Joan Lestor, the Labour MP for Eton and Slough, joined a demonstration outside South Africa House in London, on the fifth anniversary of the Soweto Uprising, 16 June 1981 (Rob Taggart/Central Press/Hulton Archive/Getty Images)
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South Africa Marks 50th Anniversary Of 1976 Soweto Uprising SOWETO, SOUTH AFRICA - JUNE 16: A boy runs past a mural commemorating the 1976 Soweto student uprising next to the Hector Pieterson memorial site on June 16, 2026 in Soweto, South Africa. This year marks the 50th anniversary of a tragic but defining event in South African history. The Soweto Uprising began on June 16, 1976, as a peaceful student march against the enforcement of Afrikaans language in schools. Police and army responded with tear gas and bullets that led to violent clashes, resulting in about 575 deaths, many of them school children. The event galvanized international opposition against Apartheid, and it is commemorated annually in South Africa as Youth Day. (Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images) (Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)
South Africa Marks 50th Anniversary Of 1976 Soweto Uprising JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - JUNE 16: School children listen to President Cyril Ramaphosa speak during an event celebrating Youth Day at FNB stadium on June 16, 2026 in Johannesburg, South Africa. This year marks the 50th anniversary of a tragic but defining event in South African history. The Soweto Uprising began on June 16, 1976, as a peaceful student march against the enforcement of Afrikaans language in schools. Police and army responded with tear gas and bullets that led to violent clashes, resulting in about 575 deaths, many of them school children. The event galvanized international opposition against Apartheid, and it is commemorated annually in South Africa as Youth Day. (Photo by Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images) (Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images)
Youth day wreath laying ceremony at Hector Pieterson Memorial in South Africa SOWETO, SOUTH AFRICA - JUNE 16: Chief activist of One South Africa Movement Mmusi Maimane visit Hector Pieterson Memorial in Orlando West in commemoration of the 1976 Soweto Uprisings on June 16, 2020 in Soweto, South Africa. Youth Day is a day in which South Africans honour the youth that was ambushed by the apartheid regime police in Soweto on 16 June 1976. (Photo by Laird Forbes/Gallo Images via Getty Images) (Gallo Images/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
Youth Day Is Celebrated in South Africa JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA - JUNE 16: A man participates in a march to commemorate Youth Day in Soweto Township on June 16, 2013 in Johannesburg, South Africa. Youth Day commemorates the Soweto Uprising of June 16, 1976, when students gathered on the streets of Soweto to protest against Afrikaans being the language of instruction used in schools. The protest turned violent, resulting in the deaths of students and hundreds others in the riots that followed across South Africa. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images) (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)
Youth day wreath laying ceremony at Hector Pieterson Memorial in South Africa SOWETO, SOUTH AFRICA - JUNE 16: Chief activist of One South Africa Movement Mmusi Maimane visit Hector Pieterson Memorial in Orlando West in commemoration of the 1976 Soweto Uprisings on June 16, 2020 in Soweto, South Africa. Youth Day is a day in which South Africans honour the youth that was ambushed by the apartheid regime police in Soweto on 16 June 1976. (Photo by Laird Forbes/Gallo Images via Getty Images) (Gallo Images/Gallo Images via Getty Images)
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Soweto Uprising Soweto gathers to pay tribute to the heroes of 1976. (Gallo )
Soweto Uprising Students protesting in the 1976 Soweto Uprising (Gallo Images)
Hector Pieterson Memorial President Cyril Ramaphosa lays a wreath at the Hector Pieterson Memorial in Orlando West, marking 50 years since the Soweto Uprising. (Gallo Images)
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