The Master Narrative of South Africa's Liberation Struggle: Remembering and Forgetting June 16, 1976
2007; Boston University; Volume: 40; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês
ISSN
2326-3016
Autores Tópico(s)South African History and Culture
ResumoSouth Africa has recently marked the thirtieth anniversary of the student uprising against the apartheid state, which erupted in on June 16, 1976. Now known by the shorthand of the Soweto uprising, this event is commemorated annually as Youth Day, an occasion upon which tribute is paid to the defining role the youth of South Africa played in the struggle for freedom and democracy. As with previous years, the thirtieth anniversary was marred by a fair amount of rancour and mud slinging. A slew of press articles appeared that cited veterans of the anti-apartheid struggle criticising youths-especially white youths - for their lack of appreciation of the historical significance of June 16.' Some called for youths to be educated about the importance of the day and contended that the Class of 76, despite their poor level of education, was far more politically conscious than the born frees.2 The widespread condemnation of the apathy or ignorance of the youth in respect of the remembrance of June 16 by self-appointed custodians of the struggle proved to be a constant refrain in the media. A second theme that cropped up regularly in media coverage of the commemoration was the contestation over the of June 16. In other words, there was debate-sometimes heated-over ownership of the historical event. Competing claims were put forward with regard to what persons and organizations played a key role in events in the build up to the uprising.3 This has obvious political implications for groups seeking to stake their right to the story of the liberation struggle that has become the cornerstone of the new nation's collective and identity. A third, and equally controversial issue as this paper will show, is the confirmation of the figure of Hector Pieterson4 as a symbol of the sacrifices made by the youth to win freedom. Pieterson's status as a struggle hero was reified by the announcement by Minister of Arts and Culture Pallo Jordan, that a statue modelled on Sam Nzima's iconic photo would be erected in the precinct of the Hector Petersen Museum, which already includes his gravestone.5 Former President Nelson Mandela received a miniature replica of the planned lifesize bronze statue that is to be erected.6 Thirty years on (and in absentia), Pieterson enjoys the stature of the most widely known name associated with the struggle of the generation of 1976 against apartheid. This paper will interrogate each of these issues as symptoms of the contestation over the meaning and significance of June 16, 1976. I wish, then, to understand how and why South Africans remember June 16. I do not propose to review the historiography of the uprising.7 Neither do I propose to revisit the recollections of (eye)witnesses and participants,8 the memoirs of reporters,9 nor the representation of the stories related in novels, poems and other literary texts.10 Because memories are embodied in visual images, sites, and ritual re-enactments of the past, as well as in written texts, I will offer readings of four exemplars of memory texts: first, the iconic photograph by Sam Nzima; second, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's (TRC) rehearsal of the events of June 16; third, the Hector Petersen Museum; and, finally, the commemoration of Youth (formerly Soweto) Day. It will be argued (following Annette Kuhn) that these memory serve to connect private experiences and public life, personal and social memory. The corroboration and validation of these texts has reinforced a narrative of the liberation struggle with its heroes, martyrs and saints. And the living memories of the uprising of June 16, 1976 have been inscribed in the master narrative of the liberation struggle constructed by the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party in post-apartheid South Africa.12 The paper will conclude by offering some insights into the role of and forgetting in the construction of national identity and ask whether it is possible (or even desirable) to aspire to some sort of consensus about the meaning of the past in order to forge a sense of nationhood. …
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