Hector vs YOU
When we sat down to brainstorm June’s content for Clic, one school of thought hit that approached us, is the sentiment that June 16 really belongs to the youth of 1976 and not so much to the millennials of today. This is problematic considering how much culture, patterns, thoughts, and behaviours have changed. It’s almost as if we are living in the shadows of our older siblings while they refuse to grow up and put on high school uniform on the same day each year.
So we had a thought; what if the faces and icons of June 16 were interchangeable with the seasons? Which face or faces would become the icons and would this mean we erase the memory of, for example, Hector Pieterson or Tsietsi Mashinini?
The youth challenges and struggles of today are not necessarily the same as that of pre-apartheid. The power of youth has changed considerably compared to the class of 1976. The challenge in 1976 was education rights and the challenge today is identity paired with creativity. Young people today are all about not having labels attached to them or being forced to think inside a box.
Young people have always been at the forefront of shaping culture and the environment around us. The power of being young resides in our voice and what we do with that voice to make a change.
However in as much as young people are powerful, they are also equally challenged by the power of identity and creativity. The world has recently started accepting people who don’t think normal and have crazy or weird ambitions. These people are the millennials who refuse to accept the old way. They want to usher in a new way of thinking. A dawn that forces the community to think different and really ask if we still moving in the right direction.
They are the new age struggle icons of identity, creativity, entrepreneurship, and living life to the fullest. They are the voice that doesn’t want to be silenced. The people who move with style and emotion. They are redefining what we know as society today.
The youth of 1976 paved the way for future young generations. The question is, have we learned enough from the class of 1976?
This question will always be valid. It will always be relevant to whatever generation of young people that celebrate youth day. It is at the heart of all youth movements; be it political, or personal.
So, have you learned enough from 1976?
And
The final question is, who is the face of the millennial revolution?
