The Aftermath
The Aftermath:
South Africans including white South Africans were outraged by the reaction of the government to the riots. The apartheid governmnet denied ever having fired the first shots and even to this day the riots are portrayed differently within the white and black communities. In the white communities there are countless pictures that depicts the black students as being the violent ones by bombarding the police with stones and glass bottles. On the other hand, in the black community there are pictures showing white policemen shooting at defenseless school children. Although both communities have different interpretations of the riots, it does not remove the fact that hundreds of children died that day. Almost immediately after the riots came to an end, over 300 white students from universities in Johannesburg marched to show their anger towards theapartheid government for killing school children. The picture of Hector Pieterson's dead body which was captured by journalsists, outraged millions and brought down international condemnation on the apartheid government. Images of the riots spread all over the world and millions of people were shocked. There were many protests held outside of South Africa, for example, in the United Kingdom, people protested outside the office of the South African Embassy. Economic sanctions were placed on the apartheid government by the United Nations, however, it would take eighteen years before apartheid was succesfully eliminated within South Africa.
The Signifnace of the Sowetu Uprisings:
The Sowetu Uprisings were significant because it is an event that signified the end of apartheid. Before the riots blacks did not entirely resist the regime, due to fear. Howevere, the riots awakened blacks and taught them how to resist and also made them realise that they cand resist apartheid. White citizens also started to withdraw their support from the government. Parents of the black students in Sowetu started to lead by their children's example and started to organize themselves into anti- apartheid movements. These movements combined with international pressure and economic sanctions eventually led to the succesful ending of apartheid 1994 when South African held its first democratic elections. June 16th, 1976 will always be remebered and the courage of so many young South Africans will be taught and for many years to come. The democratic South African government has honored these students by declaring June 16th South African Youth Day.
