Sharpeville is the name of a black township under the municipality of Vereeniging that, during apartheid, was administrated by the town council of Vereeniging, supported by an Urban Bantu Council. It was a residential and business area, with social, cultural, educational and sport facilities. At the time of the Sharpeville Massacre, it housed about 38 000 residents.
Sharpeville became famous in history for a violent collision, with loss of life, that occurred on March 21, 1960, between black protestors and members of the South African Police during a protest campaign against pass laws led by the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC). The incident led to stringent opposition from abroad against South Africa, whose repressive policies had endured worldwide criticism for years already.
The event was part of a greater wave of black consciousness and a drive towards independence that swept through Africa at that stage. By the end of the Fifties, organisations and individuals had begun calling on blacks in South Africa to participate in a series of steps that would start early in 1960 and, by 1963, would result in a free and independent country for blacks. Moral and other support for this campaign was elicited from certain African countries as well as abroad.
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