The apartheid in South Africa which was in effect from 1948 until 1994 was not only a racist policy which greatly affected the quality of life of minorities in the country for the worse but was a outright crime against humanity. [12], Many White South Africans were also horrified by the massacre. But attempts to transform this non-binding moral declaration into a binding legal code were immediately bogged down in cold war disputes. The subject of racial discrimination in South Africa was raised at the UN General Assembly in its first session, in 1946, in the form of a complaint by India concerning the treatment of Indians in the country. Although this event in itself acted as a turning point in the struggle of black South Africans towards restoring dignity, but there were certain events which happened before Sharpeville massacre that caused widespread frustration and resentment in the black African community. After some demonstrators, according to police, began stoning police officers and their armoured cars, the officers opened fire on them with submachine guns. In the aftermath of the events of 21 March, mass funerals were held for the victims. According to his "Testimony about the Launch of the Campaign," Sobukwe declared: To read more witness accounts of the Sharpeville Massacre, click on the, According to an account from Humphrey Tyler, the assistant editor at, Afrikaner Nationalism, Anglo American and Iscor: formation of Highveld Steel and Vanadium Corporation, 1960-70 in Business History", The Sharpeville Massacre: Its historic significance in the struggle against apartheid, The PAC's War against the State 1960-1963, in The Road to Democracy in South Africa: 1960-1970, The Sharpeville Massacre - A watershed in SouthAfrica, Saluting Sharpevilles heroes, and South Africa's human rights, New Books | Robert Sobukwes letters from prison, South African major mass killings timeline 1900-2012, Origins: Formation, Sharpeville and banning, 1959-1960, 1960-1966: The genesis of the armed struggle, Womens resistance in the 1960s - Sharpeville and its aftermath, Eyewitness accounts of the Sharpeville massacre 1960, List of victims of police action, 21 March, 1960 (Sharpeville and Langa), A tragic turning-point: remembering Sharpeville fifty years on by Paul Maylam, Apartheid: Sharpeville Massacre, 21 March 1960, Commission of Enquiry into the Occurrences at Sharpeville (and other places) on the 21st March, 1960, Volume 1, Johannesburg, 15 June 1960, Commission of Enquiry into the Occurrences at Sharpeville (and other places) on the 21st March, 1960, Volume 2, Johannesburg, 15 June 1960, Documents, and articles relating to the Sharpeville Massacre 1960, Editorial comment: The legacy of Sharpeville, From Our Vault: Sharpeville, A Crime That Still Echoes by J Brooks Spector, 21 March 2013, South Africa, Message to the PAC on Sharpeville Day by Livingstone Mqotsi, Notes on the origins of the movement for Sanctions against South Africa by E.S. Sharpeville massacre, (March 21, 1960), incident in the Black township of Sharpeville, near Vereeniging, South Africa, in which police fired on a crowd of Black people, killing or wounding some 250 of them. At 13h15 a small scuffle began near the entrance of the police station. But change can also be prompted by seemingly minor events in global affairs, such as the Sharpeville massacre the so-called butterfly effect. The Sharpeville massacre. Just after 1pm, there was an altercation between the police officer in charge and the leaders of the demonstration. By the 25 March, the Minister of Justice suspended passes throughout the country and Chief Albert Luthuli and Professor Z.K. March 21, is celebrated as a public holiday in honor of human rights and to commemorate the . Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Plaatjie, T. (1998) Focus: 'Sharpeville Heroes Neglected', The Sowetan, 20 March.|Reverend Ambrose Reeves (1966). Robert Sobukwe and other leaders were arrested and detained after the Sharpeville massacre, some for nearly three years after the incident. Sharpeville massacre | Summary, Significance, & Facts Causes Of The Sharpeville Massacre - 1710 Words | Bartleby Ingrid de Kok was a child living on a mining compound near Johannesburg where her father worked at the time of the Sharpeville massacre. Within hours the news of the killing at Sharpeville was flashed around the world. Another officer interpreted this as an order and opened fire, triggering a lethal fusillade as 168 police constables followed his example. Under the country's National Party government, African residents in urban districts were subject to influx control measures. On 21 March 1960, the police opened fire on a group of demonstrators who had gathered peacefully outside Sharpeville police station in response to a nationwide call by the Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) to protest against the hated pass system; 67 people died and hundreds more were wounded. The victims included about 50 women and children. A week later, a breakaway group from the ANC, the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) held its first conference in Johannesburg. Robert Sobukwe | South African History Online Robert Sobukwe and other leaders were arrested and detained after the Sharpeville massacre, some for nearly three years after the incident. What were the causes of the Sharpeville Massacre? - eNotes By the end of the day, 69 people lay dead or dying, with hundreds more injured. Sharpeville: An apartheid massacre and its consequences International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, Committee Member - MNF Research Advisory Committee, PhD Scholarship - Uncle Isaac Brown Indigenous Scholarship. By standing strong in the face of danger, the adults and children taking part in this demonstration were able to fight for their constitutional right to vote. The Sharpeville massacre sparked hundreds of mass protests by black South Africans. Following the Brown decision, grassroots African American activists began challenging segregation through protests continuing into the 1960s (Aiken et al., 2013). This abuse towards people of colour in South Africa made people around the world want to protest against South Africa's government. The PAC organised demonstration attracted between 5,000 and 7,000 protesters. The poet Duncan Livingstone, a Scottish immigrant from the Isle of Mull who lived in Pretoria, wrote in response to the Massacre the Scottish Gaelic poem Bean Dubh a' Caoidh a Fir a Chaidh a Marbhadh leis a' Phoileas ("A Black Woman Mourns her Husband Killed by the Police"). It also contributed the headline story at the Anti-Racism Live Global Digital Experience that marked March 21 internationally with acclaimed artists, actors and prominent speakers from South Africa including Thuli Madonsela, Zulaikha Patel and Zwai Bala. But attempts to transform this non-binding moral declaration