Who was Steve Biko?
Steve Biko was born in 1946 in the Eastern Cape and studied medicine at the University of Natal's Black section, where he entered student politics. In 1969 he helped found the South African Students' Organisation and became its first president, after a break with the white-led student union. His Black Consciousness philosophy urged Black people to take pride in themselves and lead their own liberation. The government banned him in 1973 and detained him several times. After his arrest in August 1977 he was beaten by security police and died in custody on 12 September 1977, aged 30.
Political views
- Argued that Black people needed psychological liberation and pride, and that self-reliance was central to resisting oppression.Source: sahistory.org.za
- Walked out of the 1967 NUSAS conference at Rhodes University after Black students were housed separately, leading to the founding of SASO in 1969.Source: sahistory.org.za
- Criticized white liberals who spoke for Black people while still benefiting from apartheid. His target was white supremacy, not white people as such.Source: sahistory.org.za
- Used the word Black as an inclusive political category covering Indian and Coloured communities as well as Africans.Source: sahistory.org.za
- Kept SASO above ground and rejected armed struggle as organizational policy, while seeking unity among the ANC, PAC and other movements.Source: sahistory.org.za
- Ran Black Community Programmes and helped open the Zanempilo Clinic in January 1975.Source: sahistory.org.za
- Criticized the homeland (Bantustan) policy, and his philosophy found most support among secondary-school students.Source: sahistory.org.za
Legacy
Admirers see Biko as the spark that restored Black pride and political confidence, and Nelson Mandela described him as the spark that lit a veld fire. Critics from rival traditions note that his unity project never fully came together and that the Congress movement later led the struggle. The state's treatment of him is documented plainly. He was banned in 1973, detained without charge, held in solitary confinement, and beaten and kept shackled and naked in Port Elizabeth before dying in Pretoria. An inquest blamed no one. The government then banned 18 organizations linked to the movement.