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Events on Wednesday 16 June 1976 1
1976Soweto uprisingPolice kill student protesters in South African townshipOn 16 June 1976 police opened fire on thousands of black schoolchildren in Soweto who were protesting the compulsory use of Afrikaans in schools, killing hundreds over the following months of unrest. The uprising drew international condemnation of apartheid and galvanised the anti-apartheid movement. The date is commemorated annually in South Africa as Youth Day.