….perhaps the most famous, and certainly the most historic, apartheid photo of all time. This is the death of Soweto schoolboy Hector Pieterson in 1976. That’s his sister, Antoinette Musi, running alongside him, and he’s being carried by another student, Mbuyisa Nkita Makhubu. Pieterson was 12 years old.
The students were protesting against the rule that they had to be taught in Afrikaans, which they considered the language of the oppressor. To prove that they were right, the police opened fire on them. This photo went around the world and was one of the first images to provoke international rumbling against the apartheid government.
There’s a memorial to Pieterson in Johannesburg. If you ever get a chance to see it, it’s very affecting. Like I said, 12 years old. It boggles the mind.
Copyright Sam Nzima
I had never seen this photograph until tonight.
I’d also like to take “recommendation Tuesday” into my own hands and encourage you to follow caille. The photos she posts are consistently surprising and soul-healthly.
