Apartheid

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Today was an intense look at apartheid (racial segregation) in South Africa. We began the day with a lecture at the Apartheid Museum about the South African educational system and how it was influenced by apartheid. We then spent a short time touring the museum - although we could have spent all day there!

After lunch, we headed to the Hector Pietersen Memorial. This requires a brief explanation. On June 16, 1976, the African students living in the township of Soweto protested the government about being forced to take school exams in Afrikaans (a language spoken by the white South Africans). As the students were protesting, the march turned violent when the police fired into the crowd. Hundreds of children were killed and Hector Petersen was the youngest of the victims. By the end of 1976, approximately 600 students had been killed in the violence. This memorial illustrated the struggle of black South Africans and, again, I found many parallels to the civil rights struggles in the United States. I also found it interesting that the access to education was the focus of the protests.

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