Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. The Population Registration Act of 1950 enacted, requiring segregation of Europeans from Afrikaans . Philip H. Frankel, An Ordinary Atrocity: Sharpeville and its Massacre (New Haven: Yale University Press, 2001); Henry F. Jackson, From the Congo to Soweto: U.S. Foreign Policy Toward Africa Since 1960 (New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc., 1982); Meredith Martin, The History of Apartheid: The Story of the Colour War in South Africa (New York: London House & Maxwell, 1962). We must listen to them, learn from them, and work with them to build a better future.. That date now marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and without the Sharpeville massacre, we may not have the international system of human rights that we have today. This translates as shot or shoot. He was followed by Dr. Yusuf Dadoo, Chairperson of the South African Indian Congress and Chairperson of the underground South African Communist Party. A protest that had been scheduled three days earlier was planned for noon on Monday, May 4. When the marchers reached Sharpeville's police station a heavy contingent of policemen were lined up outside, many on top of British-made Saracen armored cars. When protesters reconvened in defiance, the police charged at them with batons, tear gas and guns. "[18][19], Since 1994, 21 March has been commemorated as Human Rights Day in South Africa. Through a series of mass actions, the ANC planned to launch a nationwide anti-pass campaign on 31 March - the anniversary of the 1919 anti-pass campaign. [5] The police began shooting shortly thereafter. Police arrested more than 11,000 people and kept them in jail. Sharpeville Massacre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays Eyewitness accounts of the Sharpeville massacre 1960 The day of the Massacre, mourning the dead and getting over the shock of the event Baileys African History Archive (BAHA) Tom Petrus, author of 'My Life Struggle', Ravan Press. 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. There were 249 victims in total, including 29 children, with 69 people killed and 180 injured. Following shortly, the Group Areas Act of 1950 was enacted as a new form of legislation alongside the Population Registration Act. The event has been seen by some as a turning point in South African history. Massacre in Sharpeville - HISTORY Accounting & Finance; Business, Companies and Organisation, Activity; Case Studies; Economy & Economics; Marketing and Markets; People in Business But change can also be prompted by seemingly minor events in global affairs such as the Sharpeville massacre the so-called butterfly effect. Individuals over sixteen were required to carry passbooks, which contained an identity card, employment and influx authorisation from a labour bureau, name of employer and address, and details of personal history. However, the nations mentality needed work - though the popularity of Civil Rights was rising, many riots and racial hate crimes continued to occur throughout the country, with many casualties resulting from them (infoplease.com). The police and army arrested thousands of Africans, who were imprisoned with their leaders, but still the mass action raged. After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of about 7,000 protesters went to the police station. Krog was one of these Afrikaners. The Sharpeville Massacre, 1960 Police Attack Demonstrators in Sharpeville, March 21, 1960 Few events loom larger in the history of the apartheid regime than those of the afternoon of March 21, 1960, in Sharpeville, South Africa. Sharpeville massacre - Kids | Britannica Kids | Homework Help African American History: Research Guides & Websites, Global African History: Research Guides & Websites, African American Scientists and Technicians of the Manhattan Project, Envoys, Diplomatic Ministers, & Ambassadors, Foundation, Organization, and Corporate Supporters. Sharpeville Massacre - YouTube In my own research, I have looked to complexity theory a theory developed in the natural sciences to make sense of the ways that patterns of behaviour emerge and change to understand the way that international human rights law developed and evolved. The Supreme Courts decision in the famous and landmark case, Brown v. Board of Education in 1954 set a precedent for desegregation in schools. The Sharpeville massacre, the name given to the murder of 69 unarmed civilians by armed South African police, took place on 21 March 1960. [9] The Sharpeville police were not completely unprepared for the demonstration, as they had already driven smaller groups of more militant activists away the previous night. In response, a police officer shouted in Afrikaans skiet or nskiet (exactly which is not clear), which translates either as shot or shoot. Knowing the democracy we have today was achieved in part because of the blood we sacrificed was worth it, she says. For them to gather means violence. 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. Black citizens began to resist this prejudice though and also used violence against the enforcers of Apartheid. And then there are those who feel deeply involved and moved, but also powerless to deal with the enormity of the situation (Krog 221). (1997) Focus: 'Prisoner 1', Sunday Life, 23 March. Weve been busy, working hard to bring you new features and an updated design. Coordinates: .mw-parser-output .geo-default,.mw-parser-output .geo-dms,.mw-parser-output .geo-dec{display:inline}.mw-parser-output .geo-nondefault,.mw-parser-output .geo-multi-punct{display:none}.mw-parser-output .longitude,.mw-parser-output .latitude{white-space:nowrap}264118S 275219E / 26.68833S 27.87194E / -26.68833; 27.87194. The University had tried to ban the protest; they handed out 12,000 leaflets saying the event was cancelled. Sunday marks the 50th anniversary of the day that changed the course of South African history. Sharpeville was much more than a single tragic event. According to the police, protesters began to stone them and, without any warning, one of the policemen on the top of an armoured car panicked and opened fire. The PAC organised demonstration attracted between 5,000 and 7,000 protesters. Mandela went into hiding in 1964, he was captured, tried, and sentenced to life imprisonment. Approximately 10,000 Africans were forcibly removed to Sharpeville. All that changed following the worlds moral outrage at the killings. The adoption of the convention was quickly followed by two international covenants on economic, social and cultural rights and on civil and political rights in 1966, introduced to give effect to the rights in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We hope you and your family enjoy the NEW Britannica Kids. Crowds fleeing from bullets on the day of the Massacre. Sixty-nine Africans were killed and 186 were wounded, with most shot in the back. Sobukwe was only released in 1969. 