We walked up V Street and passed Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu’s house. We passed several vendors on the street as we walked and had the opportunity to take pictures in the historic site.
Upon arrival to the Hector Pieterson Museum, we met with our City Year friends and our tour guide who gave us instructions about what would happen.
In the museum, our tour guide walked us through and explained why Hector was impactful to the movement. One of the most notable photos from the museum was an image of Hector being carried down the street after being shot with his sister running behind, crying. Hector was killed on June 16, 1976 in the Soweto Youth Protest.
Pieterson was the first student victim; this was profound to me because it showed that the government and the police didn’t care about the children. These young people wanted the opportunity to learn in their native language, but the Dutch government enforced Afrikaans as the required teaching and testing language. This caused challenges for students in schools.
There was a lot of imagery of young people being beaten while protesting, we were able to see different weapons that the police used and the signage that the young people had when they were protesting.
Once we completed the tour, the City Year Fellows and Eastern students all gathered to discuss how young people are making changes. We talked about the Trump Election Walk Out that most DC students participated in, the murder of Trayvon Martin and how the Black Lives Matter movement started. Our City Year counterparts asked many questions about youth involvement and then we discussed the challenge of how young people can be involved with an issue “at the moment,” but then often lose sight of that issue after it dies down.
In addition to the Hector Pieterson Museum, we also visited the Apartheid Museum. It was one of the best museums I’ve ever been to. I’ve heard about apartheid, but never learned about it in school. I saw and learned a lot of information. There was so much information. I saw how people were treated during apartheid. Many young men were sexually abused while working in the mines. Teenage boys would have to stand naked holding their arms out, and whoever could stand the longest would receive jobs in the mines. It was crazy to me because they were so young; it made me think about myself. These young men were willing to do anything in order to have money for their family; I think I would do anything for my family, but…
There was another photo of a woman holding her baby and the baby was malnourished. The caption of the picture talked about their situation. They didn’t have money even for a bed, so they slept on the floor. I have little brothers and sisters and I would never want them to have to live like that – this family did not have heat or electricity, and if they became sick and went to the hospital it wouldn’t be quality care.
Another major part of apartheid was passes. If you were Black, you had to carry this pass around with you, and without it you could be imprisoned. The pass was a type of identification card, and it basically separated people. Whites did not have to carry a pass, and Indians did, but they weren’t subject to as long of an imprisonment if they didn’t have it
Today was important because it also told me parts of my history. I’m of African descent. I’ve always wanted to know more about African culture, I felt connected to the history. There are a lot of similarities to things that are still happening. Ultimately, the day was awesome!
Eugene B.