The brochure describes the pass law protests and Sharpeville massacre on March 21, 1960. More than 250,000 Africans across the country responded to the call of the Pan Africanist Congress to protest against the pass laws. In Sharpeville, outside Johannesburg, 5,000 unarmed men, women and children gathered in front of the local police station in peaceful protest; the police fired on the crowd and killed 69 people and wounded 180 others. At the end of 1972, dockworkers held a series of strikes in Durban, followed by more than 50,000 workers coming out on strike in February, 1973. Black workers in South Africa still have far to go in their struggle against apartheid, and they must be supported,...
The brochure describes the pass law protests and Sharpeville massacre on March 21, 1960. More than 250,000 Africans across the country responded to the call of the Pan Africanist Congress to protest against the pass laws. In Sharpeville, outside Johannesburg, 5,000 unarmed men, women and children gathered in front of the local police station in peaceful protest; the police fired on the crowd and killed 69 people and wounded 180 others. At the end of 1972, dockworkers held a series of strikes in Durban, followed by more than 50,000 workers coming out on strike in February, 1973. Black workers in South Africa still have far to go in their struggle against apartheid, and they must be supported, especially by workers in the U.S. For the growing liberation struggle in Mozambique, Angola, Guinea-Bissau, Namibia, and Zimbabwe as well as South Africa, international support is increasingly important. The brochure says action also must be taken to end U.S. governmental and corporate aid to the Portuguese colonial government and the apartheid regime. The United Nations has dedicated March 21, Sharpeville Day, as the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, and the UN Special Committee on Apartheid has issued a call to all States, organizations and individuals to intensify the international campaign against apartheid. The Special Committee calls for an end to all military and political collaboration with the South African regime, to all activities by foreign corporations which serve to strengthen the white controlled system, and to all sports and cultural ties with South Africa functioning under apartheid, in addition to support for governments opposing apartheid and aid for those persecuted for their activities in opposition to apartheid. • Sharpeville, South Africa: March 21, 1960 • South Africa, 1973: 50,000 Workers on Strike • The Struggle Continues
