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Introduction

Steve Biko was a political activist who fought against apartheid in South Africa.

Bantu Stephen (“Steve”) Biko was born on December 18, 1946, in King William’s Town, South Africa . His father was a clerk and his mother was a domestic worker.

Biko began fighting against apartheid at an early age. He was expelled from Lovedale High School for his political activities. He then attended Saint Francis College. After graduating, he was admitted to the University of Natal’s medical school. In 1968 he helped start the all-black South African Students’ Organization (SASO). He became president of SASO the next year.

Black Consciousness

The SASO was based on the ideas of Black Consciousness. The leaders of the Black Consciousness movement had a new goal for change in South Africa. Other groups were working to allow blacks to participate in the current society. The leaders of the Black Consciousness movement, however, wanted blacks to establish their own society based on their own culture.

In 1972 Biko left the university and began to work for the Black Community Programmes (BCP) in Durban. The BCP provided resources to help blacks become independent. These included schools, newspapers, health clinics, and businesses. Biko believed that black South Africans needed to work together to break “the chains of oppression.”

The South African government felt threatened by Biko’s activities. It banned Biko in 1973. The ban meant that he could not move around freely or make any public statements. Biko challenged the ban by continuing to organize for the BCP.

In August 1977 Biko was arrested. The police took him to jail, where they beat him severely. On September 12, 1977, Biko died in Pretoria from his injuries. More than 20,000 people attended his funeral. His death had a major influence on the movement to end apartheid because it inspired blacks to fight for their rights.

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Steve Biko (born December 18, 1946, King William’s Town , South Africa—died September 12, 1977, Pretoria) was the founder of the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa . His death from injuries suffered while in police custody made him an international martyr for South African Black nationalism .

After being expelled from high school for political activism, Biko enrolled in and graduated (1966) from St. Francis College, a liberal boarding school in Natal , and then entered the University of Natal Medical School. There he became involved in the multiracial National Union of South African Students (NUSAS), a moderate organization that had long espoused the rights of Blacks. He soon grew disenchanted with NUSAS, believing that, instead of simply allowing Blacks to participate in white South African society, the society itself needed to be restructured around the culture of the Black majority. In 1968 he cofounded the all-Black South African Students’ Organization (SASO), and he became its first president the following year. SASO was based on the philosophy of Black consciousness , which encouraged Blacks to recognize their inherent dignity and self-worth. In the 1970s the Black Consciousness Movement spread from university campuses into urban Black communities throughout South Africa. In 1972 Biko was one of the founders of the Black People’s Convention, an umbrella organization of Black consciousness groups.

Biko drew official censure in 1973, when he and other SASO members were banned; their associations, movements, and public statements were thereby restricted. He then operated covertly, establishing the Zimele Trust Fund in 1975 to help political prisoners and their families. He was arrested four times over the next two years and was held without trial for months at a time. On August 18, 1977, he and a fellow activist were seized at a roadblock and jailed in Port Elizabeth . Biko was found naked and shackled outside a hospital in Pretoria , 740 miles (1,190 km) away, on September 11 and died the next day of a massive brain hemorrhage.

Police initially denied any maltreatment of Biko; it was determined later that he had probably been severely beaten while in custody, but the officers involved were cleared of wrongdoing. In 1997 five former police officers confessed to having killed Biko and applied for amnesty to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (a body convened to review atrocities committed during the apartheid years); amnesty was denied in 1999. Donald Woods, a South African journalist, depicts his friendship with Biko in Biko (1977; 3rd rev. ed., 1991), and their relationship is portrayed in the film Cry Freedom (1987).

World History Edu

Africa / South Africa

Steve Biko: 6 Memorable Achievements of the South African anti-Apartheid Activist

by World History Edu · December 16, 2020

Steve Biko was a South African anti-apartheid activist who is best remembered for devoting his short-lived life to fighting against racial segregation. Steve Biko is renowned for co-founding the South African Students’ Organization (SASO) to promote the rights of Blacks. He spent the majority of his youth and significant amount of resources in fighting against the apartheid government. For example, such was his dedication to the cause of Black rights that he got expelled from many of the schools he attended.

His grassroots campaigns for universal suffrage and the empowerment of Black South Africans drew the ire of the authorities, resulting in him getting arrested many times. Biko called on all Blacks to take pride in their race (i.e. through the adopted slogan “black is beautiful”) and eschew the pressure to maintain value systems of the white-minority. In 1977, Steve Biko sadly passed away after sustaining life-threatening injuries while in police custody.

READ MORE: Greatest African Leaders and Their Accomplishments

Fast Facts about Steve Biko

Born : Bantu Stephen Biko

Date of birth : December 18, 1946

Place of birth : King William’s Town, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Date of death : September 12, 1977

Place of death : Pretoria, South Africa

Burial place: Ginsberg Cemetery

Parents : Mzingaye Mathew Biko and Alice ‘Mamcete’ Biko

Siblings : Bukelwa, Khaya, Nobandile

Education: University of Natal Medical School, St. Francis College (1964-1965)

Spouse : Ntiki Nashalaba (married in 1970)

Children : Nkosinathi and Samora (with Ntsiki Mahalaba); Lerato and Hlumelo (with Mamphela Ramphele); Motlatsi (with Lorraine Tabane)

Ideology : African nationalist and socialist

Influenced by : Ahmed Ben Bella and Jaramogi Oginga Odinga

Most known for : being an anti-apartheid campaigner; Martyr of Black Consciousness; Father of Black Consciousness

Achievements of Steve Biko

Here are 6 important achievements of Steve Biko (1946-1977), the anti-apartheid activist and the leader of the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa.

United all racial groups to fight against white minority rule in South Africa

Although Biko was a huge fan of the Pan Africanist Congress and other African nationalist organizations, he reasoned that apartheid in South Africa could only end when all the racial groups (i.e. non-whites) unite to defeat the ruling white minority class. Starting at an early age while at a boarding school called St. Francis College,

Biko was irritated by the nature of the school’s administration. He voiced his resentment against the apartheid government. Much of his inspiration came from pan Africanists such as Kenya’s independence fighter Jaramogi Oginga and Algeria’s Ahmed Ben Bella (later Algeria’s first president).

READ MORE: 10 African Countries That Had The Bloodiest Path To Independence

Apartheid in South Africa

Active member of the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS)

His activism started from quite an early age. As a matter of fact, he was dismissed from his high school for his activism. After he was expelled, he went on to study at St. Francis College in KwaZulu-Natal. He graduated in 1966 and attended the University of Natal Medical School.

He was active in student activism, participating in the activities the Students’ Representative Council (SRC). He was also a member of the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS), fighting vocally against the apartheid government’s perpetration of white minority rule and racial segregation.

Encouraged blacks to feel worthy of a better life

Steve Biko achievements

The students’ union was largely made up of white liberals, who Biko believed that could never understand the ills that black people had to go through in apartheid South Africa. He was particularly concerned by the fact that the NUSAS was financed by white students and liberals. What irritated him the most was that, black Africans were prevented from entering the very dormitories that took host to the parties organized by NUSAS.

Biko’s admiration for a multi-racial approach to ending apartheid in South quickly evaporated, making way for a “black” nationalist approach. He called on Black students to act and organize as an independent people and push against the oppressive and racist South African government.

He went on to advocate for the psychological empowerment of blacks. He stated on numerous occasions that the Blackman must abandon all beliefs passed onto to him by his colonial masters. Those beliefs he reasoned were mental chains that held the black race down in a life of no dignity. According to Steve Biko, the “Blacks” should feel worthy of freedom and aspire to greater heights.

Did you know : Steve Biko drew quite a lot of inspiration from the French West Indian philosopher Frantz Fanon and the African-American Black Power Movement?

Steve Biko co-foundered the South African Students’ Organization

Founded in July 1969, the South African Students’ Organization (SASO) was Biko’s way of placing “blacks” at the forefront in the fight against white-minority rule and racial segregation. Biko and the co-founders of SASO made sure that the organization was opened to only blacks; by blacks he referred to non-whites; meaning it included the likes of Indians and other non-white minorities.

Steve Biko’s South African Students’ Organization (SASO) worked hard to promote the rights of Blacks through the usage of student activities such as sports, cultural exchanges, debates, and other social activities. The group directed a significant amount of its resources in fighting against the apartheid government in South Africa. A year after its establishment, in 1969, Biko was elected the organization’s president – the first president. Such was his dedication to the cause of Black rights that school’s authority panicked and expelled Biko from the university in 1972.

It must be noted that Biko categorically stated that he was against anti-white racism. As a matter of fact, he had several white friends and acquaintances, most notably Duncan Innes (former president of NUSAS) and Donald Woods. The latter went on to write a Steve Biko’s Biography in 1978.

The change in direction of activists like Biko from multi-racial activism to a Black Nationalist approach came as good news for the white-minority National Party. The NP as a matter of fact initially gave their tacit approval to the activities of SASO as it reinforced their goal of racial segregation.

Did you know : Perhaps owing to poor academic results, Steve Biko was expelled from the University of Natal? Some have attributed his dismissal to his activism in the South African Students’ Organization.

Promoted Black Consciousness among the people

Steve Biko’s quote

The guiding ideology of Biko’s student organizations was the ideology of “Black Consciousness” – an ideology that encouraged Blacks to dispel the notions of race inferiority imposed on them for centuries by colonialists. Biko’s Black Consciousness Movement targeted the emancipation of the minds of Blacks. He and his fellow activists – such as Barney Pityana, Pat Matshaka (vice president of SASO) and Wulia Mashalaba (secretary of SASO) – believed that Blacks had to surmount the cultural, moral and psychological harm inflicted on them by white racists groups before they could step into their full greatness. The ideology was inspired by Black Power Movements and activists (notably Malcolm X) in the United States.

In simple terms, the Black Consciousness that Biko and the SASO preached was a way of life that was geared towards independent thought and critical reasoning.

Read More: 12 Important Accomplishments by Nelson Mandela

Co-founded the Black People’s Convention

Much of the work that Biko did as president of SASO was in the area of fundraising and recruiting activists to push the cause of the organization. In 1972, Biko voluntarily stepped down from his position at SASO, stating that he was passing on the mantle to a new crop of leaders. Biko was concerned that a cult of personality could build around him were he to stay longer as president of SASO.

After attending a conference in Edendale in August 1971, Biko and other Black Consciousness activists set about to establish the Black People’s Convention (BPC). The goal of the convention was to bring Black Consciousness to the masses. To the slight dismay of Steve Biko, the BPC, which was founded in July, 1972, excluded Coloured South Africans and Indians from participating.

The Convention appointed A. Mayatula as its president. Biko helped the Convention open up branches all across the country. About a year after its formation, the BPC could boast of more than 40 branches and a membership size of over 3500. Biko also tried to coordinate the activities of the BPC and SASO.

Biko and other Black activists set up the Black People’s Convention. As the leader of the group, Biko continued to call for the end of the apartheid regime. The group remained very relevant throughout the 1970s, working in cohort with other civil rights organizations in and outside South Africa. Their approach to spreading Black Consciousness was through the use of community programs (which were run by the Black Community Programmes) and healthcare centers. For example, they established a number of schools in the Ginsberg area.

Did you know : Steve Biko initiated talks with anti-apartheid organizations such as the African National Congress (ANC) in order to merge the activities of the BCM and the Pan Africanist Congress?

How did Steve Biko Die?

Steve Biko image on a stained glass window in the Saint Anna Church in Heerlen, the Netherlands

With the passage of time, and the increasing intensity of Steve Biko’s activism, the apartheid government became very concerned about the activities of the BCM, considering the movement and Biko threats to the state. Tagging the activism of Biko as everything but subversive, the apartheid government acted swiftly and imposed a ban on him in 1973.

Biko was stripped of the most basic of civil liberties. For example, he was banned from leaving his home King William’s Town. The activist was also prevented from voicing out his opinions, either in speech or in writing. He was also prevented from speaking to any journalist. He was also prevented from goin to his hometown King William’s Town.

