By Tswelopele Makoe
This past Tuesday, the 12th of September, South Africa/Azania commemorated the day that the distinguished leader of Black Consciousness was brutally beaten to death in apartheid police custody.
Steve Bantu Biko, an acclaimed activist in the plight against the deplorable apartheid government, was a key figure in the fight for South Africa’s liberation struggle.
Biko first pioneered the philosophy of Black Consciousness in the 1960’s, with the aim of invoking a sense of self-worth within Black communities. He was killed on 12 September 1977 whilst in police custody after being driven for hundreds of kilometres from Port Elizabeth to Pretoria at the back of a van naked and in chains.
Biko’s philosophy came about as a retort to the inferiority complex that had plagued the mind-sets of widespread black populations, as a result of the repressive power structures of the apartheid government.
Biko’s Black Consciousness Movement was a direct protest against the injustices, brutality and racial oppression that had been taking place under the rule of the racist white minority apartheid government.
The dehumanisation and mental breakdown of scores of black people was frighteningly evident. Black Consciousness as a movement advanced the upliftment of the mind as a primary weapon in the fight for liberation.
Until this day, Biko’s philosophy seeks to promote an introspective process of reclaiming the identity and pride that was once forcefully and systematically denied to black people, by integrating African indigenous values, black theology, and the political assimilation of all Blacks – defined by Biko as inclusive of all Africans, Indians and Coloureds.
This description helped to mobilse the so-called “non-whites” into a formidable, united force that pushed back the ferociousness and cruelty of apartheid practices against the majority of the citizens.
At the very core of Biko’s passion were the elevation, empowerment and unification of the black masses. The father of the Black Consciousness Movement recognised that the plague of apartheid had brought with it mental debilitation for black people, and that the upliftment of the psyche was crucial to the eventual emancipation of the people – starting with freeing their mind.
Biko’s powerful movement in the noble struggle of our liberation drove forward the mind-set of the oppressed black people, which was pivotal to the annihilation of the apartheid regime, or the “System”, as Biko and his comrades often times would say.
The history of South Africa would not be complete without the dedication of a large of volume of literature to Biko and Black Consciousness. The man from the humble beginnings in Ginsberg in the Eastern Cape shook black people out of slumber and fear of white power.
He preached self-reliance and self-love, and his teachings opened the eyes of many who were blinded by constant intimidation and threats of the “System”.
Writing in his seminal collection of essays, Biko wrote about the mind as a “potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor”. He wanted Black to break free from the shackles of white-inspired fear.
And Steve Biko burst into the scene at the most appropriate time when black people were languishing in a vacuum created by the imprisonment of their leaders such as Nelson Mandela, Walter Sisulu, Robert Sobukwe and many others to Robben Island.
Additionally, black people’s political organisations – the ANC and PAC, had been banned and many leaders and supporters exiled.
It was a time of very little hope in the fight against the racist apartheid regime and all its manifestations. Biko led the reinvigoration of the oppressed masses.
His inspirational and exemplary leadership is credited with the outbreak of the Soweto student uprisings of June 1976, which quickly spread throughout the country. The generational awareness, desire and determination to fight for freedom among the youth in particular are in large measure thanks to Biko.
Today, the current generations of contemporary South Africa are directly reaping the rewards of Biko’s momentous undertaking.
Before the days of social media, there was a very minimal production of content that endorsed and advanced black people, both individually and communally.
Today, thanks to Biko and Black Consciousness, we live in a nation with, notably, the best constitution in the world. We live in a nation where the freedoms and equalities of all people are acknowledged and legislatively necessitated.
We live in a nation where the mindless murder and racial systemic oppressions of people are prohibited, a nation where fairness, accessibility and equity are enshrined in the Bill of Rights.
As a result of Biko’s colossal contribution to the development of South African society and the end of apartheid, we are able to highlight injustice, expose oppression, and hinder exploitation, without fear of threat and violence.
We are referred to as the born-frees. We have opportunities and access to education, institutional, political and social systems that would otherwise be deprived from blacks had Biko not stood up to turn the tables on institutional segregation.
We are empowered to use our voice to shape the society that we desire. These are the gifts that were bestowed upon us by Biko, attributes that will be carried on into future generations.
Hopefully, more scholars will continuously analyse Biko’s writings, and his activities as he traversed the length and breadth of our country to conscientize the oppressed masses.
Biko is truly a martyr of the anti-apartheid struggle, a liberation hero and a global icon. His philosophy, leadership, activism, writings and values will forever empower black people, not only nationally, but all over the world.
With Black Consciousness, Biko redefined the term “black”, transcending it beyond a racial designation, to a roll of unification and the consolidation of the black identity.
He was, and will forever be, an icon and trailblazer in the shaping of the ideology of Black people. Through Black Consciousness, he reclaimed the trajectory of African history, and gave light to the power and beauty that is black people.
May we always remember his core teaching and resounding message: “Black is beautiful”. I can’t believe he died at the young age of thirty. He truly has left an indelible mark.
As he once wrote in “I Write What I Like”: “It is better to die for an idea that will live, than to live for an idea that will die.” Biko lives. Long live Steve Biko!
Tswelopele Makoe is a Gender activist. She is also an Andrew W. Mellon scholar, pursuing an MA Ethics at UWC, and affiliated with the Desmond Tutu Centre for Religion and Social Justice. The views expressed are her own.
