Inyala confronting June 16 Protesters

Date: 24 June, 1976

On 24 June 1976 the Principal's office in Hlangisi Primary, Nyanga, outside Cape Town is burnt down.

The broader context of this is that on 16 June 1976 school children in Soweto, near Johannesburg, rose in protest against the oppressive new Bantu Education policy of Afrikaans as a teaching medium in their schools. Riots raged in the township for 3 days and quickly spread throughout the country. In Natal the University of Zululand's library and administration buildings were destroyed, while 33 people died in protests in Port Elizabeth.

Cape Town also saw its share of violence, and by the end of September 92 people had died.

Read our Special Project on June, 16 1976.

Source

Image Source: © Photograph by Alf Kumalo