March 21 Massacre in Sharpeville In the Black township of Sharpeville, near Johannesburg, South Africa, Afrikaner police open fire on a group of unarmed Black South African demonstrators,. Stephen Wheatley explores how this tragedypaved the way for themodern United Nations, Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in, Please refresh your browser to be logged in, Jennifer Davis: Exiled hero of South Africas anti-apartheid movement, Ralph Ziman: I hated apartheid. How the 1960 Sharpeville massacre sparked the birth of international When police opened . On that day, demonstrations against the pass laws, which restricted the rights of the majority black population in apartheid South Africa, began in the early morning in Sharpeville, a township in Transvaal. "The aeroplanes were flying high and low. By 1960, however, anti-apartheid activism reached the town. It was adopted on December 21 1965. In the following days 77 Africans, many of whom were still in hospital, were arrested for questioning . Others were throwing rocks and shouting "Pigs off campus. 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 Discrimination, which recognized racism as a gross human rights violation. In November 1961, a military branch of the party was organized with Mandela as its head. The police and army arrested thousands of Africans, who were imprisoned with their leaders, but still the mass action raged. The ANC and PAC were forced underground, and both parties launched military wings of their organisations in 1961. What event happened on March 21 1960? The impact of the events in Cape Town were felt in other neighbouring towns such as Paarl, Stellenbosch, Somerset West and Hermanus as anti-pass demonstrations spread. After some demonstrators, according to police, began stoning police officers and their armoured cars, the officers opened fire on them with submachine guns. The targeted protest became infamous in the Civil Rights Movement, marked Bloody Sunday and was crucial to gaining favor of the public (civilrights.org). The event has been seen by some as a turning point in South African history. Reports of the incident helped focus international criticism on South Africas apartheid policy. 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. When an estimated group of 5000 marchers reached Sharpeville police station, the police opened fire killing 69 people and injuring 180 others in what became known as the Sharpeville Massacre. Later, in the fifties and the sixties, these same goals, enlign poll taxes and literacy tests, were once again fought for by African American leaders, through advocacy and agitation. In addition other small groups of PAC activists presented themselves at police stations in Durban and East London. Although the protests were anticipated, no one could have predicted the consequences and the repercussions this would have for South African and world politics. After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of about 7,000 protesters went to the police station. They also perpetuated the segregation within, The increase in the segregationist laws in the 1950s was met with resistance in the form of the Defiance Campaign that started in 1952. Riding into the small group of protestors, they forced most to withdraw, but a few stood fast around a utility pole where horsemen began to beat them. But it was not until after Sharpeville that the UN made clear that the countrys system of racial segregation would no longer be tolerated. 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. Many thousands of individuals applied for the amnesty program and a couple thousand testified through the course of 2 years. Sharpeville Massacre - YouTube Stephen Wheatley explores how this tragedy paved the way for the modern United Nations, Find your bookmarks in your Independent Premium section, under my profile. The reactions of white South Africans to the revelations of the Truth Commission can be divided into two main groups There are those who refuse point-blank to take any responsibility and are always advancing reasons why the commission should be rejected and regarded as a costly waste of money. On 21 March 1960, sixty-nine unarmed anti-pass protesters were shot dead by police and over 180 were injured. [3], South African governments since the eighteenth century had enacted measures to restrict the flow of African South Africans into cities. This riot was planned to be a peaceful riot for a strike on an 8-hour day, ended up turning into a battle between protesters and the police. All that changed following the worlds moral outrage at the killings. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Some of them remain in prison", "Sharpeville Memorial, Theunis Kruger Street, Dicksonville, Sharpville ABLEWiki", Calls for inquiry into Israels Gaza killings, Storming of the Kempton Park World Trade Centre, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sharpeville_massacre&oldid=1140778365, Killings by law enforcement officers in South Africa, Short description is different from Wikidata, Use South African English from April 2016, All Wikipedia articles written in South African English, Articles with unsourced statements from January 2023, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 21 February 2023, at 19:08. Let's Take Action Towards the Sustainable Development Goals. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. Lancaster University provides funding as a founding partner of The Conversation UK. When the news of the Sharpeville Massacre reached Cape Town a group of between 1000 to 5000 protestors gathered at the Langa Flats bus terminus around 17h00 on 21 March 1960. But in the aftermath of the Sharpeville massacre, the UN adopted a more interventionist stance to the apartheid state. "[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. The term human rights was first used in the UN Charter in 1945. Apartheid in South Africa. - GCSE Politics - Marked by Teachers.com Sharpeville massacre | Summary, Significance, & Facts Sharpeville Massacre, 21 March 1960 | South African History Online Philip Finkie Molefe, responsible for establishing the first Assemblies of God church in the Vaal, was among the clergy that conducted the service.[11]. A state of emergency was announced in South Africa. Selinah Mnguniwas 23 years old and already three months pregnant when she was injured in the Sharpeville massacre on 21 March 1960. In 1946, the UN established the Commission on Human Rights, whose first job was to draft a declaration on human rights. In the 1960s, many of the colonial nations of Africa were gaining independence. Pass laws intended to control and direct their movement and employment were updated in the 1950s. Police were temporarily paralyzed with indecision. Under this system there was an extended period of gruesome violence against individuals of colored skin in South Africa. This was in direct defiance of the government's country-wide ban on public meetings and gatherings of more than ten persons. 