T Shirts That Shout

In racially troubled South Africa, a new and potent form of protest has emerged: the lowly T shirt. Worn mostly by black youths, the multicolored shirts bear antiapartheid slogans and organizational plugs. Security forces have often ordered demonstrators to remove the T shirts. Last January, Cape Town police banned all T shirts, regardless of their messages, in an effort to thwart protesters at the opening of Parliament. The order was met with public ridicule and was quickly rescinded by an embarrassed government.

As part of its crackdown on dissent in the schools, Pretoria last week empowered educational authorities to forbid students to wear shirts bearing unacceptable slogans on school grounds. The new regulations also covered uniforms and any other "article of clothing, case, flag, banner, pennant or poster," making it difficult for youngsters to use other sartorial means to express their views.