Sharpeville Massacre
-The Sharpeville Massacre was a killing go black protestors outside of the police station in a town called Sharpeville.
-It began withe the gathering of black protestors who were particularly upset wight eh existence of the pass laws, and had come to express their discontent by burning their pass books outside of the police station.
-The police opened fire on the crowd, killing 67 of the protestors.
-This massacre is quite significant in the history of the movement to end Apartheid for a few reasons:
-It began withe the gathering of black protestors who were particularly upset wight eh existence of the pass laws, and had come to express their discontent by burning their pass books outside of the police station.
-The police opened fire on the crowd, killing 67 of the protestors.
-This massacre is quite significant in the history of the movement to end Apartheid for a few reasons:
- This massacre was significant because it marked the end of non-violent demonstrations, and began the organization and activity of counter-governement terrorist groups.
- It resulted in the ANC being outlawed (resulting in the arrest of Nelson Mandela).
- It resulted in the allowance of the South African police the ability to make arrests with warrants.
South African History.org
Subjective Question: If the Sharpeville Massacre never happened, would the ANC still have been outlawed? Would Nelson Mandela have been arrested? If not, would this have had a great effect on the ending of Aparthied?
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"A Poem about Sharpeville"
By David Brutus
What is important
about Sharpeville
is not that seventy died:
nor even that they were shot in the back
retreating, unarmed, defenseless
and certainly not
the heavy caliber slug
that tore through a mother’s back
and ripped through the child in her arms
killing it
Remember Sharpeville
bullet-in-the-back day
Because it epitomized oppression
and the nature of society
more clearly than anything else;
it was the classic event
Nowhere is racial dominance
more clearly defined
nowhere the will to oppress
more clearly demonstrated
what the world whispers
apartheid with snarling guns
the blood lust after
South Africa spills in the dust
Remember Sharpeville
Remember bullet-in-the-back day
And remember the unquenchable will for freedom
Remember the dead
and be glad.
© Dennis Brutus
By David Brutus
What is important
about Sharpeville
is not that seventy died:
nor even that they were shot in the back
retreating, unarmed, defenseless
and certainly not
the heavy caliber slug
that tore through a mother’s back
and ripped through the child in her arms
killing it
Remember Sharpeville
bullet-in-the-back day
Because it epitomized oppression
and the nature of society
more clearly than anything else;
it was the classic event
Nowhere is racial dominance
more clearly defined
nowhere the will to oppress
more clearly demonstrated
what the world whispers
apartheid with snarling guns
the blood lust after
South Africa spills in the dust
Remember Sharpeville
Remember bullet-in-the-back day
And remember the unquenchable will for freedom
Remember the dead
and be glad.
© Dennis Brutus