On March 21, 1960, in Sharpeville, South Africa, one of the most tragic and defining moments of the apartheid era unfolded. What started as a peaceful protest against discriminatory pass laws ended in bloodshed, sparking outrage across the globe and assisting in ending the struggle against apartheid.

Apartheid was a system of racial segregation and discrimination enforced by the South African government from the late 1940s until the early 1990s. In the Afrikaans language, the word apartheid means apartness and was used to separate the people of South Africa. It was designed to maintain White minority rule over the Black majority population. Strict rules were enforced in almost every aspect of the lives of Black citizens in South Africa. One of those being the pass laws. Pass laws stated that all Black South African citizens had to carry identification cards and allowed the authorities to check their documents at their discretion. Pass laws put restrictions on where Black individuals could work, live, and travel.

A group called the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) organized an anti-pass protest. The plan was for Black South Africans in Sharpeville to go to the police station without their passbooks and demand to be arrested, overwhelming the system and drawing attention to the injustice they faced.

On March 21, 1960, over 7,000 protesters gathered peacefully outside the Sharpeville police station. Witnesses have described the mood and actions of the protesters as calm and even festive. The protesters were unarmed and sang freedom songs, demanding the end of the pass laws. As the protest continued, more police officers, armored vehicles, and military jets arrived. Without warning, the police opened fire on the crowd. Within two minutes, a total of 69 people were killed, and hundreds of others were injured. Many of which were shot in the back as they were trying to flee. The victims included men, women, and children.

The massacre sent shockwaves through South Africa and the world. On April 1, 1960, the United Nations Security Council demanded that the South African government abolish apartheid. However, the government held on to its policies, and apartheid would not see its end until April 27, 1994. On that date, the first democratic election was held, and Nelson Mandela was elected president. Now, March 21st is known as Human Rights Day in South Africa—commemorating the price paid for freedom and equality.

References

Dubow, S. (2014). Apartheid: 1948-1994. Oxford University Press.

McRae, M. (2023). The Sharpeville massacre. CMHR. https://humanrights.ca/story/sharpeville-massacre

South African History Online. (2011). Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). South African History Online. https://ahistory.org.za/article/pan-africanist-congress-pac

United Nations, Security Council. (1960). Security Council resolution 134 (1960) [on the situation in the Union of South Africa arising out of the large scale killings of unarmed and peaceful demonstrators in Sharpeville] (S/RES/134)