Soweto 1976: An Audio History [audio 13min]

Thirty years ago, the uprising of a group of schoolchildren changed South Africa forever. For decades, the whites-only government of South Africa had brutally enforced a policy of racial segregation known as apartheid -- and just as ruthlessly crushed any opposition. By the 1970s, an entire generation of anti-apartheid fighters had been silenced. Many were killed. Others, like Nelson Mandela, were in prison or in exile. But on June 16, 1976, students in Soweto township outside Johannesburg decided to hold a protest against a government policy mandating that all classes be taught in Afrikaans, the language of South African whites. What started as a student demonstration exploded across South Africa, helping to change the course of the nation's history by galvanizing the struggle to dismantle apartheid. Producers Joe Richman and Ben Shapiro present this audio history. ~Website offers photos, extended story.