From the Archives: How City Press has remembered June 16 then and now

News24

6 days ago

City Press has chronicled Youth Day through the decades, from the raw defiance of 1976 to reflections by a new generation of activists.
In 1994, we marked the first Youth Day in a democratic South Africa with a front page full of hope and hard-won freedom.
During the 2020 pandemic, we highlighted how digital activism kept the legacy of June 16 alive in a locked-down world.
Every year, June 16 stands as a powerful reminder of South Africa's turbulent past and the courage of its youth.
On this day in 1976, thousands of black students took to the streets of Soweto to protest against the apartheid government's imposition of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction.
The peaceful march ended in tragedy when police opened fire, killing hundreds and sparking a nationwide uprising that would become a turning point in the struggle for freedom. Today, Youth Day commemorates their bravery and the enduring fight for justice, equality, and education.
At City Press, we have returned to this moment time and time again capturing the voices, the defiance, the mourning, and the continued resistance that define it. From grainy black-and-white photographs in our earliest editions to powerful essays by a new generation of writers, our coverage of Youth Day has evolved alongside the country itself.
But the spirit of 1976, of young people demanding to be seen and heard, remains deeply embedded in every story we tell.
Through the years, our pages have featured everything from firsthand accounts by survivors of the Soweto Uprising to reflections by their grandchildren, who now march for equal education and economic justice. In 1994, we marked Youth Day in a free South Africa with a front page full of hope.
WATCH | The youth are not lost: The untold truth behind June 16, 1976
In 2006, we ran a special tribute edition filled with untold stories from nurses, photographers, and students who witnessed history. In 2020, during the global pandemic, we explored how digital activism was keeping the flame of '76 alive online.
This year, we return once more to the archive not just to remember, but to ask, what does June 16 mean to the youth of 2025? And how do we continue to honour that meaning beyond the public holiday?