On June 16, 1976, thousands of students in Soweto took to the streets to demonstrate against Bantu Education and the imposition of Afrikaans in their schools. South Africa has travelled a remarkable distance since 1976. Yet the journey towards a prosperous, inclusive and equitable society remains incomplete, says the writer.
Zamikhaya Maseti
The fiftieth anniversary of June 16 presents South Africa with an opportunity not merely to remember, but to reflect deeply on the long march of our history and the unfinished journey of national liberation.
Someone who was born on June 16, 1976, is already fifty years old. Someone who was exactly ten years old on that historic day is undoubtedly sixty years old today. Those who were in their late twenties when the students of Soweto confronted the brutality of the Apartheid State are now in their eighties.
Time has indeed travelled a very long distance. Entire generations have been born, have matured and have grown old since the fateful events that unfolded on that winter morning in Soweto.
