. An estimated 20,000 students took part in the
protests. The number of people who died is usually given as 176. With estimates
of up to 700. June 16 is now a public holiday, Youth Day, in South African, in
remembrance of the events of 1976.