into a binding legal code were immediately bogged down in Cold War disputes. [20], Sharpeville was the site selected by President Nelson Mandela for the signing into law of the Constitution of South Africa on 10 December 1996. It is also a day to reflect on the progress that has been made in ensuring basic human rights for all South Africans, as enshrined in our Constitution. Witness History. Nelson Mandela was a member of the banned African National Congress and led an underground armed movement that opposed the apartheid by attacking government buildings in South Africa during the early 1960s. The moral outrage surrounding these events led the United Nations General Assembly to pronounce 21 March as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial . . Massacre in Sharpeville - HISTORY On 24 March 1960, in protest of the . At this point the National Guard chose to disperse the crowd, fearing that the situation might get out of hand and grow into another violent protest. All that changed following the worlds moral outrage at the killings. The Department of Home Affairs (a government bureau) was responsible for the classification of the citizenry. All Rights Reserved. A dompass in those days was an Identification Document that determined who you were, your birth date, what race you are and permission from your employers to be in a specific place at a specific time. Your donation is fully tax-deductible. African Americans demonstrated their frustration with lack of progress on the issue through non-violent means and campaigns led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr (Bourne, In a march against segregation and barriers for African-American voting rights, peaceful marchers were exposed to harsh treatment by the police, 50 being hospitalized by the terrorism inflicted on them (civilrights.org). The march leaders were detained, but released on the same day with threats from the commanding officer of Caledon Square, Terry Tereblanche, that once the tense political situation improved people would be forced to carry passes again in Cape Town. And then there are those who feel deeply involved and moved, but also powerless to deal with the enormity of the situation (Krog 221). As well as the introduction of the race convention, Sharpeville also spurred other moves at the UN that changed the way it could act against countries that breached an individuals human rights. [10] Few of the policemen present had received public order training. An article entitled "PAC Campaign will be test," published in the 19 March 1960 issue of Contact,the Liberal Party newspaper, described the build up to the campaign: At a press conference held on Saturday 19th March 1960, PAC President Robert Sobukwe announced that the PAC was going to embark on an anti-pass campaign on Monday the 21st. Freedom Now Suite includes the composition Tears for Johannesburg in response to the massacre. [5], F-86 Sabre jets and Harvard Trainers approached to within 30 metres (98ft) of the ground, flying low over the crowd in an attempt to scatter it. Sharpeville is a township near Vereeniging, in the Gauteng province of South Africa . As well as the introduction of the Race Convention, Sharpeville also spurred other moves at the UN that changed the way it could act against countries that breached an individuals human rights. "[6]:p.538, The uproar among South Africa's black population was immediate, and the following week saw demonstrations, protest marches, strikes, and riots around the country. This movement sought to overcome the subjugation the racist South African government and apartheid laws imposed on Blacks. 351 Francis Baard Street,Metro Park Building ,10th Floor Philip Finkie Molefe, responsible for establishing the first Assemblies of God church in the Vaal, was among the clergy that conducted the service.[11]. The row of graves of the 69 people killed by police at the Sharpeville Police Station on 21 March 1960. International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, "Outside South Africa there were widespread reactions to Sharpeville in many countries which in many cases led to positive action against South Africa"., E.g., "[I]mmediately following the Sharpeville massacre in South Africa, over 1000 students demonstrated in Sydney against the apartheid system"., United Nations Security Council Resolution 610, United Nations Security Council Resolution 615, "The Sharpeville Massacre A watershed in South Africa", "The photos that changed history Ian Berry; Sharpeville Massacre", "Sharpeville Massacre, The Origin of South Africa's Human Rights Day", "Influential religious leader with 70-years in ministry to be laid to rest", "The Sharpeville Massacre - A watershed in South Africa", "Macmillan, Verwoerd and the 1960 'Wind of Change' Speech", "Naming history's forgotten fighters: South Africa's government is setting out to forget some of the alliance who fought against apartheid. Langa Township was gripped by tension and in the turmoil that ensued, In the violence that followed an employee of the Cape Times newspaper Richard Lombard was killed by the rioting crowd. This was in direct defiance of the government's country-wide ban on public meetings and gatherings of more than ten persons. Approximately 10,000 Africans were forcibly removed to Sharpeville. Lined up outside was a large contingent of armed police with some atop armoured cars. In March 1960, Robert Sobukwe, a leader in the anti-apartheid Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) organized the towns first anti-apartheid protest. However, Foreign Consulates were flooded with requests for emigration, and fearful White South Africans armed themselves. His colleagues followed suit and opened fire. This was in direct defiance of the government's country-wide ban on public meetings and gatherings of more than ten persons. As part of its response, the General Assembly tasked the UN Commission on Human Rights to prepare the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the first global human rights treaty. The targeted protest became infamous in the Civil Rights Movement, marked Bloody Sunday and was crucial to gaining favor of the public (civilrights.org). At the annual conference of the African National Congress (ANC) held in Durban on 16 December 1959, the President General of the ANC, Chief Albert Luthuli, announced that 1960 was going to be the "Year of the Pass." They were mild campaigns at first, but as the government became more hostile, so did ANC protests. Under this system there was an extended period of gruesome violence against individuals of colored skin in South Africa. This set the UN on the path towards the recognition of all human rights for all and, eventually, the establishment of the Human Rights Council and the Universal Periodic Review of the human rights performance of all states.

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