The ban on Biko put a huge strain on his personal life, affecting his marriage and his ambitions to get a law degree from the University of South Africa. He was also subjected to threatening phone calls and outright malicious attacks from unidentified people. His house was once shot up by unknown assailants. The ban on him also put enormous financial hardships on him, as he could not find any gainful job.

This ban on Steve Biko’s civil liberties somewhat curtailed the gains that were being his movement. However, Biko circumvented this ban taking most of his operations underground, hiding away from the authorities. By the late 1970s, Steve Biko had been arrested and detained on several occasions.

On August 18, 1977, Steve Biko, while he was on his way from a political meeting in Cape Town, was taken into custody and locked up in Port Elizabeth, which is in the southern part of the country. He was charged under the Terrorism Act. The authorities also accused him of obstructing the course of justice and tempering with witnesses’ oral statements.

While in custody, he was interrogated for hours a day and subjected to the most inhumane conditions. On September 11, 1977, Biko, chained and stripped naked, was sent to Pretoria, South Africa. While in police custody, Biko was brutally assaulted to the extent that he had to be later sent to the hospital. The renowned activist and anti-apartheid icon succumbed to the injuries he sustained at the hands of the racist cops. Steve Biko died on September 12, 1977. He died of what doctors say was a brain hemorrhage.

Biko’s death came as a huge blow to BCM and the anti-apartheid movement in general. His death was received with huge outrage and protests in South Africa and beyond.

The international anti-apartheid icon was buried on September 25, 1977 in Ginsberg Cemetery, near King William’s Town. His funeral was attended by more than 20,000 people.

Steve Biko’s quotes

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Biography of Stephen Bantu (Steve) Biko, Anti-Apartheid Activist

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Steve Biko (Born Bantu Stephen Biko; Dec. 18, 1946–Sept. 12, 1977) was one of South Africa's most significant political activists and a leading founder of South Africa's Black Consciousness Movement . His murder in police detention in 1977 led to his being hailed a martyr of the anti-apartheid struggle. Nelson Mandela , South Africa's post-Apartheid president who was incarcerated at the notorious Robben Island prison during Biko's time on the world stage, lionized the activist 20 years after he was killed, calling him "the spark that lit a veld fire across South Africa."

Fast Facts: Stephen Bantu (Steve) Biko

Known For : Prominent anti-apartheid activist, writer, founder of Black Consciousness Movement, considered a martyr after his murder in a Pretoria prison
Also Known As : Bantu Stephen Biko, Steve Biko, Frank Talk (pseudonym)
Born : December 18, 1946 in King William's Town, Eastern Cape, South Africa
Parents : Mzingaye Biko and Nokuzola Macethe Duna
Died : September 12, 1977 in a Pretoria prison cell, South Africa
Education : Lovedale College, St Francis College, University of Natal Medical School
Published Works : "I Write What I Like: Selected Writings by Steve Biko," "The Testimony of Steve Biko"
Spouses/Partners : Ntsiki Mashalaba, Mamphela Ramphele
Children : Two
Notable Quote : "The blacks are tired of standing at the touchlines to witness a game that they should be playing. They want to do things for themselves and all by themselves."

Early Life and Education

Stephen Bantu Biko was born on December 18, 1946, into a Xhosa family. His father Mzingaye Biko worked as a police officer and later as a clerk in the King William’s Town Native Affairs office. His father achieved part of a university education through the University of South Africa, a distance-learning university, but he died before completing his law degree. After his father's death, Biko's mother Nokuzola Macethe Duna supported the family as a cook at Grey's Hospital.

From an early age, Steve Biko showed an interest in anti-apartheid politics. After being expelled from his first school, Lovedale College in the Eastern Cape, for "anti-establishment" behavior—such as speaking out against apartheid and speaking up for the rights of Black South African citizens—he was transferred to St. Francis College, a Roman Catholic boarding school in Natal. From there he enrolled as a student at the University of Natal Medical School (in the university's Black Section).

While at medical school, Biko became involved with the National Union of South African Students. The union was dominated by White liberal allies and failed to represent the needs of Black students. Dissatisfied, Biko resigned in 1969 and founded the South African Students' Organisation. SASO was involved in providing legal aid and medical clinics, as well as helping to develop cottage industries for disadvantaged Black communities.

Black Consciousness Movement

In 1972 Biko was one of the founders of the Black Peoples Convention, working on social upliftment projects around Durban. The BPC effectively brought together roughly 70 different Black consciousness groups and associations, such as the South African Student's Movement , which later played a significant role in the 1976 uprisings, the National Association of Youth Organisations, and the Black Workers Project, which supported Black workers whose unions were not recognized under the apartheid regime.

In a book first published posthumously in 1978, titled, "I Write What I Like"—which contained Biko's writings from 1969, when he became the president of the South African Students' Organization, to 1972, when he was banned from publishing—Biko explained Black consciousness and summed up his own philosophy:

"Black Consciousness is an attitude of the mind and a way of life, the most positive call to emanate from the black world for a long time. Its essence is the realisation by the black man of the need to rally together with his brothers around the cause of their oppression—the blackness of their skin—and to operate as a group to rid themselves of the shackles that bind them to perpetual servitude."

Biko was elected as the first president of the BPC and was promptly expelled from medical school. He was expelled, specifically, for his involvement in the BPC. He started working full-time for the Black Community Programme in Durban, which he also helped found.

Banned by the Apartheid Regime

In 1973 Steve Biko was banned by the apartheid government for his writing and speeches denouncing the apartheid system. Under the ban, Biko was restricted to his hometown of Kings William's Town in the Eastern Cape. He could no longer support the Black Community Programme in Durban, but he was able to continue working for the Black People's Convention.

During that time, Biko was first visited by Donald Woods , the editor of the East London Daily Dispatch , located in the province of Eastern Cape in South Africa. Woods was not initially a fan of Biko, calling the whole Black Consciousness movement racist. As Woods explained in his book, "Biko," first published in 1978:

"I had had up to then a negative attitude toward Black Consciousness. As one of a tiny band of white South African liberals, I was totally opposed to race as a factor in political thinking, and totally committed to nonracist policies and philosophies."

Woods believed—initially—that Black Consciousness was nothing more than apartheid in reverse because it advocated that "Blacks should go their own way," and essentially divorce themselves not just from White people, but even from White liberal allies in South Africa who worked to support their cause. But Woods eventually saw that he was incorrect about Biko's thinking. Biko believed that Black people needed to embrace their own identity—hence the term "Black Consciousness"—and "set our own table," in Biko's words. Later, however, White people could, figuratively, join them at the table, once Black South Africans had established their own sense of identity.

Woods eventually came to see that Black Consciousness "expresses group pride and the determination by all blacks to rise and attain the envisaged self" and that "black groups (were) becoming more conscious of the self. They (were) beginning to rid their minds of the imprisoning notions which are the legacy of the control of their attitudes by whites."

Woods went on to champion Biko's cause and become his friend. "It was a friendship that ultimately forced Mr. Woods into exile," The New York Times noted when Woods' died in 2001. Woods was not expelled from South Africa because of his friendship with Biko, per se. Woods' exile was the result of the government's intolerance of the friendship and support of anti-apartheid ideals, sparked by a meeting Woods arranged with a top South African official.

Woods met with South African Minister of Police James "Jimmy" Kruger to request the easing of Biko's banning order—a request that was promptly ignored and led to further harassment and arrests of Biko, as well as a harassment campaign against Woods that eventually caused him to flee the country.

Despite the harassment, Biko, from King William's Town, helped set up the Zimele Trust Fund which assisted political prisoners and their families. He was also elected honorary president of the BPC in January 1977.

Detention and Murder

Biko was detained and interrogated four times between August 1975 and September 1977 under Apartheid era anti-terrorism legislation. On August 21, 1977, Biko was detained by the Eastern Cape security police and held in Port Elizabeth. From the Walmer police cells, he was taken for interrogation at the security police headquarters. According to the "Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa" report, on September 7, 1977:

"Biko sustained a head injury during interrogation, after which he acted strangely and was uncooperative. The doctors who examined him (naked, lying on a mat and manacled to a metal grille) initially disregarded overt signs of neurological injury. "

By September 11, Biko had slipped into a continual semi-conscious state and the police physician recommended a transfer to the hospital. Biko was, however, transported nearly 750 miles to Pretoria—a 12-hour journey, which he made lying naked in the back of a Land Rover. A few hours later, on September 12, alone and still naked, lying on the floor of a cell in the Pretoria Central Prison, Biko died from brain damage.

South African Minister of Justice Kruger initially suggested Biko had died of a hunger strike and said that his murder "left him cold." The hunger strike story was dropped after local and international media pressure, especially from Woods. It was revealed in the inquest that Biko had died of brain damage, but the magistrate failed to find anyone responsible. He ruled that Biko had died as a result of injuries sustained during a scuffle with security police while in detention.

Anti-Apartheid Martyr

The brutal circumstances of Biko's murder caused a worldwide outcry and he became a martyr and symbol of Black resistance to the oppressive apartheid regime. As a result, the South African government banned a number of individuals (including Woods) and organizations, especially those Black Consciousness groups closely associated with Biko.

The United Nations Security Council responded by imposing an arms embargo against South Africa. Biko's family sued the state for damages in 1979 and settled out of court for R65,000 (then equivalent to $25,000). The three doctors connected with Biko's case were initially exonerated by the South African Medical Disciplinary Committee.

It was not until a second inquiry in 1985, eight years after Biko's murder, that any action was taken against them. At that time, Dr. Benjamin Tucker who examined Biko before his murder lost his license to practice in South Africa. The police officers responsible for Biko's killing applied for amnesty during the Truth and Reconciliation Commission hearings, which sat in Port Elizabeth in 1997, but the application was denied. The commission had a very specific purpose:

"The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was created to investigate gross human rights violations that were perpetrated during the period of the Apartheid regime from 1960 to 1994, including abductions, killings, torture. Its mandate covered both violations by both the state and the liberation movements and allowed the commission to hold special hearings focused on specific sectors, institutions, and individuals. Controversially the TRC was empowered to grant amnesty to perpetrators who confessed their crimes truthfully and completely to the commission.

(The commission) was comprised of seventeen commissioners: nine men and eight women. Anglican Archbishop Desmond Tutu chaired the commission. The commissioners were supported by approximately 300 staff members, divided into three committees (Human Rights Violations Committee, Amnesty Committee, and Reparations and Rehabilitation Committee)."

Biko's family did not ask the Commission to make a finding on his murder. The "Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa" report, published by Macmillan in March 1999, said of Biko's murder:

"The Commission finds that the death in detention of Mr Stephen Bantu Biko on 12 September 1977 was a gross human rights violation. Magistrate Marthinus Prins found that the members of the SAP were not implicated in his death. The magistrate's finding contributed to the creation of a culture of impunity in the SAP. Despite the inquest finding no person responsible for his death, the Commission finds that, in view of the fact that Biko died in the custody of law enforcement officials, the probabilities are that he died as a result of injuries sustained during his detention."

Woods went on to write a biography of Biko, published in 1978, simply titled, "Biko." In 1987, Biko’s story was chronicled in the film “Cry Freedom,” which was based on Woods' book. The hit song " Biko ," by Peter Gabriel, honoring Steve Biko's legacy, came out in 1980. Of note, Woods, Sir Richard Attenborough (director of "Cry Freedom"), and Peter Gabriel—all White men—have had perhaps the most influence and control in the widespread telling of Biko's story, and have also profited from it. This is an important point to consider as we reflect on his legacy, which remains notably small when compared to more famous anti-apartheid leaders such as Mandela and Tutu. But Biko remains a model and hero in the struggle for autonomy and self-determination for people around the world. His writings, work, and tragic murder were all historically crucial to the momentum and success of the South African anti-apartheid movement.

In 1997, at the 20th anniversary of Biko's murder, then-South African President Mandela memorialized Biko, calling him "a proud representative of the re-awakening of a people" and adding:

“History called upon Steve Biko at a time when the political pulse of our people had been rendered faint by banning, imprisonment, exile, murder and banishment....While Steve Biko espoused, inspired, and promoted black pride, he never made blackness a fetish. At the end of the day, as he himself pointed out, accepting one’s blackness is a critical starting point: an important foundation for engaging in struggle."