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. Police reports in 1960 claimed that young and inexperienced police officers panicked and opened fire spontaneously, setting off a chain reaction that lasted about forty seconds. The, For one, African American leaders in the 90s to the 20s attempted to end the disenfranchisement of African Americans, done through poll taxes and literacy tests, by advocating their cause in the more sympathetic North. Amid confusion, two shots were fired into the air by somebody in the crowd. As the campaign went on, the apartheid government started imposing strict punishments on people who violated the segregationist laws. Accounting & Finance; Business, Companies and Organisation, Activity; Case Studies; Economy & Economics; Marketing and Markets; People in Business In March 1960, Robert Sobukwe, a leader in the anti-apartheid Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC) organized the towns first anti-apartheid protest. [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. For them to gather means violence. The Sharpeville Massacre took place in a south african police station of Sharpeville. 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. Sharpeville Massacre, The Origin of South Africa's Human Rights Day [online], available at: africanhistory.about.com [accessed 10 March 2009]|Thloloe, J. But change can also be prompted by seemingly minor events in global affairs, such as the Sharpeville massacre the so-called butterfly effect. [12], Many White South Africans were also horrified by the massacre. "[18][19], Since 1994, 21 March has been commemorated as Human Rights Day in South Africa. Weve been busy, working hard to bring you new features and an updated design. Race, ethnicity and political groups, is an example of this. On 20 March Nana Mahomo and Peter Molotsi has crossed the border into Bechuanaland to mobilize support for the PAC. A new, third level of content, designed specially to meet the advanced needs of the sophisticated scholar. Eventually a few of the demonstrators dared to cross the street, led by James Forman who had organized the march. All the evidence points to the gathering being peaceful and good-humoured. The firing lasted for approximately two minutes, leaving 69 people dead and, according to the official inquest, 180 people seriously wounded. The event also played a role in South Africa's departure from the Commonwealth of Nations in 1961. The police ordered the crowd to disperse within 3 minutes. Freedom Now Suite includes the composition Tears for Johannesburg in response to the massacre. At this conference, it was announced that the PAC would launch its own anti-pass campaign. Many people set out for work on bicycles or on foot, but some were intimidated by PAC members who threatened to burn their passes or "lay hands on them"if they went to work (Reverend Ambrose Reeves, 1966). Sharpeville was first built in 1943 to replace Topville, a nearby township that suffered overcrowding where illnesses like pneumonia were widespread. 351 Francis Baard Street,Metro Park Building ,10th Floor [13], A storm of international protest followed the Sharpeville shootings, including sympathetic demonstrations in many countries[14][15] and condemnation by the United Nations. The story of March 21 1960 is told by Tom Lodge, a scholar of South African politics, in his book Sharpeville. Baileys African History. Police arrested more than 11,000 people and kept them in jail. Unlike elsewhere on the East Rand where police used baton when charging at resisters, the police at Sharpeville used live ammunition. 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. In March 1960, South African police shot dead 69 black protestors, sparking worldwide outrage . Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. That impact is best broken down into its short-term, medium-term, and long-term significance. A posseman. On 1 April 1960, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 134. Professor of International Law, Lancaster University. We need the voices of young people to break through the silence that locks in discrimination and oppression. 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. 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. In 1960 it was the site of one of the earliest and most violent demonstrations against apartheid. 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. Its been 60 years since the Sharpeville massacre, when 69 unarmed civilians were killed by armed South African police on March 21 1960. [6]:p.163, The African National Congress (ANC) prepared to initiate a campaign of protests against pass laws. In Cape Town, an estimated 95% of the African population and a substantial number of the Coloured community joined the stay away. This detailed act separated tribes based on ethnics; consequently, further detailing segregation amongst the natives . Later the crowd grew to about 20,000,[5] and the mood was described as "ugly",[5] prompting about 130 police reinforcements, supported by four Saracen armoured personnel carriers, to be rushed in. Nearly 300 police officers arrived to put an end to the peaceful protest. Sixty-nine protesters died, and the massacre became an iconic moment in the struggle against apartheid. In 1960 it was the site of one of the earliest and most violent demonstrations against apartheid . Protestors asyoung as 12and13were killed. The police also have said that the crowd was armed with 'ferocious weapons', which littered the compound after they fled. These protests were to begin on 31 March 1960, but the rival Pan-Africanist Congress (PAC), led by Robert Sobukwe, decided to pre-empt the ANC by launching its own campaign ten days earlier, on 21 March, because they believed that the ANC could not win the campaign. The incident resulted in the largest number of South African deaths (up to that point) in a protest against apartheid . On 30 March 1960, the government declared a state of emergency, detaining more than 18,000 people, including prominent anti-apartheid activists who were known as members of the Congress Alliance including Nelson Mandela and some still enmeshed in the Treason Trial. He was tricked into dispersing the crowd and was arrested by the police later that day. By lunchtime, the crowd outside the police station had grown to an estimated 20,000 people. 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). Britannica does not review the converted text. He became South Africa's . The incident resulted in the largest number of South African deaths (up to that point) in a protest against apartheid. The Sharpeville Massacre in South Africa - Owlcation