On 21 March 1960 at 1.40 in the afternoon, apartheid South Africa’s police opened fire on a peaceful crowd of about 4,000 residents of Sharpeville, who were protesting against carrying identity documents that restricted black people’s movement. The police minimised the number of victims by at least one third, and justified the shooting by claiming that the crowd was violent. This shocking story has been thus misrepresented for over 60 years.
Our new research retells the story of Sharpeville, about 70km south of Johannesburg, from the viewpoint of the victims themselves. As experienced historians who have undertaken archival research in South Africa since the 1970s we based our research on interviews with survivors and investigation into government records in both the police archives and the national archives in Pretoria. Our work reveals the true number of victims and the exact role of the police in the massacre.
The Sharpeville Massacre ignited international outrage and the birth of the Anti-Apartheid Movement worldwide. It also led to renewed political protests inside South Africa. These were met with the total suppression of political movements that lasted for 30 years. Despite its historic importance, Sharpeville as a place and a community has remained unknown to the wider public and its residents anonymous. Yet they have a story to tell.
