On 16 June 1976 , an uprising broke out in Soweto , in which predominantly 13 - to 16-year-old students from Soweto participated in a march to protest against being taught in Afrikaans and against the Bantu Education system in general . The police ordered the children to disperse , and when they refused the police opened fire , killing scores ( and by some estimates , hundreds ) of them . As the children pelted the police with stones , South Africa went up in flames . The government responded by banning the entire Black Consciousness Movement along with many other political organisations , as well as issuing banning orders against various persons . Donald Woods was one of the banned persons and was effectively placed under house arrest
uprising
Soweto uprising
Donald Woods