 Picture with Antoinette Sithole (sister of Hector Pieterson) |  Hector Pieterson being carried by Mbuyisa Makhubo |
The Soweto Uprisings was a series of high school student-led protests in South Africa that began the morning of June 16, 1976. Students from numerous Sowetan schools began to protest in the streets of Soweto, in response to the introduction of Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in local schools. About 20,000 students took part in the protests, 700 were killed and another 4,000 were injured.
Friday, instead of returning to Stanza Bopape Secondary School, we traveled to the Hector Pieterson Museum in Soweto. The Hector Pieterson museum was created to honor Hector Pieterson and other youth who were killed during the Soweto Uprising. To our surprise, while walking through the museum, we received word that Antoinette Sithole (the sister of Hector Pieterson) was present and she agreed to share her story with us. For her, sharing the story of the death of her younger brother has been a part of a healing process. To the above right, is the famous picture of Hector Pieterson being carried by Mbuyisa Makhubo after being shot by South African police. Antoinette Sithole runs beside them. Pieterson was rushed to a local clinic and declared dead on arrival.
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