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. Baileys African History Archive (BAHA)Crowds fleeing from bullets on the day of the Massacre. 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. The argument against apartheid was now framed as a specific manifestation of a wider battle for human rights and it was the only political system mentioned in the 1965 Race Convention: nazism and antisemitism were not included. Lined up outside was a large contingent of armed police with some atop armoured cars. Sharpeville: A Massacre and Its Consequences | Foreign Affairs Another officer interpreted this as an order and opened fire, triggering a lethal fusillade as 168 police constables followed his example. It also came to symbolize that struggle. Following the dismantling of apartheid, South African President Nelson Mandela chose Sharpeville as the site at which, on December 10, 1996, he signed into law the countrys new constitution. The call for a stay away on 28 March was highly successful and was the first ever national strike in the countrys history. 1960 police killing of protesters in Transvaal (now Gauteng), South Africa. BBC World Service - Witness History, The Sharpeville massacre The Sharpeville Massacre is commemorated through Human Rights Day, a public holiday in South Africa, which honours those whose lives were sacrificed in the fight for democracy. Similarly, African American leaders from the fifties to the sixties also fought for the end of segregation, in cases such as Brown v. Board of Education. The Sharpeville massacre. The key developments were the adoption of Resolution 1235 in 1967, which allowed for the examination of complaints of gross violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, as exemplified by the policy of apartheid, and Resolution 1503 in 1970, which allowed the UN to examine complaints of a consistent pattern of gross and reliably attested violations of human rights. After apartheid ended, President Nelson Mandela chose Sharpeville as the place to sign South Africas new constitution on December 10, 1996. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. On March 21, demonstrators disobeyed the pass laws by giving up or burning their pass books. Lancaster University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation UK. In the late 1980s, one of the most popular anti-apartheid movements that contributed to the end of the apartheid was the Free Mandela campaign. The victims included about 50 women and children. What Was The Cause Of The Sharpeville Massacre - 97 Words | Bartleby Sharpeville Massacre, 21 March 1960 | South African History Online It can be considered the beginning of the international struggle to bring an end to apartheid in South . Attending a protest in peaceful defiance of the apartheid regime, Selinah and many other young people were demonstrating against pass laws designed to restrict and control the movement and employment of millions of Black South Africans. This year, UN and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) joined South Africans in commemorating the 61st anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre, using the flagship campaign #FightRacism to promote awareness of these critical issues. In conclusion; Sharpeville, the imposition of a state of emergency, the arrest of thousands of Black people and the banning of the ANC and PAC convinced the anti-apartheid leadership that non-violent action was not going to bring about change without armed action. The incident resulted in the largest number of South African deaths (up to that point) in a protest against apartheid. However, many people joined the procession quite willingly. It is likely that the police were quick to fire as two months before the massacre, nine constables had been assaulted and killed, some disembowelled, during a raid at Cato Manor. March 21, is celebrated as a public holiday in honor of human rights and to commemorate the . On 24 March 1960, in protest of the massacre, Regional Secretary General of the PAC, Philip Kgosana, led a march of 101 people from Langa to the police headquarters in Caledon Square, Cape Town. Many of the civilians present attended voluntarily to support the protest, but there is evidence that the PAC also used coercive means to draw the crowd there, including the cutting of telephone lines into Sharpeville, and preventing bus drivers from driving their routes. As part of its response, the General Assembly tasked the UN Commission on Human Rights to prepare the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the first global human rights treaty. A posseman. I hated what it did to people, As Israelis dedicated to peace, we oppose Trump's apartheid plan, UN human rights head in unprecedented action against Indian government, Anyone can become a climate refugee. Sharpeville: An apartheid massacre and its consequences [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. 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. This march is seen by many as a turning point in South African history. Foundation remembers Sharpeville Massacre victims Just after 1pm, there was an altercation between the police officer in charge and the leaders of the demonstration. 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. As a result of racial segregation, resistance from coloured people in both the United States and South Africa escalated. Copyright 2023 United Nations in South Africa, Caption: Selinah Mnguni, a Sharpeville massacre survivor, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. The ANC was encouraged and campaigned for democracy in South Africa. The two causes went hand in hand in this, rocketing in support and becoming the main goal of the country - the end of segregation was the most dire problem that the Civil Rights Movement needed to solve. The South African Police (SAP) opened fire on the crowd when the crowd started advancing toward the fence around the police station; tear-gas had proved ineffectual.