Soweto 1976

I was visiting the Radio Diaries website looking for an idea on what to do my final blog on when I ran across a story about black students in South Africa who , thirty years ago, started a new resistance against the racist apartheid system and oppression in their schools. About 12,ooo students protested on the streets of Soweto on June 16, 1976. They headed toward a local stadium to hold a mass meeting and were greeted my the local law enforcement who tried to stop them by spraying tear gas and releasing dogs on them. When this didn't stop the rapid movement they opened fire on the students and killed at least 23. They didn't give up and the next day more prostested and the police killed 100 more. The movement began to spread until every township in South Africa was protesting. One thousand workers at a local Chrysler plant went on strike with the students the next week.

The strikes continued through the fall and students started sit-ins, boycotts, and night raids where they destroyed police outposts and other signs of their power. The nationwide resitance went on for 18 months and resulted in over 1,000 deaths before the law enforecement could regain control. The movement did help with some new improvements including urban black the right to a permanent residence in the city even though they were still segregated. Most important of all a new generation of leaders had emerged who were trained in the struggle and who would help the new fight within a few years. You can go and listen to all of their stories aat this link, http://www.radiodiaries.org/