Hector Pieterson
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Dressing FNB Stadium in Soweto robes
FNB Stadium is located in Nasrec, not Soweto. Sandile Memela explores how marketing the Calabash as a Soweto landmark creates a false narrative of development while real township…
The Soweto Uprising of 16 June 1976: sport, resistance and global change
On June 16 1976, South Africa witnessed the explosive beginning of the Soweto Uprising, a student-led revolt that would shake the foundations of apartheid and echo across the…
Fifty years on, ‘Rise '76’ asks what we still owe the generation of June 16th
Running at the Market Theatre, 'Rise '76: The Story of June 16th' explores the profound impact of the Soweto Uprising through the lens of playwright Tiisetso Mashifane wa Noni.…
The uprising they turned into a party: What Youth Day keeps getting wrong
Every June 16th, South Africa celebrates Youth Day with music and speeches, often reposting the iconic image of Hector Pieterson. But historian Noor Nieftagodien argues these…
It is our turn to courageously repay the debt we owe to June 16 champions
Professor Thuli Madonsela reflects on the profound debt owed to the children and young people who confronted the apartheid state on June 16, 1976. She explores whether their…
Hector Pieterson dies every day
Sello Hatang, born just before the 1976 Soweto Uprising, reflects on the profound personal and national significance of June 16. He argues that Hector Pieterson's death is not…
The unfinished business of freedom
Public Protector Kholeka Gcaleka reflects on the 50th anniversary of the Soweto Uprising, connecting the struggles of 1976 to contemporary challenges in South Africa, including…
We call them youth; they were children
This article reflects on the legacy of the 1976 Soweto Uprising, arguing that we often mistake schoolchildren for 'youth,' and applies this lens to contemporary child protection…