Hector Pieterson Memorial & Museum

8287 Kumalo Street, Orlando West, Soweto, South Africa
The Hector Pieterson Museum is a heritage site intrinsically linked to the origins of the Soweto Uprisings and its aftermath. By 10. 30 am on 16 June 1976, thousands of students had gathered in Orlando West around Vilakazi Street and the precinct where the Hector Pieterson Museum is presently located to begin a protest march against the imposition of the Afrikens language as the medium of instruction in Soweto’s schools. More students from the various parts of the sprawling townships were still on their way to Orlando West / Phefeni. Police opened fire, killing Hastings Ndlovu and Hector Pieterson. The shooting sparked off days of unrest and hundreds of deaths. The Soweto uprisings had begun. After 16 and 17 June 1976, nothing in South Africa would be the same again. An old era was past. A new one was beginning. The Hector Pieterson Museum’s Orlando West precinct includes the following important sites: the spots where both Hector Pieterson (Vilakazi Street) and Hastings Ndlovu ...
Category: Museums

Reviews

MM

MNM1011, 14 SEP 2018

Frankly, I don’t recall ever hearing of Hector Pieterson before today. I am old enough to remember the shameful violence of the government against its own people but until today I did not know of...

BB

Barry B, 28 AUG 2018

This is well worth a short visit, as the death of Hector Pieterson was critical in the march toward the end of Apartheid, yet continues to carry significance in understanding the culture of South...

TT

tonykJ9442AM, 29 JUL 2018

The museum give you a peek into SA's history in 1976. This is a prelude that led to the Freedom of South African from the tentacles of apartheid. Young people of this country made it possible, a...

DD

Deirdre D, 21 JUN 2018

Our students liked to take pictures at the park and shop with the vendors across the street. We didn't go into museum, but had a guide tell us about the square outside.

TB

Trevor B, 19 JUN 2018

An interesting SA history about what happened in 1976. we called it the Black Power. A memorial commemorates thus

BB

belleretraite, 8 JUN 2018

The Hector Pieterson Memorial was a stop on our guided tour of Soweto with City Sightseeing and it was for us the first time that we learned about Hector Pieterson and his impact on the fight against...

MM

MikeFo, 7 MAY 2018

Hector himself (or at least his image) is of course so well known, but to learn more of his story and by implication that of so many other young children who endured apartheid, but also to read the...

DC

Dina C, 3 MAY 2018

This site memorializes a student uprising that was the turning point in the fight against Apartheid. It was after this student's death that momentum seemed to build and US students started calling...

KK

kwalkerward, 8 APR 2018

This is right outside the Hector Pieterson Museum. Important to visit as part of the entire experience.

JJ

Joppel, 6 FEB 2018

Take a walk down SA's history. What love about this memorial that it forms part of the vibey street life of Soweto. Ao, although a place of quiet reflection it is not removed from the heart of...

Classification

Soweto, Greater Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa

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