The Aftermath of the Soweto June 16 Uprisings
On 17 June 1976, the day after the 16 June 1976 Soweto uprisings, the revolts rapidly escalated, spreading beyond Soweto to other South African townships while sparking widespread political strikes and solidarity protests. Riots erupted in the black townships of other cities across South Africa. Government institutions, administration buildings and beer halls were looted and set on fire. A student solidarity protest in Kagiso (near Krugersdorp, west of Johannesburg) turned violent when apartheid police intercepted the retreating group, killing at least five people. Students in Thembisa organised a successful, non-violent solidarity march to express their anger over the previous day’s killings.
Black workers launched massive stay-aways and went on strike, joining forces with the student-led resistance. The combination of worker stay-aways and riots heavily disrupted businesses and industry in the Witwatersrand region. Around 400 white students from the University of the Witwatersrand marched through the Johannesburg city centre to publicly protest the apartheid government’s brutal actions and the killing of black school children. Moreover, the historic photograph of a dying 12-year-old Hector Pieterson, taken by Sam Nzima, was published by The World newspaper and quickly flashed across international media. The image sparked immediate international outrage, causing the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) and former allies
