On this day, June 16, in 1976, about 20,000 South African students took to the streets in Soweto in a protest. The students objected to a decree that forced schools to use Afrikaans as the language of instruction.
Thousands of students rioted in the streets. The protest began peacefully, but turned violent after a teacher who tried to stop the students was assaulted.
Hostility between police and the protesters escalated, as youth threw stones and bottles at officers and police appeared to be shooting at people randomly.
Estimates of the death toll vary, but the number killed is believed to be in the hundreds. The vast majority were black.
– Emily Babay
