On June 16 each year, South Africans celebrate Youth Day. Youth Day commemorates the Soweto Uprising, which took place on 16 June 1976, where thousands of students were ambushed by the apartheid regime. On Youth Day, South Africans pay tribute to the lives of these students and recognises the role of the youth in the liberation of South Africa from the apartheid regime. Celebrate Youth Day 2020 This year we celebrate Youth Day in South Africa against the backdrop of yet another uprising driven by young people. The Black Lives Matter Movement has had a resurgence after the killing of an unarmed black man, George Floyd, earlier this year during the heat of the Coronavirus pandemic. The response to Floyd’s murder has caused a significant amount of protests and uprisings all around the world, calling an end to discrimination, systemic racism and police brutality. In 2020, we can celebrate Youth Day by commemorating and honouring those who spoke out and took action against the oppressive Apartheid system. We also honour the lives lost in the face of brutalist political systems and all forms of oppression – then and now. Due to COVID-19, there are no events that celebrate Youth Day, but what we can do is educate ourselves and learn from the events that took place on June 16. But the question is: Is the youth of today appreciative of what the youth of 1976 did for them? Will they be happy about the way the current youth behaves?? https://www.instagram.com/p/CBgdjprFV1s/?igshid=1enhvyki70ib
