What’s happening on JUNE 16th?
We know it’s a public holiday, but never forget that JUNE 16TH is all about remembering and commemorating the SOWETO UPRISING – the Soweto youth whose brave and selfless action in 1976 was a turning point for change in our country.
This year is the 30th anniversary of that day and we urge everyone to take some time on the 16th to remember our past and pay hommage to those who gave their …
young lives in the struggle for freedom. We must never forget our past in order to continue to move onwards and up. Represent!
The main event will be taking place in the FNB stadium – we urge all Representers to go along and join in the day’s events.
National Youth Day Rally all roads to FNB Stadium (16 June 2006)
The National Youth Day programme will commence with the moment of silence throughout the country at 09:00 which is the approximate time in which the first victim of the June 16, 1976, Hector Zolile Peterson, was shot by the security forces of the time.
A march will commence from the Morris Isaacson High school and proceed to the Hector Peterson memorial for a wreath-laying ceremony.
President Thabo Mbeki will address a rally at the Soccer City Stadium (FNB) immediately after the wreath-laying ceremony.
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Then there’s live music in Newtown – it’s not on the 16th but it’s all about the 16th:
Dr Badela
The name Dr Badela comes from a black journalist named Dr Mono Badela. He worked for the Daily Despatch where he was controversially fired for writing about the June 16 Massacre and writing about things as they were.
He then moved to Johannesburg and worked for City Press and onto Mail & Guardian. At Mail & Guardian he was again fired for writing black consciousness stories which led him to be exiled to Europe, America etc where he wrote about the true state of affaires in South Africa. While in exile, he worked at the New York Times, mobilizing rallies in Sweden, England etc.
Dr Badela became the first Communication Minister at the Eastern Cape after 1994. He later retired and passed on of which its been three years now. He was Honored Doctor of Journalism by the Rhodes University after his death.
Hence the band Dr Badela was formed in honor of the late Dr Mono Badela. It’s a 6 piece band with three vocal artists and 3 instrument artist.
Long Live Dr Badela!
Monday Blues Production
Zimele Concert
17 June 2006 @ Horror Cafý
20h30
R50
Line up: Dr Badela,
Roots 2000,
Mpandekor,
Sliq Angel & MXO,
Poet: Motofela
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Here’s another something something for June 16…
TRI-CONTINENTAL HIP HOP FESTIVAL – COMEMMORATING 30 YEARS – JUNE 16
The TRI-CONTINENTAL HIP HOP FESTIVAL will celebrate Hip hop and youth culture through performances featuring artists and guests who represent the pinnacle of artistic expression from South Africa (SA), the United States (US) and the United Kingdom (UK). Unlike most popular common events, this festival will present renowned artists for their lyrical prowess, socially relevant content, riveting performances and underground/cult appeal – in the spirit of the revolution.
This festival has been conceptualised as an alternative yet relevant platform to celebrate Youth Day in a contemporary form. TRI-CONTINENTAL HIP HOP FESTIVAL is a 3-city tour that will take place in Johannesburg, Cape Town & Durban. The festival will serve to entertain and educate the youth.
FEATURED ARTISTS:
Hip Hop has become one of the most powerful mediums to communicate to the urban youth today. Each of the artists participating in the festival has been carefully selected because they represent an authentic voice that reflects the mind state of the global citizen of today. The TRI-CONTINENTAL HIP HOP FESTIVALý will feature 3 headlining acts:
BEN SHARPA – SOUTH AFRICA
Born in the ghetto slums of Soweto, Ben Sharpa has built himself as a premiere figure in the Underground Hip Hop scene all over South Africa.
WORDSWORTH – UNITED STATES
As his name suggests, Brooklyn-bred microphone fiend Wordsworth is the epitome of a true Hip Hop wordsmith. This Lyricist Lounge All-Star is looking to the past to reinvigorate the present by recalling the essence of 1994 – when the beats were hard and emcees talked to listeners rather than at them about relevant topics they could relate to.
