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. But in the aftermath of the Sharpeville massacre, the UN adopted a more interventionist stance to the apartheid state. People often associate their behavior and actions from the groups they belong to. Copyright 20102023, The Conversation Media Group Ltd. March 21 is a public holiday in South Africa in commemoration of the Sharpeville massacre. As the protesters tried to flee the violent scene, police continued to shoot into the crowd. Sharpeville massacre marked turning point in South Africa's history It was a system of segregation put in place by the National Party, which governed in South Africa from 1948 to 1994. In the Black township of Sharpeville, near Johannesburg, South Africa, Afrikaner police open fire on a group of unarmed Black South African demonstrators, killing 69 people and wounding 180 in a hail of submachine-gun fire. 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). Many people need to know that indiviual have their own rights in laws and freedom . [10] At about 13:00 the police tried to arrest a protester, and the crowd surged forward. The Apartheid was initiated as a ploy for Europeans to better control the exploited populations for economic gain, as maintaining tension between the different racial classifications diverted attention from the Europeans as it fed hatred between groups. 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. By 1960, however, anti-apartheid activism reached the town. Accessible across all of today's devices: phones, tablets, and desktops. Forego a bottle of soda and donate its cost to us for the information you just learned, and feel good about helping to make it available to everyone. The logjam was only broken after the Sharpeville massacre as the UN decided to deal with the problem of apartheid South Africa. Sharpeville: A Massacre and Its Consequences | Foreign Affairs Causes Of The Sharpeville Massacre - 1710 Words | Bartleby ISCOR and SASOL, the state's metal and fuel companies, were and continue to be the two key role players in the provision of employment in the Sharpeville region. The logjam was only broken after the Sharpeville massacre, as the UN decided to deal with the problem of apartheid South Africa. At its inaugural session in 1947, the UN Commission on Human Rights had decided that it had no power to take any action in regard to any complaints concerning human rights. 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. The event was an inspiration for painter Oliver Lee Jackson in his Sharpeville Series from the 1970s.[23]. [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. Due to the illness, removals from Topville began in 1958. To share with more than one person, separate addresses with a comma. 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. Policemen in Cape Town were forcing Africans back to work with batons and sjamboks, and four people were shot and killed in Durban. 26 Black policemen and 365 Black civilians were injured no White police men were killed and only 60 were injured. Sixty-nine protesters died, and the massacre became an iconic moment in the struggle against apartheid. By 1960 the. The Sharpeville massacre also touched off three decades of protest in South Africa, ultimately leading to freedom for Nelson Mandela, who had spent 27 years in prison. 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. Unfortunately, police forces arrived and open fired on the protesters, killing ninety-six in what became known as the Sharpeville massacre. Sharpeville Massacre Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays T he Sharpeville massacre, the name given to the murder of 69 unarmed civilians by armed South African police, took place on 21 March 1960. Kgosana agreed to disperse the protestors in if a meeting with J B Vorster, then Minister of Justice, could be secured. News reports about the massacre spread across the world. The Black resistance began to gain more momentum and increasingly became more threatening. However, the police simply took down the protesters names and did not arrest anyone. The term human rights was first used in the UN Charter in 1945. The call for a stay away on 28 March was highly successful and was the first ever national strike in the countrys history. [6]:p.163, The African National Congress (ANC) prepared to initiate a campaign of protests against pass laws. This article first appeared on The Conversation, Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies. 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. As a result of racial segregation, resistance from coloured people in both the United States and South Africa escalated. BBC World Service - Witness History, The Sharpeville massacre A week later, a breakaway group from the ANC, the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) held its first conference in Johannesburg. Three people were killed and 26 others were injured. 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. When the demonstrators began to throw stones at the police, the police started shooting into the crowd. The Sharpeville massacre. On March 21, 1960, without warning, South African police at Sharpeville, an African township of Vereeninging, south of Johannesburg, shot into a crowd of about 5,000 unarmed anti-pass protesters, killing at least 69 people - many of them shot in the back - and wounding . Along with other PAC leaders he was charged with incitement, but while on bail he left the country and went into exile. Protestors asyoung as 12and13were killed. 