Linking liberation legacies: How the 1976 Soweto Uprising and 2015-2016 #MustFallUprising inform and shape the pursuit of an LGBTQIA+ inclusive school history curriculum in post-apartheid South Africa

Abstract

From the 1976 Soweto Uprising led by Black school learners protesting against the policy of Bantu Education introduced by the apartheid regime to the 2015-2016 student protests under the banner #MustFall led by Black students protesting high fees and colonial apartheid influences in universities, South African youth have consistently mobilised for epistemic and ontological recognition. This study investigates how these two uprisings and their legacies inform and shape ongoing efforts to develop an inclusive school history curriculum for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer/Questioning, Intersex, and Asexual/Aromantic/Agender (LGBTQIA+) in post-apartheid South Africa. Drawing on a decolonial intersectional queer theory and Southern social movements framework as theoretical orientations, and a qualitative case study design underpinned by a critical paradigm, with critical discourse analysis as tools of analysis, I contend that the uprisings’ demands for rehumanisation, visibility, decolonised knowledge, and dismantling oppressive structures offer vital, yet underexplored strategies for advancing a school history curriculum that is LGBTQIA+ inclusive. I also argue that developing such a curriculum represents the essential next phase in post-apartheid South Africa’s continued pursuit of epistemic and ontological liberation. Thus, truly honouring the revolutionary spirit of the 1976 and #MustFall youths requires confronting the erasure of LGBTQIA+ histories in official historical narratives and building a school history curriculum that reflects the full diversity and richness of all South Africans.