Biko, Steve. I Write What I Like . Bowerdean Press, 1978.
“ Cry Freedom .” IMDb , IMDb.com, 6 Nov. 1987.
“ Donald James Woods .” Donald James Woods | South African History Online , sahistory.org.
Mangcu, Xolela. Biko, A Biography. Tafelberg, 2012.
Sahoboss. “ Stephen Bantu Biko .” South African History Online , 4 Dec. 2017.
“ Steve Biko: The Philosophy of Black Consciousness ." Black Star News, 20 Feb. 2020.
Swarns, Rachel L. “ Donald Woods, 67, Editor and Apartheid Foe .” The New York Times , The New York Times, 20 Aug. 2001.
Woods, Donald. Biko . Paddington Press, 1978.

“ Apartheid Police Officers Admit to the Killing of Biko before the TRC .” Apartheid Police Officers Admit to the Killing of Biko before the TRC | South African History Online , 28 Jan. 1997.

Daley, Suzanne. “ Panel Denies Amnesty for Four Officers in Steve Bikos Death .” The New York Times , The New York Times, 17 Feb. 1999.

“ Truth Commission: South Africa .” United States Institute of Peace , 22 Oct. 2018.

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Steve Biko: The Black Consciousness Movement

The saso, bcp & bpc years.

By Steve Biko Foundation

Stephen Bantu Biko was an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. Since his death in police custody, he has been called a martyr of the anti-apartheid movement. While living, his writings and activism attempted to empower black people, and he was famous for his slogan “black is beautiful”, which he described as meaning: “man, you are okay as you are, begin to look upon yourself as a human being”. Scroll on to learn more about this iconic figure and his pivotal role in the Black Consciousness Movement...

“Black Consciousness is an attitude of mind and a way of life, the most positive call to emanate from the black world for a long time” - Biko

1666/67 University of Natal SRC

On completion of his matric at St Francis College, Biko registered for a medical degree at the University of Natal’s Black Section. The University of Natal professed liberalism and was home to some of the leading intellectuals of that tradition. The University of Natal had also become a magnet attracting a number of former black educators, some of the most academically capable members of black society, who had been removed from black colleges by the University Act of 1959. The University of Natal also attracted as law and medical students some of the brightest men and women from various parts of the country and from various political traditions. Their convergence at the University of Natal in the 1960s turned the University into a veritable intellectual hub, characterised by a diverse culture of vibrant political discourse. The University thus became the mainstay of what came to be known as the Durban Moment.

At Natal Biko hit the ground running. He was immediately influenced by, and in turn, influenced this dynamic environment. He was elected to serve on the Student's Representative Council (SRC) of 1966/67, in the year of his admission. Although he initially supported multiracial student groupings, principally the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS), a number of voices on campus were radically opposed to NUSAS, through which black students had tried for years to have their voices heard but to no avail. This kind of frustration with white liberalism was not altogether unknown to Steve Biko, who had experienced similar disappointment at Lovedale.

Medical Students at the University of Natal (Left to Right: Brigette Savage, Rogers Ragavan, Ben Ngubane, Steve Biko)

Correspondence designating Biko as an SRC delegate at the annual NUSAS Conference

In 1967, Biko participated as an SRC delegate at the annual NUSAS conference held at Rhodes University. A dispute arose at the conference when the host institution prohibited racially mixed accommodation in obedience to the Group Areas Act, one of the laws under apartheid that NUSAS professed to abhor but would not oppose. Instead NUSAS opted to drive on both sides of the road: it condemned Rhodes University officials while cautioning black delegates to act within the limits of the law. For Biko this was another defining moment that struck a raw nerve in him.

Speech by Dr. Saleem Badat, author of Black Man You Are on Your Own, on SASO

Reacting angrily, Biko slated the artificial integration of student politics and rejected liberalism as empty echoes by people who were not committed to rattling the status quo but who skilfully extracted what best suited them “from the exclusive pool of white privileges”. This gave rise to what became known as the Best-able debate: Were white liberals the people best able to define the tempo and texture of black resistance? This debate had a double thrust. On the one hand, it was aimed at disabusing white society of its superiority complex and challenged the liberal establishment to rethink its presumed role as the mouthpiece of the oppressed. On the other, it was designed as an equally frank critique of black society, targeting its passivity that cast blacks in the role of “spectators” in the course of history. The 7th April 1960 saw the banning of the African National Congress and the Pan African Congress and the imprisonment of the leadership of the liberation movement had created a culture of apathy

Bantu Stephen Biko

“ We have set out on a quest for true humanity, and somewhere on the distant horizon we can see the glittering prize. Let us march forth with courage and determination, drawing strength from our common plight and our brotherhood. In time we shall be in a position to bestow upon South Africa the greatest gift possible - a more human face.”

Biko argued that true liberation was possible only when black people were, themselves, agents of change. In his view, this agency was a function of a new identity and consciousness, which was devoid of the inferiority complex that plagued black society. Only when white and black societies addressed issues of race openly would there be some hope for genuine integration and non-racialism.

Transcript of a 1972 Interview with Biko

At the University Christian Movement (UCM) meeting at Stutterheim in 1968, Biko made further inroads into black student politics by targeting key individuals and harnessing support for an exclusively black movement. In 1969, at the University of the North near Pietersburg, and with students of the University of Natal playing a leading role, African students launched a blacks-only student organisation, the South African Student Organisation (SASO). SASO committed itself to the philosophy of black consciousness. Biko was elected president.

Black Student Manifesto

The idea that blacks could define and organise themselves and determine their own destiny through a new political and cultural identity rooted in black consciousness swept through most black campuses, among those who had experienced the frustrations of years of deference to whites. In a short time, SASO became closely identified with 'Black Power' and African humanism and was reinforced by ideas emanating from Diasporan Africa. Successes elsewhere on the continent, which saw a number of countries, achieve independence from their colonial masters also fed into the language of black consciousness.

SASO's Definition of Black Consciousness

Cover of a 1971 SASO Newsletter

“ In 1968 we started forming what is now called SASO... which was firmly based on Black Consciousness, the essence of which was for the black man to elevate his own position by positively looking at those value systems that make him distinctively a man in society” - Biko

Cover of a 1971 SASO Newsletter

Cover of a 1972 SASO Newsletter

Cover of SASO newsletter, 1973

Cover of a 1975 SASO Newsletter

Steve Biko speaks on BCM

The Black People’s Convention By 1971, the influence of SASO had spread well beyond tertiary education campuses. A growing body of people who were part of SASO were also exiting the university system and needed a political home. SASO leaders moved for the establishment of a new wing of their organisation that would embrace broader civil society. The Black People’s Convention (BPC) with just such an aim was launched in 1972. The BPC immediately addressed the problems of black workers, whose unions were not yet recognised by the law. This invariably set the new organisation on a collision path with the security forces. By the end of the year, however, forty-one branches were said to exist. Black church leaders, artists, organised labour and others were becoming increasingly politicised and, despite the banning in 1973 of some of the leading figures in the movement, black consciousness exponents became most outspoken, courageous and provocative in their defiance of white supremacy.

BPC Membership Card

Minutes of the first meeting of the Black People's Convention

In 1974 nine leaders of SASO and BPC were charged with fomenting unrest. The accused used the seventeen-month trial as a platform to state the case of black consciousness in a trial that became known as the Trial of Ideas. They were found guilty and sentenced to various terms of imprisonment, although acquitted on the main charge of being party to a revolutionary conspiracy.

SASO/BPC Trial Coverage SASO/BPC Trial Coverage BPC Members

SASO/BPC Coverage

Poster from the 1974 Viva Frelimo Rally

Their conviction simply strengthened the black consciousness movement. Growing influence led to the formation of the South African Students Movement (SASM), which targeted and organised at high school level. SASM was to play a pivotal role in the student uprisings of 1976.

Barney Pityana, Founding SASO Member

In 1972, the year of the birth of the BPC, Biko was expelled from medical school. His political activities had taken a toll on his studies. More importantly, however, according to his friend and comrade Barney Pityana, “his own expansive search for knowledge had gone well beyond the field of medicine.” Biko would later go on to study law through the University of South Africa.

Steve Biko's Order Form for Law Textbooks

Upon leaving university, Biko joined the Durban offices of the Black Community Programmes (BCP), the developmental wing of the Black People Convention, as an employee reporting to Ben Khoapa. The Black Community Programmes engaged in a number of community-based projects and published a yearly called Black Review, which provided an analysis of political trends in the country.

Black Community Programmes Pamphlet

Overview of the BCP

BCP Head, Ben Khoapa

86 Beatrice Street, Former Headquarters of the BCP

"To understand me correctly you have to say that there were no fears expressed" - Biko

Ben Khoapa, Beatrice Street Circa 2007

Biko's Banning Order

When Biko was banned in March 1973, along with Khoapa, Pityana and others, he was deported from Durban to his home town, King William’s Town. Many of the other leaders of SASO, BPC, and BCP were relocated to disparate and isolated locations. Apart from assaulting the capacity of the organisations to function, the bannings were also intended to break the spirit of individual leaders, many of whom would be rendered inactive by the accompanying banning restrictions and thus waste away.

Following his banning, Biko targeted local organic intellectuals whom he engaged with as much vigour as he had engaged the more academic intellectuals at the University of Natal. Only this time, the focus was on giving depth to the practical dimension of BC ideas on development, which had been birthed within SASO and the BPC. He set up the King William’s Town office (No 15 Leopold Street) of the Black Community Programmes office where he stood as Branch Executive. The organisation focused on projects in Health, Education, Job Creation and other areas of community development.

No 15 Leopold Street , Former King William's Town Offices of the BCP

It was not long before his banning order was amended to restrict him from any meaningful association with the BCP. Biko could not meet with more that one person at a time. He could not leave the magisterial area of King William’s Town without permission from the police. He could not participate in public functions nor could he be published or quoted.

Zanempilo Clinic, a BPC Clinic

These restrictions on him and others in the BCM and their regular arrests, forced the development of a multiplicity of layers of leadership within the organisation in order to increase the buoyancy of the organisation. Notwithstanding the challenges, the local Black Community Programme office did well, managing among other achievements to build and operate Zanempilo Clinic, the most advanced community health centre of its time built without public funding. According to Dr. Ramphele, “it was a statement intended to demonstrate how little, with proper planning and organisation, it takes to deliver the most basic of services to our people.” Dr. Ramphele and Dr. Solombela served as resident doctors at Zanempilo Clinic.

Community Member from Njwaxa

Other projects under Biko’s office included Njwaxa Leatherworks Project, a community crèche and a number of other initiatives. Biko was also instrumental in founding in 1975 the Zimele Trust Fund set up to assist political prisoners and their families. Zimele Trust did not discriminate on the basis of party affiliation. In addition, Biko set up the Ginsberg Educational Trust to assist black students. This trust was also a plough-back to a community that had once assisted him with his own education.

Click on the Steve Biko Foundation logo to continue your journey into Biko's extraordinary life. Take a look at Steve Biko: The Black Consciousness Movement, Steve Biko: The Final Days, and Steve Biko: The Legacy.

—Steve Biko Foundation:

Steve Biko: The Inquest

Steve biko foundation, 11 february 1990: mandela's release from prison, africa media online, detention without trial in john vorster square, south african history archive (saha), what happened at the treason trial, steve biko: final days, 9 august 1956: the women's anti-pass march, steve biko: the early years, the signs that defined the apartheid, steve biko: legacy, leadership during the rise and fall of apartheid.

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Mubarak Aliyu

August 19th, 2021, steve biko and the philosophy of black consciousness.

5 comments | 644 shares

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

The Black Consciousness Movement pioneered by Steve Biko played a crucial role in the resistance to Apartheid in South Africa. Pursuing broad coalitions alongside ideas of Black theology and indigenous values, Biko’s role in the anti-Apartheid struggle can be read as one of philosopher as much as activist.

This post is a winning entry in the lse student writing competition black forgotten heroes , launched by the firoz lalji institute for africa ..

