Hector: A Boy, A Protest, and the Photograph that Changed Apartheid

by Adrienne Wright

Overview

A Junior Library Guild Selection!

On June 16, 1976, Hector Pieterson, an ordinary boy, lost his life after getting caught up in what was supposed to be a peaceful protest. Black South African students were marching against a new law requiring that they be taught half of their subjects in Afrikaans, the language of the White government. The story’s events unfold from the perspectives of Hector, his sister, and the photographer who captured their photo in the chaos. This book can serve as a pertinent tool for adults discussing global history and race relations with children. Its graphic novel style and mixed media art portray the vibrancy and grit of Hector’s daily life and untimely death.

Heartbreaking yet relevant, this powerful story gives voice to an ordinary boy and sheds light on events that helped lead to the end of apartheid.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781624146916
Publisher:	Page Street Publishing
Publication date:	06/04/2019
Pages:	48
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 11.40(h) x 0.60(d)
Lexile:	690L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

About the Author

Adrienne Wright, a debut author-illustrator, grew up in South Africa and graduated from the College of Art and Design in Johannesburg. She has experience in illustration, art direction, and graphic design with various ad agencies. She lives with her family in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania.

Editorial Reviews

06/10/2019

Wright tells the true story behind the famed photograph taken of Hector Pieterson, a 12-year-old who was shot by police during a 1976 protest against apartheid in South Africa. Prior to the erupting discord and violence, it’s an ordinary weekend for Hector (“On Saturday afternoons, Hector and his friends love watching movies at the nearby church”). Readers gain clues about how the community is impacted by apartheid through a “non-whites only” sign that Hector and his friends adhere to. Sequential panels transition into spreads as he is drawn into a student march; soon, police gunfire erupts. Wright switches to Hector’s older sister Antoinette’s point of view as she witnesses the shooting amid tear gas. And the final chapter is told from the perspective of photographer Sam Nzima, who snaps a photograph of the child’s body being carried by a teenage boy. Wright’s deliberately paced, highly visual narrative captures a traumatic moment with piercing clarity and doesn’t shy from including the photograph upon which the story is based. Back matter further describes the complicated political circumstances that would result in the deaths of Hector and other innocent civilians. Ages 8–11. (June)

Publishers Weekly

* "A tragic but inspiring story about an event in South Africa's history that must never be forgotten."
– Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* “Nzima’s powerful photograph—the one that caught the world’s attention—is distinct yet seamlessly integrated in this unique account.” – Booklist, starred review

"Wright’s deliberately paced, highly visual narrative captures a traumatic moment with piercing clarity and doesn’t shy from including the photograph upon which the story is based." – Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

06/01/2019

Gr 2–5—This is the partly fictionalized story of 12-year-old Hector Pieterson, one of the first children shot and killed by police on June 16, 1976, in Soweto–South Africa's largest black township–during a student protest march. His death triggered a months-long uprising and the start of a new era in the struggle against apartheid. The story stems from a photograph taken by journalist Sam Nzima, which shows Hector being carried by Mbuyisa Makhubu with Hector's half-sister Antoinette Sithole running alongside them. The story is told from three viewpoints: Hector's, Sithole's, and Nzima's. Hector is seen playing with his younger sister, visiting his grandma, and then caught in the march that protested students having to learn subjects in Afrikaans, seen as "the language of oppression." More of a chronological news report than a narrative with an emotional arc, the story's impact is limited. The pastel and collage illustrations depict township life as stripped down to the essentials. The author conducted careful research, including personal interviews with Sithole and Nzima. There is an extensive bibliography, glossary, biographical sketches, and detailed acknowledgments. However, the historical context presented is inadequate for the projected audience. Some of the historical details are inaccurate at worst and misleading at best. VERDICT The book's audience is unclear: while a more extended treatment of the subject might be appropriate for older readers, the format and presentation are clearly geared to younger ones. In the hands of a knowledgeable teacher, it could be used to supplement curriculum materials.–Sue Giffard, Ethical Culture Fieldston School, New York

School Library Journal

★ 2019-03-17
A white South African who grew up in apartheid, Wright captures the largely untold story of Hector Zolile Pieterson, who died in the Soweto student protest against mandatory lessons in Afrikaans in 1976 and whose photograph alerted the rest of the world to apartheid's impact on black children.

Told graphic novel-style through dialogue and narrative in frames illustrated in pastel colors and earth tones, this story emerged from interviews Wright held with Pieterson's family members as well as from research on the photographer of the historic photo, Sam Mzima, and Mbuyisa Makhubu, a teenage good Samaritan who carried Hector's limp body from the scene where the police threw tear gas and shot and killed children. This powerful story offers three perspectives: Hector's, his sister, Antoinette's, and photographer Sam's, respectively. Sam hid his most important roll of film in his sock to keep it from the Afrikaner police, who ruined his other rolls of film to prevent public awareness of this massacre. While the details of Hector's life help readers realize that he was just a regular boy who didn't deserve to die under this unjust system of segregation, this portrayal of the protesting teens also emphasizes how much power children can have when they stand up for their rights.

A tragic but inspiring story about an event in South Africa's history that must never be forgotten. (historical note, author's note, biographies, glossary, bibliography) (Graphic biography. 8-12)

Kirkus Reviews