June 16 route remembered
Lucille Davie
15 June 2005
A 10-kilometre walkway tracing the route Soweto students marched along on 16 June 1976, in protest against the use of Afrikaans in the classroom, is to be unveiled on 16 June this year.
Organised by the Soweto 100 Legacy Foundation, the route will start at Naledi High School and wind its way through the western suburbs of Soweto before it reaches the spot in Orlando West where 12-year-old Hector Pieterson was shot by police - the flashpoint that led to uprisings across the country.
The walkway will be complete in 2006 and a memorial walk will be held along the route each year. The route will consist of black granite paving stones, with silver engraving. Stones are available for purchase by members of the public.
The Soweto 100 Legacy
Foundation, formed at the centenary of Soweto last October, is involved in a number of projects.
These include the building of a swimming pool in Zola; further development of the Soweto Cricket Oval; the conversion of Uncle Tom's Hall in Orlando West into a fully-fledged theatre; and the patronage of the Soweto Hospice, Othandweni Children's Home and the Orlando Children's Home.
The walkway project has got off the ground, with the installation of pavement stones outside Naledi High School, undertaken by a group of women, trained and supervised by the Johannesburg Roads Agency.
The foundation is a business unit that falls under the directorship of SAIL, a sports and entertainment company, but also relies on corporate and private sponsorship. Some of the foundation's trustees include former Joburg mayor Isaac Mogase, businessman David Moshapalo, musician Sipho "Hotstix" Mabuse and TV personality Vuyo Mbuli.
The walkway will contain signage telling the history of
the day, with memorials along the way commemorating certain incidents like the killing of Dr Melville Edelstein, the halt on a bridge in Zulu Street, and several houses that acted as safe havens.
The walkway will end at the corner of Moema and Vilakazi streets, at Tlhoreng Primary School, where a granite memorial wall marks the spot where Pieterson fell.
The Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum is several blocks up Moema Street, on Khumalo Street.
Source: City of Johannesburg
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