Born 18 December 1946, Steve Biko was a South African activist who pioneered the philosophy of Black Consciousness in the late 1960s. He later founded the South African Students Organisation (SASO) in 1968, in an effort to represent the interests of Black students in the then University of Natal (later KwaZulu-Natal). SASO was a direct response to what Biko saw as the inaction of the National Union of South African Students in representing the needs of Black students.

Biko’s experiences under Apartheid drove his philosophy and political activism. He had witnessed police raids during his childhood and lived through the brutality and intimidation the Apartheid government was known for. Biko’s philosophy focused primarily on liberating the minds of Black people who had been relegated to an inferior status by white power structures, seeing the power struggle in South Africa as ‘a microcosm of the confrontation between the third world and the first world’.

The philosophy of Black consciousness

The Black Consciousness Movement centred on race as a determining factor in the oppression of Black people in South Africa, in response to racial oppression and the dehumanisation of Black people under Apartheid. ‘Black’ as defined by Biko was not limited to Africans, but also included Asians and ‘coloureds’ (South Africans of mixed race including African, European and/or Asian origin), incorporating Black Theology, indigenous values and political organisation against the ruling system.

The movement viewed the liberation of the mind as the primary weapon in the fight for freedom in South Africa, defining Black consciousness as, first, an inward-looking process, where Black people regain the pride stripped away from them by the Apartheid system. His philosophy casts a positive retelling of African history, which has been heavily distorted and vilified by European imperialists in an attempt to construct their colonies. In his writings, he notes that ‘[a] people without a positive history is like a vehicle without an engine’.

At the heart of this thinking is the realisation by blacks that the most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed

A necessary step towards restoring dignity to Black people, according to Biko, involves elevating the heroes of African history and promoting African heritage to deconstruct the idea of Africa as the dark continent. Black consciousness seeks to extract the positive values within indigenous African cultures and to make it a standard with which Black people judge themselves – the first form of resistance towards imperialism and Apartheid. According to Biko, ‘what black consciousness seeks to do is to produce at the output end of the process, real black people who do not consider themselves as appendages to white society’.

In Apartheid South Africa, Black consciousness aimed to unite citizens under the main cause of their oppression. Biko’s philosophy goes further to introduce the concept of Black theology, arguing the message in Christianity needs to be taught from the perspective of the oppressed to fit the journey of Black people’s self-realisation. According to Biko, Black theology must preach that it is a sin to allow oneself to be oppressed. Adapting Christianity to African values and belief systems is at the core of doing away with ‘spiritual poverty’.

In 1972, Biko founded the Black People’s Convention as an umbrella organisation for the Black Consciousness Movement, which had begun sweeping through universities across the nation. One year later, he and eight other leaders of the movement were banned by the South African government, which limited Biko to his home of King William’s Town. He continued to defy the banning order, however, by supporting the Convention, leading to several arrests in the following years.

On 21 August 1977, Biko was detained by the police and held at the eastern city of Port Elizabeth, where he was violently tortured and interrogated. By 11 September, he was found naked and chained to a prison cell door. He died in a hospital cell the following day as a result of brain injuries sustained at the hands of the police. Although the details of his torture remain unknown, Biko’s death has been understood by many South Africans as an assassination.

Black consciousness was beyond a movement; it was a philosophy deeply grounded in African Humanism, for which Biko should be considered not only an activist but a philosopher in his own right. His legacy remains one deeply relevant today – of resistance and self-determination in the face of widespread oppression.

All quotes are taken from Steve Biko’s selected writings in his book ‘I write what I like’ .

Photo : Steve Biko . Stained glass window by Daan Wildschut in the Saint Anna Church, Heerlen (the Netherlands), ca. 1976. Source: Wikimedia Commons. Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 .

About the author

Mubarak Aliyu is an MSc Development Studies candidate at LSE, with a specialism in African Development. His research interests include education reform, indigenous knowledge systems and grassroots political organisation.

Black history should be spread to empire the youth of Africans and erase the mind motive of slavery

The Born Frees ( Everyone Who Is Born During The State Of Independence Of South Africa ) Of South Africa Should Acknowledge Historical Legitimate Activists As Honoured Egalitarians And Patriots Who Fought For Freedom, Liberty & The Downfall Of Apartheid Regime. Those Legends Fought For Our Rights And Privileges We Are Currently Enjoying.

I’m The Top Learner (Historian) Of Mavalani High School Which Is Located South Africa In Limpopo.

This really helped me in my biography project and i got 85%

Thank you so much for the summary. I’m assisting a grade 5 learner with her school project

As a black South African woman in her 50s, I think it is every child’s right to know who they are. Black consciousness was and still is necessary. I’m saddened by what the apartheid regime did to us.

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Steve biko and the black consciousness movement.

Leslie Anne Hadfield Leslie Anne Hadfield Department of History, Brigham Young University
https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190277734.013.83
Published online: 27 February 2017

The Black Consciousness movement of South Africa instigated a social, cultural, and political awakening in the country in the 1970s. By the mid-1960s, major anti-apartheid organizations in South Africa such as the African National Congress and Pan-Africanist Congress had been virtually silenced by government repression. In 1969, Steve Biko and other black students frustrated with white leadership in multi-racial student organizations formed an exclusively black association. Out of the South African Students’ Organization (SASO) came what was termed Black Consciousness. This philosophy redefined “black” as an inclusive, positive identity and taught that black South Africans could make meaningful change in their society if “conscientized” or awakened to their self-worth and the need for activism. The movement emboldened youth, contributed to the development of Black Theology and cultural movements, and led to the formation of new community and political organizations such as the Black Community Programs organization and the Black People’s Convention.

Articulate and charismatic, Steve Biko was one of the movement’s foremost instigators and prolific writers. When the South African government understood the threat Black Consciousness posed to apartheid, it worked to silence the movement and its leaders. Biko was banished to his home district in the Eastern Cape, where he continued to build community development programs and have a strong political influence. His death at the hands of security police in September 1977 revealed the brutality of South African security forces and the extent to which the state would go to maintain white supremacy. After Biko’s death, the state declared Black Consciousness–related organizations illegal. Activists formed the Azanian People’s Organization (AZAPO) in 1978 to carry on Black Consciousness ideals, though the movement in general waned after Biko’s death. Since then, Biko has loomed over the history of the Black Consciousness movement as a powerful icon and celebrated hero while others have looked to Black Consciousness in forging a new black future for South Africa.

Black Consciousness
South African Student’s Organization
liberation movements

The Rise of Black Consciousness

The Black Consciousness movement became one of the most influential anti-apartheid movements of the 1970s in South Africa. While many parts of the African continent gained independence, the apartheid state increased its repression of black liberation movements in the 1960s. In the latter part of the decade, the major anti-apartheid organizations worked underground or in exile. The state also increased its extra-legal tactics of intimidation, silencing some activists by kidnapping or killing them. This state action crippled anti-apartheid activity and instilled a sense of fear in the larger black community. The state also began creating so-called homelands—small reserves intended to become independent countries for specific ethnic groups to curb black political opposition and urbanization while retaining access to black labor. All of this perpetuated deep-seated cultural racism in South Africa.

As state repression increased, universities and churches tended to have greater freedom to speak out against the government and facilitated the sharing of ideas. The 1960s saw an increase in Christian social movements and growing opposition to apartheid in churches and ecumenical organizations. Both economic prosperity and greater government control led to higher numbers of black students in primary and secondary schools and the expansion of black universities, segregated according to ethnicity. Although apartheid education restricted black aspirations, these schools also became places of politicization where black students could come together and share ideas and experiences. These elements along with the daily experiences and interpretations of individuals who made up the Black Consciousness movement all contributed to its growth. As emerging young adults unencumbered by the fear of older generations, these activists looked for a way to fundamentally change their society. They did this first by targeting the mind of black people in South Africa. But the movement was also about immediate and relevant action that would make South Africans self-reliant. In other words, it sought a full liberation of black South Africans by starting at the level of the individual, an approach not overtly political to begin with.

SASO and Black Consciousness

The beginning of the movement is marked by the formation of the South African Students’ Organization (SASO), officially launched in July 1969 . Black students at various universities, especially at the University of Natal Medical School–Black Section (UNB), the University of Fort Hare, and the University of the North at Turfloop, became increasingly frustrated with the limits of white student leadership in multiracial organizations. At a National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) meeting held in Grahamstown in 1967 and a University Christian Movement (UCM) conference in Stutterheim in July 1968 , the mostly white leadership would not act decisively to challenge the enforced racial segregation of accommodations for the students at the conference. Led primarily by Steve Biko and Barney Pityana, black students decided to form an exclusively black organization to more effectively advance the cause of the oppressed in South Africa.

SASO laid the foundation for what would grow beyond universities and student groups to become a wider movement. It was in SASO that activists formulated the Black Consciousness philosophy. SASO students also started engaging in community development programs and artistic and literary production and eventually moved into political defiance against the state.

Members of SASO as university students had access to a number of different ideas and engaged with each other—students who came to universities with diverse backgrounds, but similar experiences. They also had access to news media and reading materials through student-activist networks. As they debated and read materials from various parts of Africa and the African diaspora, these students formulated what they began to call Black Consciousness. In addition to the influences of various South African perspectives and their experience in student politics, a number of philosophers and leaders from the African continent and the African diaspora helped shape their thinking. Daniel Magaziner described them as “autonomous shoppers in the marketplace of ideas.” 1 SASO students studied Franz Fanon’s analysis of the psychological impact of colonialism, Jean-Paul Sartre’s dialectical analysis, Zambia’s K. K. Kaunda’s African humanism, and Tanzania’s Julius Nyerere’s version of African socialism that emphasized self-reliance and development for liberation. They also read from black American authors, particularly identifying with the Black Power movement (even adopting the raised fist as a gesture of black pride in South Africa) and analyzing the Black Theology of James Cone. SASO students also drew upon the writings of Brazil’s educationalist, Paulo Freire, from which they derived the idea of “to conscientize”—to awaken people to a critical awareness of their situation and their ability to change their situation.

Black Consciousness began to be defined as “an attitude of mind” or “way of life” of black people who believed in their potential and value as black people and saw the need for black people to work together for a holistic liberation. SASO students explained South Africa’s main problem as twofold: white racism and black acquiescence to that racism. They felt that in general, black people had accepted their own inferiority in society. Without a positive, creative sense of self, black people would not challenge the status quo. “The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor [was] the mind of the oppressed,” Biko argued. 2 Thus, Black Consciousness activists worked to change the black mindset, to look inward to build black capacity to realize their own liberation. Biko wrote that colonialism, missionaries, and apartheid had made the black man “a shell, a shadow of man, completely defeated, drowning in his own misery, a slave, an ox bearing the yoke of oppression with sheepish timidity.” He continued:

This is the first truth, bitter as it may seem, that we have to acknowledge before we can start on any programme [ sic ] designed to change the status quo…. The first step therefore is to make the black man come to himself; to pump back life into his empty shell; to infuse him with pride and dignity, to remind him of his complicity in the crime of allowing himself to be misused and therefore letting evil reign supreme in the country of his birth. 3

In affecting a black psychological, social, economic, and even spiritual liberation, activists saw two aspects as vitally important. First, they defined black as a new positive definition that included all people of color discriminated against by the color of their skin. This was a new approach to grouping people divided into apartheid into Coloureds (mixed-race people), Indians, and various black African ethnic groups. They wanted to make South Africa African in the end (though they had a vaguely defined future) but used a political definition of black that referred to a shared experience and outlook that was more cosmopolitan in celebrating black values and culture. A positive black identity would increase black people’s faith in their own potential. Black unity also presented a stronger front against apartheid. SASO came to strongly reject the participation of black South Africans in any apartheid institution that emphasized ethnic separation (including the so-called African homelands). Second, Black Consciousness activists rejected white liberals (whom they defined as any white person seeking to oppose apartheid). They saw white leadership as an obstacle to black liberation because it stifled black leadership and psychological development. As black people understood fully the oppression they experienced firsthand, activists believed they had the insights and knowledge to know what needed to change. White leadership would hinder the development of a truly self-reliant, black society. The phrase “Black man you are on your own” became a slogan of the movement. For many people, including white liberals, this came across as abrasive and startling. Some even accused SASO of promoting reverse racism. For others, it led to a refreshing, emboldened new consciousness.

