On 16 June 1976, at the age of 12, Hector Pieterson was shot by police during the student uprising in Soweto. Although not the first to be shot, he was the first of 23 students to die.
The picture taken by news photographer Sam Nzima of his body being carried by Mbuyisa Makhubo (a South African anti-Apartheid activist), his sister, Antoinette, running at their side, became a global symbol of apartheid oppression.
That morning, Soweto’s schoolchildren were marching against being taught in the Afrikaans language at schools. When they reached Maseko Street, police opened fire. The memorial was dedicated in June, 2002.