Sharpeville is black township set up by the then apartheid government in southern Gauteng, South Africa between two large industrial cities of Vanderbijlpark and Vereeniging. On March 21 1960 the Sharpeville Massacre occurred when the South African police opened fire on black civilians protesting the abhorred pass laws. The pass laws restricted them to certain areas and forced them to carry passes at all times. 69 people were killed and 178 wounded by police during the campaign.