Soweto

The rising of the black youths 25 years ago, on the 16 June 1976, marks an historical turning-point in South Africa. For the first time, black students stood up against the apartheid regime of the government. Their protest set into motion the long final phase of white supremacy in the country. For this, hundreds of young people had to suffer with their lives. Today, Soweto with its great disparities between recently-acquired affluence and the old-time misery of the squatters symbolises urbanised South Africa in transition - a country that still vividly carries the scars of its apartheid past in the black townships on the outskirts of Johannesburg, for example. In spite of this, the new South Africa shows promise for the future. This publication includes not only an interview with Nelson Mandela, but also more than 100 exemplary, striking photographs of Soweto's past and present. It is an impressive photographic account of the contrarities that haunt this South African myth. Photographers include: Jodi Bieber, Ernest Cole, Peter Magubane, Victor Matom, Alf Khumalo, Santu Mofokeng and Jurgen Schadeberg, and others.