SASO began with a few black students who worked to recruit other students across black campuses. This was not always easy, but strongholds developed at the University of the North, Zululand, Fort Hare, the Western Cape, and in Durban. SASO students in these various universities traveled around trying to prompt a psychological change among blacks in a number of ways. From the beginning of SASO, students engaged in community work. This began as a way to relieve the suffering of black people in poverty. Yet community projects were also seen as a way to uplift black communities psychologically as well as to improve black self-reliance. Each campus group ran projects in neighboring communities, such as volunteering in local clinics, helping to secure a clean water supply, and running education and literacy programs. The students learned from their experiences and drew upon the methodologies of Freire in particular to help them refine this work.

SASO also spread Black Consciousness through the SASO Newsletter , wherein activists described their philosophy, shared news, and dealt with the nature of their oppression. Asserting the right to speak was important for these activists and they claimed this right in the newsletter, along with other literary forms such as poems and plays. The newsletter also reported on various student meetings where students developed their thinking, debated strategies for the future, and discussed how to engage with the broader community. So-called formation schools—weekend or holiday camps—served as training grounds where students debated societal issues and learned organizational strategies. Acutely aware of the politically hostile environment within which it worked, SASO made it a point to train a number of layers of leadership to ensure the organization would continue if state repression were to hit.

A marker of the “attitude” and “way of life” of Black Consciousness activists was the way they carried themselves. The clothes they wore, their demeanor when interacting with white people, and the music they listened to all portrayed confidence and pride in blackness. The young women involved in the Black Consciousness especially challenged the status quo with new styles by throwing away their skin-lightening creams and wigs and wearing their hair in natural Afros. They also wore bold styles in clothing that pushed the boundaries of what was acceptable at the time, such as very tight pants. Some even smoked cigarettes in public. Though female students were involved in the movement from the beginning—prominent SASO women include Vuyelwa Mashalaba, Deborah Matshoba, Daphne Matshoba, Lindelwe Mabandla, Mamphela Ramphele, Thenjiwe Mthintso—the movement was dominated by male students. Women’s issues were tabled in favor of focusing on black liberation. Female activists had to excel at male ways of debating to gain an influence in SASO. The students also held parties where young women were treated more as objects of sexual desire. For some, this means that women had more conservative roles in the movement; however, some women did gain leadership in the movement, especially in community projects where they challenged conventional gender roles.

The Broader Movement

Before the state took action to suppress Black Consciousness, its influence had expanded beyond university campuses. With the spread of ideas and expansion of organizations linked to Black Consciousness, what began as a student organization grew into a movement with a broad, diffused impact that can be difficult to generalize about or trace precisely.

Cultural Movement

The movement had cultural dimensions, linked in varying degrees to formal organizations. Black Consciousness ideas resonated with poets and theater groups in particular. Some worked directly with SASO. For example, a group of black students and actors from Durban, many of Indian descent, performed their plays at SASO events (these activists formed the Theatre Council of Natal or TECON as well as the South African Black Theatre Union or SABTU). Their plays, such as Black on White and Resurrection , examined what it meant to be black and oppressed in South Africa. Participants and playwrights such as Asha Rambally Moodley and Strinivasa Moodley joined Black Consciousness organizations, while others simply continued to use theater as a way to raise a critical awareness among black communities. Poets such as Oswald Mtshali, Mongane Wally Serote, Don Mattera, Mafika Pascal Gwala, and James Matthews, among others, similarly dealt with black oppression and sought to inspire hope in black self-determination with positive images and themes of resistance and redemption. Black Consciousness promoted music with black themes and origins and influenced the outlook and material in Sowetan literary magazines, such as The Classic , New Classic , and Staffrider . 4 As Mbulelo Mzamane has argued, Black Consciousness effectively used culture as a form of affecting a black awakening and resisting white supremacy in an oppressive political climate. 5

Black Theology

Black Consciousness also contributed to the development of Black Theology in South Africa. Ecumenical organizations, Christian activists, and Black Consciousness adherents all influenced each other. The University Christian Movement (UCM) established a project spearheaded by Sabelo Stanley Ntwasa on Black Theology coming from the United States—an interpretation of Christianity that taught that Christ came to liberate the poor and oppressed, the black populations in the United States and South Africa. SASO joined the UCM in engaging Black Theology in the South African context and resolved to influence a change in leadership in South African churches. SASO and other Black Consciousness organizations supported conferences focused on examining Christianity’s relevancy to black South Africans. 6 A number of those influenced by Black Theology later became leaders of Christian resistance and contextual theology, such as Alphaeus Zulu, Manas Buthelezi, Desmond Tutu, Allan Boesak, and Frank Chikane. Activists worked closely with radical priests and ecumenical organizations, significantly putting these Christian ideals into action. 7

Black Community Programs

In September of 1971 , the Christian Institute and the South African Council of Churches appointed Bennie Khoapa as the director of a division of their Special Project on Christian Action in Society (Spro-cas 2). As the head of the Black Community Programs (BCP), Khoapa combined Christian action with the Black Consciousness philosophy. The organization sought to coordinate among other agencies run by and in the black community and to conscientize black South Africans through publication projects that provided relevant news for black people and promoted a positive black identity. The BCP eventually moved to run its own projects when activists working for the organization found themselves restricted to their home areas by banning orders in 1973 . For example, it ran health clinics such as the Zanempilo Community Health Center in the Eastern Cape, managed cottage industries like the Njwaxa leatherwork factory also in the Eastern Cape, and opened resource centers at its regional offices. It published a yearbook, Black Review . The BCP gave practical expression to Black Consciousness ideals. BCP publications encouraged black publishing in South Africa and became a trusted source of positive information in black communities. Research in villages where the BCP ran its projects has demonstrated that health and economic projects in the Eastern Cape improved black people’s physical conditions and helped villagers gain a greater sense of human dignity. Through this work, the BCP also significantly addressed women’s issues and female activists proved themselves as capable leaders and respected colleagues. 8

The Black People’s Convention

At the same time that some activists saw community and cultural work as essential for reaching their goals, others advocated for a national organization to push for more immediate political change. This led to the formation of the Black People’s Convention (BPC). In 1971 at meetings of various black agencies to discuss the formation of a national coordinating organization (including the Interdenominational African Ministers’ Association and the Association for the Educational and Cultural Advancement of the African People), proponents of establishing an overtly political organization (such as Aubrey Mokoape and Harry Nengwekhulu) gained a majority over those who saw community development as a more sure way of building up strength for future political work. The BPC was launched in July 1972 and held its first national conference in December, where Winifred Kgware was elected as one its first president. The principal aim of the BPC was defined as fostering black political unity in the Black Consciousness sense in order to achieve psychological and physical liberation. This included creating an egalitarian society, developing Black Theology, and condemning foreign countries working with the apartheid government, among other objectives. The BPC was the first black national political organization formed since 1960 and took a strong stance of non-participation in the apartheid system. Membership did not grow as rapidly or as widely as the BPC hoped. By the end of 1973 , the BPC had forty-one branches. Still, the BPC helped organize the pro-FRELIMO rallies and continued to refine its future vision for South Africa, including the much debated Mafeking Manifesto that outlined a specific mixed-economy future for South Africa. 9

Youth and Leadership

Activists also influenced high school students and the development of youth movements, directly and indirectly. SASO and the BCP held youth leadership conferences or formation schools that engaged students in critical social analysis and taught organizational skills. These meetings eventually led to the formation of regional youth organizations and the National Youth Organization (NYO, formed in 1973 ). In Soweto, where student organizations had already been operating, SASO students and events in general helped spread Black Consciousness among high school students. SASO leader Onkgopotse Abraham Tiro, expelled from the University of the North, and other SASO students ended up teaching in high schools in Soweto. The already existing African Student Movement changed its name to the South African Student Movement (SASM), to be more inclusive. It was SASM that organized the June 16, 1976 , Soweto student march against the use of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction that led to widespread uprisings. Although the Black Consciousness movement cannot claim credit for orchestrating the Soweto Uprisings, the movement’s bold assertion of black self-worth and self-reliance clearly influenced high school students, and SASM aligned itself to Black Consciousness organizations. The student uprisings of 1976 , along with other adult leaders who became involved in running community programs in Soweto (such as Ramsey Ramokgopa and Oshadi Mangena), are evidence of the way Black Consciousness ideas changed South African thinking among different groups of people in various corners of the country. 10

Clashes with the State

State repression profoundly shaped the context and direction of the Black Consciousness movement. Aware of the way the state cracked down on resistance in the early 1960s, SASO leaders deliberately avoided confrontation with the state in order to evade crippling state action. Still, activists took care to nurture leadership so that replacements were ready to fill in positions if the police detained people in leadership roles. Initially, the state saw the formation of an exclusively black student organization as fitting with apartheid. However, it soon understood that Black Consciousness undermined the whole philosophy behind apartheid and increasingly bore down on the movement and its leaders. The state’s efforts to silence activists included bans on individuals (legal orders that restricted a person’s movement, political involvement, and public presence), numerous detentions without trial (for up to 180 days at times), and constant police surveillance and intimidation. Activists learned to outwit the police. Their youthful energy and audacity sustained their activity in this politically hostile environment. They also found hope in suffering at the hands of the state because they viewed it as a sacrifice that advanced South Africa closer to liberation. 11

Confrontation with the state escalated first in 1972 , when Tiro, the Student Representative Council president at the University of the North, gave a speech criticizing the university’s white leadership and the racial discrimination infused in its education. The university expelled Tiro. This sparked a number of black student strikes across the country. Many of these students were in turn expelled and at the beginning of 1973 ; the state placed banning orders on a number of SASO leaders including Biko, Pityana, Nengwekhulu, Saths Cooper, Strini Moodley, and Bokwe Mafuna. This scattered activists throughout the country, although they found ways to continue their work.

State repression of Black Consciousness activists intensified in the next few years, especially as activists took more overt action against the state. A particularly important move in this direction was the pro-FRELIMO rallies held at the University of the North and in Durban in September 1974 to celebrate the liberation of a neighboring country from European colonialism and express their support for the people of Mozambique. The minister of justice declared the rallies illegal just before they were to take place. The leaders of SASO and the BPC decided to go through with their original plans, even if it meant violent clashes with police. Police did indeed break up the rallies using some violence. This led to further arrests and detentions of activists and a publicized court case that essentially put Black Consciousness on trial ( State v. Cooper et al., also known as the SASO-BPC trial). Nine men were tried and convicted of encouraging racial hostility. 12 Even if not all Black Consciousness activists agreed with the way the rallies were held, this move marked them more firmly as enemies of the state and gave the movement a more public place in anti-apartheid politics.

Police harassment, detentions, and bannings spiked again after the 1976 student uprisings and continued into 1977 . This took a toll on the lives of many activists. Detentions put a psychological strain on individuals and their families, and increasingly brutal torture inflicted physical damage. Four Black Consciousness activists died between 1972 and 1977 as a result of the actions of South African security forces: Mthuli ka Shezi was pushed onto a train track in 1972 , Tiro was letter-bombed in Botswana in 1974 , Mapetla Mohapi (SASO organizer) was killed in the Kei Road police station in 1976 , and Biko died at the hands of the security police in 1977 .

Bantu Stephen Biko, the most prominent figure of the Black Consciousness movement, was not the only student, thinker, writer, and community project director in the movement, but he did play a significant role in forming SASO, spreading the Black Consciousness philosophy, and running and advising the BPC, among other informal roles. His charismatic personality drew people to him. His death at the hands of the South African security police thus had significant repercussions for the Black Consciousness movement and made him a famous martyr.

Born at Tarkastad on December 18, 1946 , to Mzingaye and Alice Duna Biko, Biko grew up in Ginsberg (a small township of King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape). Biko’s father was a policeman (studying for a law degree by correspondence) until he died of an illness in 1950 . Biko’s mother subsequently supported her four children—Bukelwa, Khaya, Bantu, and Nobandile—by working as a domestic maid, then a cook at Grey Hospital in King William’s Town. Biko’s mother was a committed Christian and was often remembered for the way she helped people in need in the township or people in transit at the train station nearby. This kind of community involvement and devotion influenced each of her children in their chosen professions later in life.