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. [13], A storm of international protest followed the Sharpeville shootings, including sympathetic demonstrations in many countries[14][15] and condemnation by the United Nations. 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. The massacre was photographed by photographer Ian Berry, who initially thought the police were firing blanks. This detailed act separated tribes based on ethnics; consequently, further detailing segregation amongst the natives . PDF "A tragic turning-point: remembering Sharpeville fifty years on" For the next two and a half decades, the commission held to this position on the basis that the UN Charter only required states to promote, rather than protect, human rights. They met a police line a few blocks from the Courthouse and were forbidden from proceeding because they did not have a parade permit (Reed 26). By the end of the day, 69 people lay dead or dying, with hundreds more injured. International sympathy lay with the African people, leading to an economic slump as international investors withdrew from South Africa and share prices on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange plummeted. This shows a significant similarity in that both time periods leaders attempted to achieve the goal of ending. By continuing to use this site, you consent to the terms of our cookie policy, which can be found in our. This assisted in minimizing unity between the exploited to rally against European control as it backhandedly induced submission for survival. BlackPast.org is a 501(c)(3) non-profit and our EIN is 26-1625373. The police ordered the crowd to disperse within 3 minutes. Freedom Now Suite includes the composition Tears for Johannesburg in response to the massacre. Massacre in Sharpeville. Reports of the incident helped focus international criticism on South Africas apartheid policy. On the day passes were suspended (25 March 1960) Kgosana led another march of between 2000 and 5000 people from Langa to Caledon Square. Racial and religious conflicts; conflicts between dictatorial governments and their citizens; the battle between the sexes; conflicts between management and labor; and conflicts between heterosexuals and homosexuals all stem, in whole or in part, to oppression. With the election of Nelson Mandela as president of South Africa in 1994, the apartheid system ended. The Sharpsville Massacre was a seminal moment in the history of South Africa. The significance of the date is reflected in the fact that. [10] Few of the policemen present had received public order training. The police also have said that the crowd was armed with 'ferocious weapons', which littered the compound after they fled. 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. Sharpeville massacre | Summary, Significance, & Facts In Cape Town, an estimated 95% of the African population and a substantial number of the Coloured community joined the stay away. At least 180 were wounded. How the 1960 Sharpeville massacre sparked the birth of international 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. Participants were instructed to surrender their reference books (passes) and invite arrest. 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. . Its been 60 years since the Sharpeville massacre, when 69 unarmed civilians were killed by armed South African police on March 21 1960. Early on the 21st the local PAC leaders first gathered in a field not far from the Sharpeville police station, when a sizable crowd of people had joined them they proceeded to the police station - chanting freedom songs and calling out the campaign slogans "Izwe lethu" (Our land); "Awaphele amapasti" (Down with passes); "Sobukwe Sikhokhele" (Lead us Sobukwe); "Forward to Independence,Tomorrow the United States of Africa.". 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. Pheko, M. (2000) Focus: 'Lest We Forget Sharpeville', The Sowetan, 20 March. In addition other small groups of PAC activists presented themselves at police stations in Durban and East London. The Department of Home Affairs (a government bureau) was responsible for the classification of the citizenry. What event happened on March 21 1960? Other witnesses claimed there was no order to open fire, and the police did not fire a warning shot above the crowd. The significance of the date is reflected in the fact that it now marks the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Courtesy BaileySeippel Gallery/BAHA Source. It can be considered the beginning of the international struggle to bring an end to apartheid in South . Let's Take Action Towards the Sustainable Development Goals. On 20 March Nana Mahomo and Peter Molotsi has crossed the border into Bechuanaland to mobilize support for the PAC. There was no evidence that anyone in the gathering was armed with anything other than stones. Eyewitness accounts and evidence later led to an official inquiry which attested to the fact that large number of people were shot in the back as they were fleeing the scene. One of the insights has been that international law does not change unless there is some trigger for countries to change their behaviour. Furthermore, the history of the African civil rights movement validated: Nationalism has been tested in the peoples struggles . The world should remember the contingency and fragility of the international human rights law system that we so easily take for granted today. The ratification of these laws may have made the separate but equal rhetoric illegal for the U.S. but the citizens inside it still battled for their beliefs. 