Amidst the celebration of the birth of the Southern Kings at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium today came a timely reminder of the all-too recent political troubles that have blighted this country.

June 16 is known as Youth Day in memory of the 1976 protests sparked by the Soweto Uprising that took place 33 years ago. An estimated crowd of 15,000 youths, aged 10-20 years old, marched on the Orlando West Secondary School within the South Western Township of Johannesburg (Soweto) with the intention of presenting their grievances with the Transvaal Department of Education's policies that included the compulsory use of Afrikaans, together with English as the chosen teaching languages in all black schools.

The police soon descended on the scene and used teargas and dogs in their attempts to disperse the crowd and as a result a riot soon broke out. In the chaos gun shots were heard and a 12-year-old boy called Hector Pieterson was killed. The picture of Mbuyisa Makhubo carrying the fallen boy with his hysterical sister running alongside hit front pages around the world.

The rioting escalated, spreading like wildfire across the country over the following days and as a result the death toll quickly rose with historical records detailing a total of 575 fatalities, thought to be mainly teenagers, while another 4,000 were injured.

As a direct result of the tragic events, black schools were given the freedom to choose their main language and soon after further restrictions were lifted including those on movement in the cities. Global sanctions also intensified in the wake of the Soweto Uprising which would in turn play their part in South Africa shaking off the shackles of Apartheid.

One of the darkest days in South Africa's history set the country on a new path but will always remain part of its fabric. South africa.info describes June 16 as, "a day violently etched on the South African collective conscience....a day that changed the country's history."

Such is the significance of the occasion that special dispensation was required from the country's sports minister, the reverend Makhenkesi Stofile, for the game to go ahead on a day when no sport is normally played.

"The most remarkable aspect of this momentous occasion is that here we are, on June 16, 2009, hosting the British & Irish Lions in a country free of prejudice of any kind and with historical foes seated side by side," wrote Eastern Province Rugby Union President and anti-Apartheid campaigner Cheeky Watson in his programme notes.

How many of the thousands of Lions fans present in the stadium were aware of the significance of the day is probably limited but hopefully this may go some way to further the education of us all.