The Ginsberg community was a small but racially and economically diverse and vibrant community in the 1950s and 1960s. Biko lived with Coloured neighbors, and Ginsberg’s Weir Hall hosted a number of musical events. There were also a number of sports clubs. Although the community had politically involved people, Biko himself was not interested in politics as a young boy. His siblings, friends, and classmates remember him as being a highly capable student but one who was very playful and sociable. His academic achievements won him support from his community, which organized a bursary for him to join his older brother at the Lovedale Institution to finish high school when he was sixteen years old. His brother’s political activities with the Pan Africanist Congress led to his detention and then expulsion from Lovedale in 1963 . This experience politicized Biko. He resented the abuse of authority by the police, especially as he thought about his brother’s experience. His schooling had also been interrupted, leaving him at home to think while his peers busied themselves with school work. In 1964 , he continued his schooling at St. Francis College, a Roman Catholic school in Mariannhill in the then Natal province. There he further distinguished himself as an outstanding student and questioned authorities and their Christian beliefs. He also held stimulating intellectual debates about African independence with other students.

Biko’s scholastic achievements won him a spot at the UNB medical school, the only place where black people could study medicine during apartheid. There Steve interacted with black people of various backgrounds and began to play a role in student politics at the university. He joined NUSAS and also interacted with the UCM. It is through these student networks that he began working with other students such as Pityana to start SASO. He traveled around the country with Pityana and others to persuade students at black colleges and universities to join SASO and to explain the Black Consciousness philosophy. He served as SASO’s first president. His room at the medical school residency served as the SASO office. After one year in office, SASO elected Pityana as president and Biko took the role of publications officer. Using the pseudonym Frank Talk, he instituted a series in SASO’s newsletter entitled, “I Write What I Like,” where he tackled a number of issues and explained Black Consciousness. Former friends and activists remember Biko as one who enabled others, rather than seeking leadership roles. He also continued to find joy in his associations with people—of all racial backgrounds—mixing intellectual and political conversations with his socializing. He was known for his demanding work ethic as well as his ability to hold his drink.

During his time in Durban he met and married a nursing student, Nontsikelelo (Ntsiki) Mashalaba, with whom he had two sons, Nkosinathi (b. 1971 ) and Samora (b. 1975 ). Biko loved his family and spending time with his children; however, he did not put boundaries on his romantic and sexual relationships with women. It was also during his time in Durban that Biko met and worked with Ramphele, with whom he had a long-standing affair. He and Ramphele had a daughter, Lerato (who lived for two months in 1974 ), and a son, Hlumelo (b. 1978 ). Biko had affairs with a number of other women as well. One, Lorrain Tabane, gave birth to Biko’s daughter Motlatsi (b. 1977 ). Although their student days were marked by parties with women and drinking, a number of Biko’s friends later confronted him about his womanizing, as did his wife and Ramphele. Yet Biko seems to have been unwilling or unable to resolve the controversies and pain he caused through this behavior before his death. While he worked well with many women as colleagues and fellow activists, he at times struggled to concede that traditional gender roles could change. 13

In 1972 , Biko was expelled from medical school and left to find a way to support his young son and wife (who was also fired because of her husband’s political involvement). This led to his employment by Khoapa as a field officer for the BCP, his only official employment ever. In Durban, he worked on coordinating among various black organizations and on producing the Black Review . In 1973 , his banning sent him back to Ginsberg. This changed his work and the direction of the BCP. He set up an Eastern Cape branch of the BCP in King William’s Town, from where he helped establish the Zanempilo clinic, took over the Njwaxa project, ran the BCP office and resource center, continued to assist with publications, and started other bursary and grocery coop programs in Ginsberg. He also continued to be involved politically, despite constant police surveillance and attempts to arrest and detain him, and started studying for a law degree by correspondence. Even when he was further restricted by the government from working officially for the BCP in 1975 , he continued to advise on the projects and political matters. The BPC even elected him as an honorary president in 1977 to give him authority to cultivate unity among the various black political groups in the country at the time. Working against the apartheid security forces was a challenge, especially when Biko felt isolated and watched his fellow activists and friends suffer. But Biko also found ways to circumvent police surveillance and to challenge their authority. He was detained, arrested, and accused several times (though never convicted). He was also called to testify at the SASO-BPC trial, which gave him a public platform to define Black Consciousness and display his debating skills. He also famously befriended Donald Woods, the white East London Daily Dispatch newspaper editor, which gave the movement inroads into the media and other networks.

Biko continued to work on unifying the various black groups even under his banning orders. The last trip he took outside of his restricted banning area led him to Cape Town with fellow activist Peter Jones on August 17, 1977 , to meet with various people including Black Consciousness activists as well as Neville Alexander of the Unity Movement. The meetings never materialized. Fearing negative repercussions if they stayed too long, Jones and Biko turned back the next day. They were stopped at a roadblock just outside of Grahamstown. A problem with opening the trunk of the car they had borrowed made the police suspicious. When the police found out they had detained two leaders of the Black Consciousness movement, they arrested the two and sent them to security police headquarters in Port Elizabeth. Biko and Jones suffered physical torture at the hands of the security police.

On September 6, the police took their physical beatings of Biko too far. Police testimonies indicate that Biko’s refusal to submit to disrespectful treatment led the police to beat him and run him into the wall. Biko collapsed. Instead of providing medical treatment, the police chained him to a gate in a standing position. They only called in a district surgeon the next day. Despite evidence of brain damage, the police kept Biko naked and chained up in his cell until his conditioned worsened. On September, the police loaded Biko naked into the back of a police van and drove him through the night to Pretoria Central Prison for medical care. He was pronounced dead there on September 12, 1977 .

The announcement of Biko’s death sparked an international outcry. At first the government said Biko had died of a hunger strike. However, evidence from a postmortem examination proved that Biko had died of head injuries. An inquest into the death of Biko was held, but no one was convicted. Later evidence showed that the police and the medical professionals involved lied at the inquest about the timing of the care Biko received and the cause of the nature of the physical scuffle that led to Biko’s death. When the case was brought to the post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the hearings shed further light on the physical struggle that led to Biko’s death and the medical doctors’ complicity but left members of the Biko family dissatisfied with the police officers’ disclosure. The TRC denied amnesty to all of the police officers involved in the hearings. Biko’s death remains a poignant example of the brutality and dishonesty of government security forces as well as the medical sector during apartheid.

Thousands of people attended Biko’s funeral in King William’s Town. A few weeks later, the government banned all Black Consciousness–related organizations including SASO, the BCP, the BPC, and other sympathetic organizations, newspapers, and individuals. Because of Biko’s role in the Black Consciousness movement and the nature of his death, he became the movement’s main martyr. This has influenced the way in which he has been celebrated and remembered. Biko is often placed at the center of histories of the Black Consciousness movement. He was one of the first liberation movement heroes to be memorialized in the post-apartheid era with a statue, his gravesite, and his home being dedicated in 1997 , the 20th anniversary of his death. Soon afterwards, his widow and oldest son, Nkosinathi, formed the Steve Biko Foundation, which contributes to the celebration and shaping of Biko’s character. Yet many have claimed Biko as a progenitor or hero. Community members, people involved in the projects he ran, his friends and colleagues, political parties, and public intellectuals look to Biko. Almost all remember his good characteristics (although his peers are more willing to recognize his faults). He is particularly seen as someone who sacrificed for the nation when in the post-apartheid period leaders from liberation movements are charged with corruption and self-serving politics. He has also been elevated as a leading intellectual and political activist, someone who spoke out boldly and affirmed black dignity. For some, he stands as a revolutionary, while others see him as entrenched in community work.

Post-1977 Black Consciousness Directions

The apartheid state dealt a heavy blow to the Black Consciousness movement after Biko’s death when it declared all Black Consciousness–related organizations illegal. However, activists regrouped in various ways to continue their work. As Mbulelo Mzamane, Bavusile Maaba, and Nkosinathi Biko wrote, different views about the end goal of Black Consciousness manifested themselves in the directions activists took after 1977 . 14 Some continued with community development projects as a practical way of advancing the material position of black people while also improving black self-perceptions. For example, Malusi and Thoko Mpumlwana started the Zingisa Education Fund in the place of the Ginsberg Education Fund and later established the Trust for Christian Outreach and Education (an umbrella for other community development organizations). Ramphele established the Ithuseng Community Health Centre in Tzaneen, where she had been banned, based on the Zanempilo Community Health Centre model.

On the other hand, disagreements already stirring in the movement surfaced about what kind of action would move South Africa closer to freedom and the validity of an analysis that saw economic class as the main cause of inequality. Those advocating a more direct confrontation with the state had already begun to join armed organizations outside the country. Other activists still in the country saw an above-ground political organization as the best way to embody Black Consciousness and affect change. In 1978 , a group of activists met in Roodepoort to form the Azanian People’s Organisation (AZAPO), designed to defy state repression and carry on the work of the BPC. While AZAPO sought to address various aspects of the black experience, it soon adhered to a more socialist interpretation and approach, even emphasizing workers’ concerns. Black Consciousness leadership in Ginsberg had previously highlighted the importance of changing unequal economic structures that disadvantaged the black majority and activists had begun exploring the idea of “black communalism,” but AZAPO now adopted a more explicit class analysis, which it called “scientific socialism.” Activists in AZAPO saw Black Consciousness’s focus on black self-reliance as making it a distinctively different organization, in opposition to other socialist-leaning organizations like the ANC and its supporters. This resulted at times in physically violent clashes. (The PAC and AZAPO have also clashed at times. 15 ) Activists in exile formed the Black Consciousness Movement of Azania (BCMA) as a sort of wing to AZAPO that operated in the 1980s.

Other activists took their conscientized outlook with them as they joined various existing organizations such as the ANC and the PAC. For them, Black Consciousness was an “attitude of mind” and “way of life” that black people needed to adopt, no matter what political organization they belonged to. Some activists in exile, for instance, who had been part of the BCMA eventually decided an additional organization was unnecessary and joined other organizations.

Different interpretations of Black Consciousness and various activists have persisted as people ask what it means to be free in a post-apartheid South Africa. AZAPO is still a political party, although a minor one (and it too has had breakaway factions). Others have written in the same style as Frank Talk. Some have interpreted Black Consciousness simply as promoting black economic and political ascendency or a celebration of black culture (which has translated into clothing lines, for instance). Others look to Black Consciousness for answers about how to uproot residual colonialism. In the early 2000s, younger generations of South Africans, transcending political party boundaries, looked to Black Consciousness as a radical challenge to prevailing racial structures. For example, university student movements in 2015 and 2016 evoked Black Consciousness when critiquing university curriculum and claiming a voice as youth. Some of these students saw a lack of black pride and economic inequality in South Africa as evidence of continued black oppression. Thus, black South Africans continue to evoke Black Consciousness.

Discussion of the Literature

Many scholars and writers have been inspired by Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness movement. This has resulted in a relatively large body of scholarship with authors primarily from South Africa and the United States taking perspectives ranging from the biographical and commemorative, political science, philosophy, history, and literary and visual arts. The amount of scholarship along with various news articles, commentaries, and short-run periodicals demonstrates the power of Biko as an icon and shows that people find relevancy in the movement’s ideas and history. Yet, many works reiterate common themes with an emphasis on Biko’s intellectual and political work.

