Hector Pieterson, age 13, was one the first students to be killed during the 1976 Student Uprising in Soweto. He has since become a symbol of youth resistance to apartheid. This uprising started on 16 June as a peaceful protest march organized by school students in Soweto. One of the main grievances was the introduction of Afrikaans, regarded as the language of the oppressor, as a medium of instruction in all African schools. 

In Orlando West, police confronted the marchers and ordered them to disperse. Despite the peaceful nature of the march, the confrontation turned violent and was here that a number of students, including Hector Pieterson, were shot and killed. What was a student march, quickly erupted into an uprising, which spread to many other parts of the country. 

The photograph by Sam Nzima of a young man, Mbuyiswa, carrying the critically injured Hector Pieterson in his arms, captured the attention of people throughout the world and highlighted the injustices of apartheid.