Year of fire, year of ash : the Soweto schoolchildren's revolt that shook apartheid / Baruch Hirson ; foreword by Shula Marks.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hirson, Baruch, author.

Contributor:

Marks, Shula, writer of foreword.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

South Africa--History--Soweto Uprising, 1976.

South Africa.

History.

Genre:

History.

Physical Description:

xv, 350 pages : maps ; 22 cm

Edition:

New edition.

Place of Publication:

London : Zed Books, 2016.

Summary:

Originally banned on publication by the apartheid government, Year of Fire, Year of Ash is an eye-opening account of how, in June 1976, 20,000 school students faced down the tanks and guns of a vicious racist regime, in a revolt that galvanized the black working-class and became a pivotal turning point for the anti-apartheid movement. More than this, the book overturns much of the conventional logic that served to explain the event at the time, showing it was not simply a student protest but part of a wider uprising. Released in this new edition to mark the fortieth anniversary, Year of Fire, Year of Ash provides an unparalleled insight into the origins and events of the uprising, from its antecedents in the 1920s to its role in inspiring global solidarity against apartheid. As South Africa experiences a new wave of popular discontent, and as new forms of black consciousness come to the fore in movements around the world, Baruch Hirson's book provides a timely reminder of the Soweto revolt's continued significance to struggles against oppression today. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part 1 From School Strikes to Black Consciousness

1 The Black Schools: 1799-1954 12

2 Bantu Education: 1954-1976 40

3 The University Student Movements: 1960-1969 60

4 Black Consciousness Politics: 1970-1974 76

5 Secondary Schools and the African School Movement 93

6 The Black Consciousness Movement: Ideology and Action 107

Part 2 Workers and Students on the Road to Revolt

7 Black Workers Set the Pace 122

8 The Strike Wave Spreads 146

9 State Repression and Political Revival: 1974-1976 159

10 The Soweto Revolt: June 1976 174

11 The Revolt Takes Shape 206

12 The Cape Province Explodes 214

13 New Tactics in the Revolt 243

14 The Revolt Winds Down 263

Part 3 Black Consciousness and the Struggle in S. Africa

15 Anatomy of the Revolt 282

16 Black Consciousness in South African History 308.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 338-344) and index.

ISBN:

9781783608966

178360896X

OCLC:

951611223

Publisher Number:

99969102677