On this day in 1976, the Soweto Uprising began in South Africa after the government mandated that Afrikaans be taught in school, leading to demonstrations by more than 20,000 black schoolchildren, hundreds of whom were killed by police.
The Afrikaans Medium Decree of 1974 mandated all black schools to use Afrikaans and English in equal amounts as languages of instruction. Afrikaans was strongly associated with apartheid (prominent anti-apartheid activist Desmond Tutu called it "the language of the oppressor"), and this decree was widely resented.
At first, resistance to the measure was scattered - on April 30th, the students of Orlando West Junior School went on strike, and other schools began to follow suit. Students eventually formed an Action Committee, later known as the Soweto Students' Representative Council, which organized a mass meeting on June 13th to develop a cohesive strategy of protest.
On the morning on June 16th, 10,000-20,000 students walked out of their schools to a mass rally, carrying signs reading "Down with Afrikaans", "Viva Azania", and "If we must do Afrikaans, Vorster must do Zulu".
The protest turned violent after students killed a trained dog that the police had sicced on them, causing the police to open fire. Among the first students to be murdered were the 15-year-old Hastings Ndlovu and the 12-year-old Hector Pieterson (shown, photo by Sam Nzima).
Social reformer Dr. Melville Edelstein was beaten to death by the mob, a sign around his neck proclaiming, "Beware Afrikaans is the most dangerous drug for our future". 23 people died on the first day in Soweto, and hundreds more were killed in the following weeks.
Emergency clinics were swamped with injured and bloody children. Police requested for the hospital to provide a list of all victims with bullet wounds, however the doctors refused, recording bullet wounds as abscesses.
The violence led to widespread riots and sympathy protests throughout South Africa, including white students from the University of the Witwatersrand. In remembrance of these events, June 16th is now a public holiday in South Africa known as Youth Day.
1976 Soweto Uprising: Youth rebellion and the burning desire for freedom
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A word of caution: c-ptsd and autism have significant symptom overlap; so much so that my last therapist refused to let me spend the money getting tested, and I am so glad.
I'm released from therapy and doing well now, with no medications. Don't get me wrong, there are still challenging days and more challenging days. The difference is I have tools and skills I didn't have before, one of which is recognizing everyone has challenging and more challenging days. Another is HALT: when I'm hungry, angry, lonely, tired isn't the best time to address bigger issues.
I'm glad you're getting therapy and learning about yourself and your diagnoses. It's daunting, but Iin the end, getting better is on us, even if our mental health issues stem from elsewhere. You're doing the work. You're going to get the goods and appreciate them so much more, for having worked for it.
Thanks, I'm glad you've seen improvements too and that we are able to keep movin forward
Thank you so much. For better or worse, we're in it, together. We may as well work for the better we can achieve. β₯οΈ π«β₯οΈ
I love y'all. Also, is there a list of hex emojis? Y'all are worth it, I just don't know where they are.
Not sure if it works for kbin, but if you look at the bar above the text box there should be icons that help you format your comment. The smiley face one should pop up an emoji menu. You can also just start typing :"random word": and most of the time suggestions will come up that can be pretty funny. If you use a mobile app I'm not sure that you'll see all that though. On your phone you should be able to long press an emoji too and itll show you what the keyword, or on a desktop just drag your mouse over the icon, try on this
Ah, I just get standard emojis. I hope that's acceptable for he bear, it's the best I can do rn. But I'm really loving the comrade is and mutual support here. I don't speak a lot of my issues, but often times reading here gives me the support I would seek anyway. I'm sorry for people who can't disagree sometimes and still hold love. That's poor, indeed. And I'm definitely richer for participating, here.
oh yeah it's totally fine! The custom emojis are fun but not necessary lol. I'm glad you like it here! I find it to be a super supportive community too. Can be toxic like most online spaces here and there but for the most part people are hilarious, intelligent, and super nice unlike other places on the internet that I've found and I'm grateful for it
Thanks so much. Sometimes the best treasures are hidden in plain sight. I'm so very grateful, as well. Stay safe, heal well, my friend.