The first authors who wrote about the Black Consciousness movement in the 1970s and 1980s included sympathetic political scientists and those seeking to commemorate Biko. A collection of Biko’s own writings was published along with a memoir by Biko’s friend, Father Aelred Stubbs, in 1978 , soon after Biko’s death. Various editions of this collection, entitled I Write What I Like , have appeared many times since. Three other books published at the same time similarly sought to publicize Biko’s ideas and expose the brutality of the apartheid regime, including Donald Woods’s Biko . 16 In a more scholarly vein, political scientists Gail Gerhart, Robert Fatton Jr., and CRD Halisi situated Black Consciousness in relation to other black political ideologies to discuss its ideas on race and citizenship. 17

The 1990s saw further commemoration of Biko, but a greater analysis of the Black Consciousness movement. Bounds of Possibility , a volume edited by Biko’s former colleagues and activists, included a brief biography of Biko and commemorative essays as well as various examinations of different aspects of the movement. Even though it perpetuated the focus on Biko, it broadened the analysis of the movement to touch on theology, cultural production, community engagement, and gender. Saleem Badat and Thomas Karis and Gerhart’s work in the late 1990s presaged greater historical analysis and summary of the movement found in subsequent works. 18 For example, in 2006 , Mbulelo Mzamane, Bavusile Maaba, and Nkosinathi Biko’s chapter in The Road to Democracy in South Africa , vol. 2, gave the most comprehensive summary of the movement to that date, and Bhekizizwe Peterson’s chapter in the same volume focused on Black Consciousness literary and other cultural work. 19 Former activists, friends, and politicians continued to add their personal reflections in monographs and edited collections, particularly at anniversaries of Biko’s death. 20 Biographies and edited collections in the early 2000s dealt with Black Consciousness’s philosophical, intellectual, and cultural production. This came as people questioned what it meant to be black and liberated in a post-apartheid, globalized world. For example, Andile Mngxitama, Amanda Alexander, and Nigel Gibson’s Biko Lives! began with a substantial section entitled “Philosophical Dialogues,” and Nigel Gibson and Lewis R Gordon have focused on Black Consciousness’s relation to Fanon and existential thought, respectively. 21

More historical analyses were published as the 1970s became more distant. These works explored the origins, contexts, and impact of the 1970s movement. Daniel R. Magaziner published the first historical monograph of Black Consciousness. His The Law and the Prophets examined the movement’s intellectual history in the context of its time. Leslie Anne Hadfield provided an in-depth analysis of the movement’s extensive community development work in Liberation and Development . 22 Other scholars have emphasized Biko’s longer intellectual heritage, manifested in the museum exhibit at the Steve Biko Centre in Ginsberg, and in Xolela Mangcu’s biography of Biko. 23 These, along with other works published at the same time, notably dealt with questions about the place of women and youth in the movement. 24

Scholars of other disciplines such as art history and theology have continued to explore various parts of the movement and Biko’s impact in depth. 25 Updated collections of Biko’s writings continue to be published. Repeated references to Black Consciousness in South African politics and the growth in scholarly work about the movement indicates that new questions will draw out different aspects of the history of Black Consciousness and Biko in the future. 26 However, many works continue to commemorate Biko and the intellectual aspects of the movement at the expense of greater coverage, complexity, and historical sensitivity. This also has the effect of confining analyses to the Black Consciousness movement of the 1970s, with Biko’s death in 1977 seen as the close of that era. More work on the various actors and broader reach of the movement, including a focus on different regional experiences and contemporary adaptations of Black Consciousness, could prove to be enlightening and productive avenues for further research.

Primary Sources

In relation to the beginnings of Black Consciousness with SASO, there is a relative abundance of published primary sources and sources accessible online. These include Biko’s writings, literary and organizational publications, memoirs and interviews published in edited volumes. On the other hand, many written records from the time when state repression and police harassment increased have been lost or destroyed. Furthermore, after 1977 , the movement was more diffused, resulting in a less cohesive archive for this time period. The written record thus poses challenges for reconstructing the history of the Black Consciousness movement and Biko. Historians have turned to various different sources to create a fuller picture of the movement. Most notably, they have conducted numerous oral histories to fill in the gaps of the written record.

Public Archives

In addition to published primary sources, there are two main archival repositories in South Africa that hold substantial collections on Biko and the Black Consciousness movement, both written and oral sources. The Steve Biko Foundation has created an archive, now housed at the Steve Biko Centre in Ginsberg. This collection brings together sources from major public and personal archives concerning Biko, Black Consciousness, Black community programs of the 1970s, and many of Biko’s contemporaries. It includes copies of the South African Department of Justice files related to Steve Biko and Black Consciousness activists, copies from papers at the University of the Witwatersrand, the Bruce Haigh Special Collection, documents pertaining to the TRC Amnesty Application by the killers of Steve Biko, cuttings from the Daily Dispatch 1972 to 2003 , master’s and doctoral theses, and the collections of scholars such as Magaziner and Hadfield (including the transcripts of the oral histories they conducted).

The Historical Papers division of the William Cullen Library at the University of Witwatersrand has an extensive collection of material related to human and civil rights in South Africa. It has accessions with materials on: Steve Biko; SASO; AZAPO and the Azanian Student’s Organization; the Black People’s Convention; the SASO-BPC trial; and the research materials of Thomas Karis and Gail M. Gerhart used to write From Protest to Challenge (also available on microfilm at the Center for Research Libraries in Chicago). It also holds several valuable accessions on related organizations, such as the papers of the Christian Institute and the South African Council of Churches and their joint program, Spro-cas, the parent organization of the BCP and the papers of the University Christian Movement, and NUSAS. Some of these materials have been digitized and can be accessed online through the archive’s website.

Two other archives hold important materials. The Unisa Documentation Centre for African Studies at the University of South Africa main library in Pretoria has organizational brochures and documents related to the BCP, BPC, and SASO that are not found elsewhere, along with other miscellaneous Black Consciousness papers. For research on AZAPO and the BCMA, the National Heritage and Cultural Studies Centre (NAHECS) at the University of Fort Hare has the most extensive collection in their accession on the Azanian People’s Organization/Black Consciousness Movement (AZAPO/BCM).

Digital and Filmed Collections

Primary sources may also be found in online collections: Digital Innovation South Africa (DISA) digital library has copies of Black Consciousness publications such as the SASO Newsletter and Black Review ; the Aluka digital library’s Struggles for Freedom in Southern Africa Collection includes a sampling of interviews and documents from Gerhart Interviews, Karis-Gerhart Collection, Magaziner Interviews, and NUSAS (but Aluka requires a subscription to access those materials); the Google Arts and Culture online exhibits includes a series on Biko with photographs and some documents. The South African History Online website includes a number of pages on Steve Biko, the Black Consciousness Movement, SASO, the BPC and SASO trial, and various activists with a sampling of primary documents linked to some of the pages. The Overcoming Apartheid website includes a multimedia resource page on the Black Consciousness movement with interviews from various activists. And finally, “The Black Consciousness Movement of South Africa—Material from the collection of Gail Gerhart,” filmed for the Cooperative Africana Microform Project (CAMP) is available on microfilm at the Center for Research Libraries in Chicago, Illinois.

Links to Digital Materials

Digital Innovation South Africa (DISA) .

Google Arts and Culture Institute: Steve Biko .

Overcoming Apartheid .

South African History Online .

The Role of Steve Biko in the Black Consciousness Movement

The Role of Steve Biko in the Black Consciousness Movement:

Title: Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement: A Catalyst for Change

Stephen Bantu Biko, better known as Steve Biko, was an indomitable force in the anti-apartheid struggle in South Africa. He is primarily remembered as the charismatic and influential leader of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), which played a significant role in empowering and mobilizing the black majority against the oppressive apartheid regime. The BCM, with Biko at its helm, emerged as a groundbreaking force that revolutionized the South African political landscape and contributed to the eventual demise of apartheid.

The Emergence of the Black Consciousness Movement

In the late 1960s, Steve Biko, along with other politically inclined university students, was instrumental in the formation of the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO), an exclusively black student organization. Out of SASO, the broader Black Consciousness Movement was born. The movement aimed to liberate black people psychologically by urging them to reject all forms of white superiority and, instead, embrace their African heritage and identity.

Steve Biko: The Protagonist of Black Consciousness

Biko was not just the co-founder of SASO and BCM, but also the main ideologue, propagating the philosophy of black consciousness. He argued that the greatest weapon in the hands of the oppressor was the mind of the oppressed. Biko’s writings and speeches espoused a newfound sense of pride and self-affirmation in black identity. His ideology was a direct counterpoint to the internalized racism and self-loathing that many black South Africans experienced due to the colorist and discriminatory practices of the apartheid regime.

Biko’s black consciousness philosophy also extended to socio-economic aspects. He promoted self-reliance and empowerment within black communities, advocating for socio-economic structures independent of white control. His advocacy extended to community programs providing medical clinics, labor exchanges, and workshops on history and culture in local communities.

Biko’s Influence on Anti-Apartheid Struggle

Biko’s intellectual prowess, charismatic leadership, and his persistent advocacy for black consciousness significantly shaped the anti-apartheid struggle. His ideas played a key role in shifting the resistance strategy from passive acceptance to active confrontation. This shift was pivotal, leading to an intense period of civil disobedience and protest, especially during the 1976 Soweto uprising. Thousands of black South African students took to the streets, protesting against inferior education and the enforced learning of Afrikaans. Biko’s influence was seen clearly here, as the protest was underpinned by the Black Consciousness philosophy of self-worth and resistance to inferiority.

The Cost of Advocacy and the Legacy of Biko

The apartheid regime recognized the power and influence of Biko’s philosophy, viewing it as a substantial threat. As a result, Biko was subjected to numerous arrests, banning orders, and, ultimately, his brutal death in police custody in 1977. His death sparked international outrage, leading to intensified calls for the end of apartheid.

Biko’s enduring legacy is visible in the democratic South Africa, where his philosophy is enshrined in the principles of human dignity, equality, and freedom. His ideas remain relevant, especially in the ongoing global discourse about racism and the assertion of black identity. The Black Consciousness Movement, under Biko’s leadership, contributed significantly to the broader liberation struggle, making him a national icon and an international symbol of resistance against racial oppression.

Steve Biko’s role in the Black Consciousness Movement was transformative. He instigated a revolution of mindsets, inspiring black South Africans to reclaim their identity, dignity, and self-worth from the shackles of apartheid. Biko’s life and philosophy were characterized by his unwavering commitment to the emancipation of black people from socio-political and psychological subjugation. His efforts laid the groundwork for the widespread mobilization of the black majority against the apartheid regime, becoming a catalyst for significant political change.

Biko’s influence extended beyond the borders of South Africa, reaching a global audience. His philosophy has found resonance in various global contexts where racial inequality persists, reinforcing the critical need for self-love, dignity, and pride in one’s racial and cultural identity.

Even though Biko paid the ultimate price for his revolutionary ideals, his death did not signify the end of his influence. On the contrary, it galvanized the international community against the atrocities of apartheid and put the spotlight on the need for its abolishment. His martyrdom made him a symbol of resistance against racial oppression, not just in South Africa but worldwide.

In today’s South Africa, the principles that Biko espoused are deeply woven into the country’s fabric. They form the basis of South Africa’s post-apartheid national identity, underpinning the principles of racial equality, respect for diversity, and social justice enshrined in the South African Constitution . Moreover, his life and work are celebrated annually on Steve Biko Day (September 12th), demonstrating the enduring significance of his contribution.

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Black Consciousness Movement Grade 12 Essay

Black Consciousness Movement Grade 12 Essay:

Quick Facts to Consider Before Writing an Essay on Black Consciousness Movement:

Founded by Steve Biko : The Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) was founded by Steve Biko in the late 1960s to promote black pride and unity in South Africa.
Response to Apartheid : The BCM emerged as a response to the apartheid regime’s policies of racial segregation and the suppression of black political activism.
Philosophy of Self-Emancipation : Central to the BCM’s philosophy was the idea that black South Africans needed to emancipate themselves psychologically before seeking physical liberation from apartheid.
SASO : The movement started with the formation of the South African Students’ Organization (SASO) in 1968, focusing initially on black universities and colleges.
Black Community Programs : BCM activists initiated community programs aimed at improving education, health, and economic conditions in black communities.
Banned in 1977 : The South African government banned the BCM and related organizations in 1977, following the Soweto Uprising .
Soweto Uprising 1976 : The BCM played a significant role in inspiring the Soweto Uprising, where thousands of black students protested against the apartheid education system.
Death of Steve Biko : Steve Biko died in police custody in 1977, becoming a martyr for the anti-apartheid movement and bringing international attention to the cause.
Focus on Black Identity : The BCM promoted a strong sense of black identity, encouraging self-reliance and pride among black South Africans.
Opposition to White Liberalism : Biko and the BCM were critical of white liberalism, arguing that it perpetuated black dependency and hindered genuine liberation.
Influence on Music and Art : The movement influenced South African music and art, fostering a culture of resistance that expressed the struggles and aspirations of black South Africans.
Global Impact : The ideas and activism of the BCM influenced anti-racism movements worldwide, including the civil rights movement in the United States.
Revival of Black Activism : The BCM revitalized black political activism in South Africa during a period when other anti-apartheid organizations were banned and suppressed.
Continued Relevance : The principles and ideals of the BCM continue to influence South African society and politics in the post-apartheid era.
Legacy of Empowerment : The BCM left a lasting legacy of empowerment, teaching future generations the importance of self-awareness, identity, and unity in the struggle for justice and equality.

The Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) represents a pivotal chapter in South Africa’s history, particularly in the struggle against apartheid. Spearheaded by Steve Biko in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the BCM sought to empower black South Africans and dismantle the psychological chains of apartheid. This essay delves into the origins, key philosophies, and impacts of the BCM, shedding light on its enduring legacy in South Africa’s journey towards freedom and equality.

Origins of the Black Consciousness Movement

The BCM emerged in a period of intense political repression in South Africa. Following the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960 and the subsequent banning of major anti-apartheid organizations like the African National Congress (ANC) and the Pan Africanist Congress (PAC) , the anti-apartheid struggle faced a significant vacuum. It was within this context that the BCM arose, initially as a movement focusing on the liberation of the black psyche from the shackles of racial inferiority imposed by apartheid ideology.

Key Philosophies of the BCM

Central to the BCM was the belief that before physical liberation, black South Africans needed to be liberated from the inferiority complex instilled by apartheid . Steve Biko, the most prominent figure of the BCM, advocated for a strong sense of black identity and self-reliance. According to Biko, “Black Consciousness is an attitude of the mind and a way of life , the most positive call to emanate from the black world for a long time.”

The BCM emphasized the importance of black people defining their own identity and destiny, free from the perceptions and constraints imposed by a white-dominated society. It aimed to foster a sense of pride, self-worth, and unity among black South Africans, encouraging them to become their own liberators.

Impact and Legacy

The BCM had a profound impact on South Africa’s socio-political landscape. Its emphasis on black pride and unity inspired a new generation of activists and played a crucial role in revitalizing the anti-apartheid struggle during the 1970s. The movement’s influence was notably evident in the Soweto Uprising of 1976, where thousands of black students, motivated by the principles of the BCM, protested against the compulsory use of Afrikaans in schools. This event marked a significant turning point in the struggle against apartheid, highlighting the power and resilience of South Africa’s youth.

Tragically, the apartheid regime brutally suppressed the BCM, and in 1977, Steve Biko died in police custody, becoming a martyr for the cause. Despite this, the ideas of the BCM continued to inspire resistance against apartheid, both within South Africa and internationally.

The legacy of the BCM extends beyond the apartheid era. It contributed significantly to the development of black South African identity and has continued to influence post-apartheid South Africa in the realms of politics, culture, and education. The movement’s emphasis on pride, unity, and self-determination remains relevant as the country continues to navigate the challenges of inequality and national reconciliation.

The Black Consciousness Movement stands as a testament to the power of self-awareness and unity in the face of systemic oppression. By empowering black South Africans to reclaim their identity and dignity, the BCM played a crucial role in the broader struggle against apartheid. Its legacy, epitomized by the life and work of Steve Biko, continues to inspire future generations to strive for a society characterized by equality, justice, and mutual respect. As South Africa moves forward, the principles of the BCM serve as a reminder of the importance of consciousness, identity, and the indomitable spirit of resistance in the pursuit of true liberation.

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‘The Blind Side’ Made Him Famous. But He Has a Different Story to Tell.

The football player Michael Oher believes his early life was misrepresented by the Oscar-winning movie and the book it was based on.

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Michael Sokolove is a contributing writer who has written frequently about the intersection of sports and culture. His last article for the magazine was on the football coach Andy Reid.

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“That’s where Hurt Village was.” Michael Oher was pointing to the site of a now-demolished housing project where he lived with his mother, who was addicted to drugs, and, at various times, as many as seven of his 11 siblings. It was an overcast Monday afternoon in late April, and Oher, the former football player whose high school years were dramatized in the movie “The Blind Side,” was driving me on a tour through a forlorn-looking stretch of Memphis and past some of the landmarks of his childhood. “And right over there, that was a store called Chism Trail. It’s one of the places I’d steal from. Real food, not candy. Pizza, hot dogs, bologna. One time I took a ham.”

Listen to this article, read by Ron Butler

Oher played eight seasons as a starting offensive tackle in the N.F.L. and won a Super Bowl with the Baltimore Ravens. He is now 38, and his neatly trimmed beard has a few flecks of gray. He is 6-foot-5 and says he is under his playing weight of 315 pounds. We were in his GMC Denali pickup, a big truck to accommodate his big frame.

“Here’s where the sisters lived,” he said as we turned a corner, gesturing toward a rambling house with a picnic table out front. This was the home for nuns from the Missionaries of Charity, an order founded by Mother Teresa. “We’d go there, and they would feed us. I’ll never forget it, because it’s the first time I had lemon meringue pie.”

We drove from what is known as Uptown Memphis to the more prosperous East Side and to a place that Oher pointed to with pride: a spot along a six-lane highway where, beginning when he was 7, he sold Sunday newspapers. “You couldn’t be lazy and just sit on the crate like some of the other kids would do,” he told me. “You had to walk around. You had to get up and wave the paper. I sold the most newspapers out of anyone.”

Our last stop was a stately yellow home, framed by two tall oaks. He pulled halfway up the driveway. “This is where I lived with my family,” Oher said. He turned to me and, to make sure I got the joke, added: “You know what I mean, right? My family .”

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Steve Biko
Steve Biko was a founder of the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa. The movement encouraged black South Africans to be proud of their culture and to stand up for their rights. Biko is regarded as a hero in black South Africans' struggle against apartheid .
Steve Biko
Steve Biko (born December 18, 1946, King William's Town, South Africa—died September 12, 1977, Pretoria) was the founder of the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa.His death from injuries suffered while in police custody made him an international martyr for South African Black nationalism.. After being expelled from high school for political activism, Biko enrolled in and ...
Steve Biko: 6 Memorable Achievements of the South African anti
Here are 6 important achievements of Steve Biko (1946-1977), the anti-apartheid activist and the leader of the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa. United all racial groups to fight against white minority rule in South Africa.
Stephen Bantu Biko
Bantu. Last Name: Biko. Date of Birth: Tylden, Eastern Province (now Eastern Cape) 12-September-1977. Introduction. Stephen (Steve) Bantu Biko was a popular voice of Black liberation in South Africa between the mid 1960s and his death in police detention in 1977. This was the period in which both the ANC and the PAC had been officially banned ...
Biography of Stephen Biko, Anti-Apartheid Activist
Updated on December 05, 2020. Steve Biko (Born Bantu Stephen Biko; Dec. 18, 1946-Sept. 12, 1977) was one of South Africa's most significant political activists and a leading founder of South Africa's Black Consciousness Movement. His murder in police detention in 1977 led to his being hailed a martyr of the anti-apartheid struggle.
Steve Biko
Steve Biko. Bantu Stephen Biko OMSG (18 December 1946 - 12 September 1977) was a South African anti-apartheid activist. Ideologically an African nationalist and African socialist, he was at the forefront of a grassroots anti-apartheid campaign known as the Black Consciousness Movement during the late 1960s and 1970s.
Steve Biko: The Black Consciousness Movement
By Steve Biko Foundation. Stephen Bantu Biko was an anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population. Since his death in police custody, he has been called a martyr of the anti-apartheid movement.
Steve Biko and the philosophy of Black consciousness
This post is a winning entry in the LSE student writing competition Black Forgotten Heroes, launched by the Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa. Born 18 December 1946, Steve Biko was a South African activist who pioneered the philosophy of Black Consciousness in the late 1960s. He later founded the South African Students Organisation (SASO) in ...
Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement
SASO and Black Consciousness. The beginning of the movement is marked by the formation of the South African Students' Organization (SASO), officially launched in July 1969.Black students at various universities, especially at the University of Natal Medical School-Black Section (UNB), the University of Fort Hare, and the University of the North at Turfloop, became increasingly frustrated ...
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PDF 3.2: Black Consciousness in SA in the 1970S
Led by Steve Biko. July 1971 SASO's Policy Manifesto stated: "BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS" is an attitude of mind, a way of life; The basic tenet of Black Consciousness is that the Blackman must reject all value systems that seek to make him a foreigner in the country of his birth and reduce his basic dignity; The Blackman must build up his own value ...
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Nelson Mandela. Thirty years ago, on 12 September 1977, Bantu Stephen Biko, one of South Africas greatest leaders and philosophers, was murdered in detention by the apartheid regime. The Apartheid Museum, in partnership with the Department of Education and the Steve Biko Foundation, seek to honour Bikos memory by staging this major exhibition ...
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The Intellectual Legacy of Stephen Bantu Biko (1946-1977) Article by: H.P.P. (Hennie) Lötter SUMMARY In this essay I will attempt to explain the significance of Stephen Bantu Biko's life. This I will do in terms of his intellectual contribution to the liberation of black people from the radically unjust apartheid society in South Africa ...
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The Black Consciousness Movement, under Biko's leadership, contributed significantly to the broader liberation struggle, making him a national icon and an international symbol of resistance against racial oppression. Conclusion. Steve Biko's role in the Black Consciousness Movement was transformative.
HSTORY T2 Gr. 12 Black Consciousness Essay
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Fortunately, our three observers have taken time to discuss also the symbol, the ideology, that is Steve Biko. Black Consciousness is the name; 'Black man, you are on your own', is the cry. More than the other two, Woods places the movement in a socio-historical context since consciousness is not a prodigy of the I970s.
Black Consciousness Movement Grade 12 Essay
The Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) represents a pivotal chapter in South Africa's history, particularly in the struggle against apartheid. Spearheaded by Steve Biko in the late 1960s and early 1970s, the BCM sought to empower black South Africans and dismantle the psychological chains of apartheid. This essay delves into the origins, key ...
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This essay fully agrees with the statement that; Yes indeed, Yes, it is agreed that, One would agree with the statement that, GRADE 12 HISTORY PAPER 2 KWA-NGOZA SECONDARY SCHOOL UBHAQA (ILEMBE) CIBANE TRIBAL AUTHORITY (16) The impact of Steve Biko and the BC Philosophy on the Community Programmes. The impact of Steve Biko and the BC Philosophy ...
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A youth basketball coach named Tony Henderson succeeded in enrolling him in Briarcrest before his 10th-grade year, along with his own son, Steve, who was a year younger.

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Steve Biko: 6 Memorable Achievements of the South African anti-Apartheid Activist

Fast Facts about Steve Biko

Achievements of Steve Biko

United all racial groups to fight against white minority rule in South Africa

Active member of the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS)

Encouraged blacks to feel worthy of a better life

Steve Biko co-foundered the South African Students’ Organization

Promoted Black Consciousness among the people

Co-founded the Black People’s Convention

How did Steve Biko Die?

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Biography of Stephen Bantu (Steve) Biko, Anti-Apartheid Activist

Fast Facts: Stephen Bantu (Steve) Biko

Early Life and Education

Black Consciousness Movement

Banned by the Apartheid Regime

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Anti-Apartheid Martyr

Steve Biko: The Black Consciousness Movement

Steve Biko: The Inquest

Mubarak Aliyu

The philosophy of Black consciousness

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Article contents

The Rise of Black Consciousness

SASO and Black Consciousness

The Broader Movement

Cultural Movement

Black Theology

Black Community Programs

The Black People’s Convention

Youth and Leadership

Clashes with the State

Post-1977 Black Consciousness Directions

Discussion of the Literature

Primary Sources

Public Archives

Digital and Filmed Collections

Links to Digital Materials

Further Reading

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HSTORY T2 Gr. 12 Black Consciousness Essay

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