A legacy of struggle, a prosperous future unfulfilled

GIVEN the brunt of poverty, inequality and unemployment that young people perpetually face in this country, it is legitimate to ask what it is that we are expecting an increasingly impoverished and disenfranchised youth to celebrate this Youth Month.

- TEBOGO SUPING

Are we merely paying lip service to the legacy of the class of '76, or are we genuinely committed to addressing the systemic challenges that young people are currently facing?

As we commemorate the sacrifices of the class of '76, we must equally ask ourselves: What are WE celebrating? Is it merely the bravery of the past, or are we also acknowledging the failures of the present?

It's been 49 years since the brave students of 1976 stood up against the apartheid regime's attempt to impose Afrikaans as the language of instruction in black schools.

Their determination and sacrifice sparked a national movement that would change the course of South African history.

As Seth Mazibuko, one of the courageous committee members who coordinated the June 16 uprising, so eloquently puts it, in a reflective conversation, "The memory of the moment of the 16th of June 1976 forever sits in my heart and my mind. It felt like an awakening of a generation.

"A moment in history where, regardless of gender, age, geography, and ethnicity, the mission was one: To say enough to injustice, segregation and indignity in both the education system at the time as well as society at large.

"We were very organised, and what most people may not be aware of was that this day was secretly well planned in a very short space of time to reach thousands of students across the country. While we knew that this was a cause much bigger than ourselves, we were determined to no longer put up with the oppression which our parents seemed too demoralised to do anything about."