Students in Soweto protested the apartheid government’s imposition of Afrikaans as a language of instruction, and police violence turned the demonstration into a nationwide uprising. Mandela was on Robben Island and did not learn what had happened on the day; the Foundation notes that he only understood the scale in August, when young prisoners arrived. This entry centers the agency of students and youth, and records the limits placed on Mandela’s access to news.
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What did the 18 July 1978 birthday-card episode show?
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Explanation
International supporters marked Mandela’s 60th birthday while he remained imprisoned.
The British MPs’ birthday card was accepted by the South African embassy in 1978.
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Explanation
The Anti-Apartheid Movement archive says the embassy refused it.