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. It also came to symbolize that struggle. Selinah was shot in her leg but survived the massacre. A state of emergency was declared in South Africa, more than 11,000 people were detained, and the PAC and ANC were outlawed. The enforcement of Pass Laws and the reissue of laws that restricted the. The commission completed this task, under the chairmanship of Eleanor Roosevelt, when it finalised the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 1948. 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. Without the Sharpeville massacre, we may not have the international human rights law system we have today. . The OHCHR Regional Office for Southern Africa also produced a series of digital stories on the Sharpeville massacre and young peoples concerns about their human rights. "The blood we sacrificed was worth it" - Sharpeville Massacre 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. The Sharpeville Massacre took place in a south african police station of Sharpeville. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. The PAC organised demonstration attracted between 5,000 and 7,000 protesters. In order to reduce the possibility of violence, he wrote a letter to the Sharpeville police commissioner announcing the upcoming protest and emphasizing that its participants would be non-violent. Following shortly, the Group Areas Act of 1950 was enacted as a new form of legislation alongside the Population Registration Act. In November 1961, a military branch of the party was organized with Mandela as its head. 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). A United Nations photograph by Kay Muldoon, Courtesy of the International Defence and Aid Fund for Southern Africa, SATIS (Southern Africa - the Imprisoned Society). However, the governments method of controlling people who resisted the apartheid laws didnt have the same effect from the early 1970s and onward. It was a sad day for black South Africa. It was one of the first and most violent demonstrations against apartheid in South Africa. Under the country's National Party government, African residents in urban districts were subject to influx control measures. As they attempted to disperse the crowd, a police officer was knocked down and many in the crowd began to move forward to see what had happened. During this event 5,000 to 7,000 protesters went to the police station after a day of demonstrations, offering themselves for arrest for not carrying passbooks. And then there are those who feel deeply involved and moved, but also powerless to deal with the enormity of the situation (Krog 221). After apartheid ended, President Nelson Mandela chose Sharpeville as the place to sign South Africas new constitution on December 10, 1996. a photographer whose pictures of the killings caused an . We hope you and your family enjoy the NEW Britannica Kids. 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. 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. As the campaign went on, the apartheid government started imposing strict punishments on people who violated the segregationist laws. 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. [10], PAC actively organized to increase turnout to the demonstration, distributing pamphlets and appearing in person to urge people not to go to work on the day of the protest. 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 police shot many in the back as they turned to flee, causing some to be paralyzed. Furthermore, a new police station was created, from which the police were energetic to check passes, deporting illegal residents, and raiding illegal shebeens. [2] In present-day South Africa, 21 March is celebrated as a public holiday in honour of human rights and to commemorate the Sharpeville massacre. Many others were not so lucky: 69 unarmed and non-violent protesters were gunned down by theSouth Africanpolice and hundreds more were injured. 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, (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. The Sharpeville Massacre awakened the international community to the horrors of apartheid. Take a minute to check out all the enhancements! Matthews called on all South Africans to mark a national day of mourning for the victims on the 28 March. In particular, the African work force in the Cape went on strike for a period of two weeks and mass marches were staged in Durban. Britannica does not review the converted text. On 1 April 1960, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 134. (2007), New History of South Africa. After demonstrating against pass laws, a crowd of about 7,000 protesters went to the police station. Sharpeville had a high rate of unemployment as well as high crime rates. Learn about employment opportunities across the UN in South Africa. The PAC and the African National Congress, another antiapartheid party, were banned. 