5. Soweto Students Uprising (1976)
Soweto Students Uprising. Photo credit: BBC
The Soweto Student Uprising was a series of demonstrations by Black school children in South Africa that started on June 16, 1978. Students from various schools within Soweto took to the streets in response to the introduction of Afrikaans as the language of instruction in local schools. Afrikaans is the language spoken by White South African colonizers.
It is estimated that close to 20,000 students participated in the protests. Many students were killed by the police who responded brutally to the protests. June 16th is now a public holiday in South Africa.