JONZI D – UNITED KINGDOM
Jonzi D has been actively involved in British Hip Hop culture. After graduating from The London Contemporary Dance School in ’92, he performed in Tel Aviv, and at Jacob’s Pillow in Massachusetts, US. As an MC and poet, Jonzi’s collaborators include ‘The Roots’, MC Mell’o’, DJ Pogo, The Young Disciples, Courtney Pine and Lenny Henry.
It’s R80 at the door. GO GO.
VENUE: Bassline
TIME: 18h00 – Late
STAGE WARMERS:
Concerntration camp
Groundworks
Gini Grinith
DJ Sistamatic (Tumi)
DJ D-Uneek (Dominique)
DJ Raiko
MAIN ACTS:
Ben Sharpa (SA)
Wordsworth (US)
Jonzi D (UK)
CAPE TOWN – 16 JUNE
VENUE: Cape Town Convention Centre
TIME: 18h00 – Late
STAGE WARMERS:
Archetypes
DrieMansKaap
Writers Block
Fungus
DJ Ready D & Full Contact
DJ 4 Most
DJ Big Dre
DJ D-Uneek (Dominique)
MAIN ACTS: Ben Sharpa (SA)
Wordsworth (US)
Jonzi D (UK)
DURBAN – 17 JUNE
VENUE: Curries Fountain,DUT
TIME: 14h00 – 19h00
MAIN ACTS: Ben Sharpa (SA)
Wordsworth (US)
Jonzi D (UK)
DJ D-Uneek (Dominique)
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So what will you be doing to remember this day? Please send us any notices of events. We will let you know more as and when they come in.
For the movie lovers, there’s the unforgettable movie SARAPHINA starring a young Leleti Khumalo that will be screened at cinema’s across the country – if you haven’t seen the movie yet, make sure to catch this premiere. Click here to go to Ster Kinekor.
The acclaimed film Sarafina! will be released across South Africa on June 15 to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the 1976 Soweto uprising on June 16 and pay tribute to the youth of this country who helped put SA on the road to democracy.
The premiere of the film will take place at Ster-Kinekor Junction in Southgate on Sunday, June 11 in a function to be attended by the picture’s stars Leleti Khumalo and Mbongeni Ngema and director Darrell Roodt as well as other VIP guests and celebrities. The film will be released countrywide at Ster-Kinekor Junction cinemas on June 15.
This digitally re-mastered Director’s Cut of the hit film – which put the South African film industry in the international spotlight when it was originally released in 1992 – is being re-released so that today’s youth will be able to experience, through the film, the hardship that South Africans endured during the apartheid years. Sarafina! illustrates how freedom was achieved and the enormous impact June 16 1976 had on this country’s path to freedom and democracy.
Sarafina! is directed by Darrell James Roodt and stars Leleti Khumalo, Mbongeni Ngema, John Kani, Robert Whitehead and Miriam Makeba with Oscar winner Whoopi Goldberg. The film – based on the stage musical by Mbongeni Ngema – tells the story of a young schoolgirl who is encouraged by her history teacher to be proud of who she is and to become involved in student protests.
Says the film’s producer Anant Singh: “The young people of South Africa were the inspiration to tell this story which has resonated around the world. It is through them that we have achieved our freedom and it is has been an amazing 30 years. We pay tribute to them with Sarafina! The film has received acclaim around the world and we believe that it is going to be fascinating for the young audiences of today to experience this motion picture in cinemas.”
Sarafina! was the first South African film to be featured in the official selection of the Cannes International Film Festival and was also acquired for distribution in the United States by the Walt Disney Company. It was also the first SA film to be made in the country after the unbanning of the ANC and the release from prison of Nelson Mandela. Madiba, himself, praised the picture when he first saw it: “I think that (Sarafina!) is a very fair reflection of the evils of apartheid. I was really moved!
