Well-designed and full of fascinating information, the Hector Pieterson Museum details the charged events surrounding June 16, 1976, when high school students staged a peaceful march against the use of Afrikaans as the main language in black secondary schools. The march ended in a violent confrontation with the police, and a young boy, Hector Pieterson, was shot and killed. In the museum, visitors will find a moving collection of oral testimonies, audiovisual displays, and historical documents related to the Soweto protests. Outside, they can visit the Hector Pieterson Memorial, which, together with the museum, commemorates those who died in the uprisings and celebrates the students’ role in the struggle for freedom.
South African Tourism
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Hector Pieterson Museum
This museum honors Hector Pieterson, who was shot and killed in Soweto is 1976. The museum tracks the uprising that started in a protest against Afrikaans being taught in the schools of Soweto. it covers this very specific event very thoroughly. It is a moving experience.
Does Time Really Heal All Wounds?
While in Johannesburg, we visited the Hector Pieterson Museum. When we came outside from viewing the displays, our guide pointed out a woman who was walking around the area. It turned out that she was Hector Pieterson’s sister who appears on the left hand side of the photo displayed outside the museum. The building was undergoing renovations in advance of the 32nd anniversary of the 1976 Soweto uprising in which Hector Pieterson was killed. Hector Pieterson’s sister, Antoinette Sithole , was kind enough to stand in front of the image so we could take a photograph.
