It was a bloodbath that day on March 21st,1960, in Sharpeville, South Africa.
What had started as a peaceful, non-violent protest, became a Massacre. The law of black
africans required to carry passbooks had been extended, so that now women had too as
well. Passbooks were basically identification papers that said all the info about the Native,
and if you didnt carry one you could be fined or punished. The natives however hadn't been
to fond of this new rule so they decided to lead a protest, which ranged in 5000-7000
people, both men & women. The protest was held at a police station, and everyone
gathered outside it without their passbooks, as a way to prove they wouldn't follow such
unjust laws anymore. Shortly after the protest had started police tried to disperse the crowd
and break up the large group. When that hadn't worked police began to open fire onto the
people, anybody in the way was shot at and some killed. It is said that as many as 300
people were injured, and 69 killed. This event was influential because it started the armed
resistance in South Africa. Also when this event became internationally known, it helped
focus world wide critism on apartheid policies. In my personal opinion this was a really sad
event, but in a way it was nessecary for something like this to happen in their situation in
order for the wrong doings of apartheid to be noticed by other places. But then again this
whole thing could've been avoided if people weren't so crue, but instead fair. I think if you'd
like to further research this topic search for articles on the Web, watch video below, or
check a book out about apartheid times from the library to learn more.
http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=rVMPlVBm29Y&desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DrVMPlVBm29Y
Sources: britannica.com africanhistory.about.com bbc.co.uk
-Cristina G. 1A
Before reading this i knew nothing about the Sharpeville massacre at all, The details of the event remind me of things that happened during the American civil rights movement. In that instance as well as this won, police violence was one of the main things that caused a reaction and the eventual end to an unjust system. It is always scary to think that the people whose job it is to protect and serve the people can commit these heinous acts. I agree that the killing of innocent protesters may have been what South Africa needed to be able to end Apartheid. The police's decision to open fire on the protesters crossed a line for many people. It made it impossible to believe that Apartheid was a system that could continue without having to believe that blacks and natives were less than human. The idea that blacks and natives are less than whites, though greatly decreased, is still in South Africa and will take a lot of time to change. This post was very illuminating and I may go research this fascinating topic more
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