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In 1974, the Afrikaans Medium Decree was issued by the South African Minister for Bantu Education, Mr MC Botha. The Decree made Afrikaans the compulsory medium of instruction in black schools from Standard 5 upwards (Grade 7 to 12). Despite the campaign launched against the implementation of the Decree by the African Teachers’ Association, it was implemented. The then Deputy Minister of Bantu Education, Punt Janson, infamously announced: ‘... I have not consulted the African people on the language issue and I’m not going to. An African might find that the “big boss” speaks only Afrikaans or only English. It would be to his advantage to know both languages.’

Resentment to the Decree among black students continued to grow until 30 April 1976, when learners at Orlando West Junior School in Soweto went on a strike and refused to go to school. Their rebellion soon spread to many other schools in Soweto. Teboho (Tsietsi) Mashinini proposed a meeting on 13 June 1976 to discuss what should be done about the black students’ objections to the Decree. Subsequently black students formed an action committee, later known as the Soweto Students’ Representative Council Action Committee (SSRC), which organised a mass rally on 16 June to make themselves heard. On the morning of 16 June 1976, between 10 000 and 20 000 black students walked from their schools to Orlando Stadium to protest against having to learn in Afrikaans. The demonstration was led by the SSCR and supported by the Black Consciousness Movement. The students were met by a brutal crackdown by the police, were ordered to disperse and were then shot at without warning, despite being unarmed. One of the first students to be hit by a bullet was 13-year-old Hector Pieterson, who was picked up and taken to the nearest clinic by Mbuyisa Makhubo and Hector’s sister, Antoinette. The moment was captured in a photograph taken by Sam Nzima, which became an international symbol of the brutality of the apartheid regime and the oppression experienced by black South Africans.

Even though 27 years have passed since South Africa became a democratic state, the youth of South Africa remain severely affected by high unemployment. In 2020, the estimated youth unemployment rate in the country was at 55.75%. Since young citizens make up almost two thirds of the entire South African population, it is evident that solutions to youth unemployment need to be found quickly. The development of young people therefore needs to become a national priority. In 2018, the government introduced the Youth Employment Service (YES), which  was supposed to be a youth policy and intervention programme to help and equip young people to become active participants in the country’s economy. However, the slow progress made in respect of job creation for the youth it has made it necessary to question the effectiveness of the programme. Furthermore, the National Youth Policy has remained without an implementation plan since 2018 and the country continues to lack a coherent understanding of the scope of  the deprivations suffered by young people and the complex ways in which they interact.

Young people today are calling for free and decolonised quality education for all. In 2015, students at the University of Cape Town called for the removal of a statue of Cecil Rhodes and the end of institutional racism at the University. The protest sparked demonstrations at other South African universities that echoed the events of 1976. The social movements #FeesMustFall, #RhodesMustFall and #AfrikaansMustFall have given a voice to student activists such as Ntokozo Qwabe, Funzani Mtembu and Busisiwe Seabe. Many of the fallism activists see these movements as a continuation of the 1976 uprising. The fallism movement highlights the objectives of decolonisation and shares the ideals of the youth of 1976. The demand is for increased access to affordable—if not free—quality higher education; the rethinking of curriculums; the dismantling of exclusionary institutional norms and cultures; and staff and leadership changes to reflect the society at large. This activism can be connected to a range of economic and political struggles for a more just South Africa.

Youth day, 16 June, is more than just a public holiday. It is more than a day you have off from work, school, or university. Today South Africans recognise 16 June as the day on which we commemorate all the fallen victims of the Soweto Uprising and recognise the crucial role the youth of 1976 played in the liberation of South Africa. It is imperative that we reflect on our country’s past, understand how far we have come and how far we still need to go. Such reflection and understanding are important because, as Nelson Mandela so rightly pointed out:

‘The youth of today are the leaders of tomorrow.’

Happy Youth Day!