An unemployed youth fills in the Department of Unemployment and Labour work seeking registration form while queuing with others at a centre in Chiawelo, Soweto on June 27, 2025. The generation of 1976 did not struggle only for formal political rights. It fought for human dignity, equality and social transformation, says the writer.
Dr. Reneva Fourie
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the June 1976 uprisings, when thousands of young South Africans marched against the decree that Afrikaans be made the sole medium of instruction in black schools.
The state responded with lethal violence. Hundreds died in the initial days, with estimates of up to 575 deaths by early 1977 from the spreading unrest. The commemoration reminds us of the power of youth when driven by shared interests and a common purpose.
The events of 1976 created the conditions for the more widespread youth mobilisation of the 1980s, which played a vital role in the pressure that eventually forced the apartheid regime into negotiations.
