Morris Isaacson High School is a government secondary school in

Soweto Soweto () is a Township (South Africa), township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western T ...

. Founded in 1956, the school took an important role at the start of the

Soweto Uprising The Soweto uprising, also known as the Soweto riots, was a series of demonstrations and protests led by black school children in South Africa during apartheid that began on the morning of 16 June 1976. Students from various schools began to p ...

in 1976.

History

The school was named for Morris Isaacson who was a Lithuanian Jewish immigrant in 1896. He had become wealthy by trading and he set up a fund for black students to complete their education to university level. It was Isaacson who funded this school. Isaacson gave enough money to build a school with ten classrooms and it opened in 1956 with 300 pupils when it was called "Mohloding School". During the height of

apartheid Apartheid ( , especially South African English: , ; , ) was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. It was characterised by an ...

, teachers at Morris Isaacson High School managed to provide good quality education, despite the oppressive limits of the underfunded Bantu Education system. On 8 June 1976, the South African Police attempted to arrest Enos Ngutshane at

Naledi High School Naledi High School is a government secondary school at 892 Nape Street in Soweto. The school took an important role at the start of the Soweto Uprising in 1976. History The school was founded in 1963. On 1 July 1974 there was a bus accident t ...

. He was the local leader of the South African Students Movement. He had sent a letter to the government about the imposition of

Afrikaans Afrikaans is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken in South Africa, Namibia and to a lesser extent Botswana, Zambia, Zimbabwe and also Argentina where there is a group in Sarmiento, Chubut, Sarmiento that speaks the Pat ...

as the language to be used in schools. The police failed to apprehend him, and the police were stoned and a

Volkswagen Beetle The Volkswagen Beetle, officially the Volkswagen Type 1, is a small family car produced by the German company Volkswagen from 1938 to 2003. One of the most iconic cars in automotive history, the Beetle is noted for its distinctive shape. Its pr ...

was set on fire by the students. On 16 June, students had gathered at Naledi High School to walk to Morris Isaacson High School in Jabavu.

Tsietsi Mashinini Teboho "Tsietsi" MacDonald Mashinini (born 27 January 1957 – 1990) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and prominent student leader during the Soweto Uprising. Life Teboho Tsietsi Mashinini known by his pet name "Mcdonald" was born in ...

, a student at this school was a leader of the march of protest. The plan was to gather at

Orlando Stadium Orlando Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Soweto, a township in Johannesburg, in Gauteng province in South Africa. It is the home venue for Orlando Pirates Football Club, a professional soccer team that plays in the Premier Soccer League a ...

, but before that the police arrived and school children were shot. Because of the prominent role that students played in the

, Morris Isaacson High School was forced to remain shut from June 1976 until 1979. When it reopened, the school managed to survive the turbulent decade of the

1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 335px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Space Shuttle Columbia, Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union, Soviet General Secretary of the Communist Party of ...

. In 1991, a fire destroyed large portions of the school, including the administration block and damaged the library, some classes and the laboratory. In 1992, the film Sarafina! was filmed at Morris Isaacson High School. The school was chosen partly because of its association with student activism. On 1 May 1993,

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

visited the school to celebrate the school's role in the

and nation's transformation. By 1995 the school had 36 classrooms, 1100 students, and 34 teachers.

Alumni

Teboho MacDonald Mashinini Teboho "Tsietsi" MacDonald Mashinini (born 27 January 1957 – 1990) was a South African anti-apartheid activist and prominent student leader during the Soweto Uprising. Life Teboho Tsietsi Mashinini known by his pet name "Mcdonald" was born in ...

– student leader in 1976 * Kgomotso Moroka – barrister *

Paul Trewhela Paul Trewhela (born 1941) is a South African journalist and a former political prisoner. Early life Trewhela was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, in 1941, educated at Michaelhouse in KwaZulu-Natal. Career Trewhela worked in underground jou ...

– writer * Kagiso Pat Mautloa – artist *

Reneilwe Letsholonyane Reneilwe "Yeye" Letsholonyane (born 9 June 1982) is a South African retired professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. He represented the South Africa national team at international level. Early life Letsholonyane grew up kicking a ...

– footballer

Legacy

There is a statue of Teboho Mashinini by

Johannes Phokela Johannes Phokela (born 1966) is a South African painter and sculptor. Background Johannes Phokela was born in Soweto, South Africa in 1966 and trained under Durant Sihlali. When Phokela was a child he witnessed the Soweto uprising and later cr ...

on the grounds that was unveiled on 1 May 2010 by the

Mayor of Johannesburg The mayor of Johannesburg is the highest elected position in the city of Johannesburg, South Africa. Since 2000, they are the chief executive of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality council. On 16 August 2024, the council elected D ...

. Morris Isaacson High School has become a center of

Youth Day Youth Day or National Youth Day is a commemorative holiday in honour of youth, young people, celebrated in different parts of the world on various dates throughout the year. Many countries' observance of the day corresponds with International Yo ...

commemorations of the 1976 Soweto Uprising.

References

{{Greater Johannesburg, edu Buildings and structures in Soweto High schools in South Africa Schools in Gauteng Educational institutions established in 1956 1956 establishments in South Africa