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. The adoption of the Race Convention was quickly followed by the 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. Even so and estimated 2000 to 3000 people gathered on the Commons. Corrections? Omissions? A posseman. By comparing and contrasting the American Jim Crow Laws and South African apartheid, we have evidence that both nations constitutions led to discrimination, activism, reform and reconciliation. When protesters reconvened in defiance, the police charged at them with batons, tear gas and guns. Start your Independent Premium subscription today. Police arrested more than 11,000 people and kept them in jail. This movement sought to overcome the subjugation the racist South African government and apartheid laws imposed on Blacks. In March 1960, South African police shot dead 69 black protestors, sparking worldwide outrage . Business Studies. Sharpeville massacre - Wikipedia It's been 60 years since the Sharpeville massacre, when 69 unarmed civilians were killed by armed South African police on March 21 1960. 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. Throughout the 1950s, South African blacks intensified their resistance against the oppressive apartheid system. 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. Everyone should have an equal rights and better community . One way of accomplishing this was by instilling laws thatd force segregation, classification, educational requirements, and economic purposes. Dr. Verwoerd praised the police for their actions. Other PAC members tried to stop bus drivers from going on duty and this resulted in a lack transport for Sharpeville residents who worked in Vereeniging. The Sharpeville massacre sparked hundreds of mass protests by black South Africans, many of which were ruthlessly and violently crushed by the South African police and military. The Population Registration Act of 1950 enacted, requiring segregation of Europeans from Afrikaans . According to his "Testimony about the Launch of the Campaign," Sobukwe declared: At the press conference Sobukwe emphasized that the campaign should be conducted in a spirit of absolute non-violence and that the PAC saw it as the first step in Black people's bid for total independence and freedom by 1963 (Cape Times, 1960). South Africa had already been harshly criticised for its apartheid policies, and this incident fuelled anti-apartheid sentiments as the international conscience was deeply stirred. [12], Many White South Africans were also horrified by the massacre. "[6]:p.537, On 21 March 2002, the 42nd anniversary of the massacre, a memorial was opened by former President Nelson Mandela as part of the Sharpeville Human Rights Precinct.[22]. Sharpeville Massacre. The police response to the protest became the primary cause of the massacre. On this 60th anniversary of the Sharpeville massacre, the world should remember the contingency and fragility of the international human rights law system that we so easily take for granted today. apartheid: aftermath of the deadly Sharpeville demonstration, This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/event/Sharpeville-massacre, Canadian Museum for Human Rights - The Sharpeville Massacre, South African History Online - Sharpeville Massacre, Sharpeville massacre - Children's Encyclopedia (Ages 8-11), Sharpeville massacre - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up). 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 . Choose a language from the menu above to view a computer-translated version of this page. Significant reshaping of international law is often the result of momentous occurrences, most notably the two world wars. [5] The police began shooting shortly thereafter. How the Sharpeville massacre changed the course of human rights Now aged 84, Selinah says she is still proud of her efforts to end apartheid. Sharpeville Massacre - BlackPast.org However, Foreign Consulates were flooded with requests for emigration, and fearful White South Africans armed themselves. The policemen were apparently jittery after a recent event in Durban where nine policemen were shot. This march is seen by many as a turning point in South African history. These two industries experienced rapid growth in the immediate aftermath of World War II and continued growing into the 1950s and 1960s. Half a century has passed but memories of the Sharpeville massacre still run deep. Pogrund,B. In 1946, the UN established the Commission on Human Rights, whose first job was to draft a declaration on human rights. 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. All the evidence points to the gathering being peaceful and good-humoured. Furthermore, during the nineties to the twenties, leaders of African Americans sought to end segregation in the South, as caused by Plessy v. Ferguson. Eventually a few of the demonstrators dared to cross the street, led by James Forman who had organized the march. Sharpeville was much more than a single tragic event. However, the 1289 Words 6 Pages The Sharpeville Massacre occurred on March 21, 1960, in the township of Sharpeville, South Africa. A small donation would help us keep this available to all. Sharpeville was first built in 1943 to replace Topville, a nearby township that suffered overcrowding where illnesses like pneumonia were widespread. But change can also be prompted by seemingly minor events in global affairs such as the Sharpeville massacre the so-called butterfly effect. 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.