40 years later: The Soweto Uprising

SAM NZIMA/The World/AP Photo
Police dogs were sent to attack the protestors and after one was killed, police opened fire on the children. Reportedly the first to be killed was 13-year-old Hector Pieterson, pictured here being carried away by fellow student Mbuyisa Makhuba, 18, while his sister Antoinette, left, walked with them. This photo would make headlines around the world and later serve as the face of the uprising until today.
AP Photo
On the morning of June 16, 1976, between 10,000 and 20,000 students, black and white, took to the streets of Johannesburg to protest the decree. Students from schools all over the area including Naledi High School and Morris Isaacson High School began to march peacefully but police quickly intervened and set up barricades.
AFP/Getty Images
40 years ago today, on June 16, 1976, thousands of students from schools all over Soweto took to the streets to protest the introduction of Afrikaans into class instruction in what would later be dubbed the Soweto Uprising. Hundreds of people were killed and injured in the riots that lasted weeks from fierce police brutality.

By New York Daily News | NYDN@medianewsgroup.com

PUBLISHED: June 16, 2016 at 8:54 a.m. | UPDATED: April 7, 2018 at 11:49 a.m.

On June 16, 1976, thousands of students in Soweto, South Africa took to the streets to protest the introduction of the Afrikaans language in schools. It resulted in the death of hundreds of students and educators but would eventually lead to the end of apartheid. On the 40th anniversary of the monumental uprising, look back at scenes from the deadly movement.