Steve Biko Biography
Steve Biko was one of the most influential and courageous leaders of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. He was the founder and the leader of the Black Consciousness Movement, which aimed to awaken and empower the black people to fight against the oppression and the injustice of the apartheid regime. He was also a prolific writer and a visionary thinker, who articulated the philosophy and the principles of the black consciousness.
He was brutally killed by the apartheid police in 1977, at the age of 30, but his death sparked a wave of protests and resistance that eventually led to the end of apartheid. His contribution and legacy are still relevant and inspiring today, not only in South Africa, but also in the world.
In this article, we will explore the life and the death of Steve Biko, and the impact and the significance of his work. We will look at his early life and education, his involvement in the Black Consciousness Movement, his detention and death by the apartheid regime, and his legacy and impact on the anti-apartheid struggle and the black community.
Early life and education
Steve Biko was born on December 18, 1946, in Ginsberg, a township near King William’s Town, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. He was the third of four children of Mzingaye Biko, a government clerk, and Alice Biko, a housemaid. He grew up in a poor and segregated environment, where he witnessed the harsh realities and the inequalities of the apartheid system.
Biko was a bright and curious student, who excelled in his studies and showed leadership qualities. He attended the Lovedale Institute, a prestigious boarding school for black students, but he was expelled in 1963 for his political activities. He then enrolled at the St. Francis College, a liberal Catholic school in Natal, where he graduated in 1965. He then went to the University of Natal, where he studied medicine and became involved in the student politics and the anti-apartheid movement.
Black Consciousness Movement
The Black Consciousness Movement was a political and social movement that emerged in the late 1960s and the early 1970s, in response to the repression and the fragmentation of the anti-apartheid movement by the apartheid regime. The movement aimed to raise the awareness and the confidence of the black people, and to challenge the internalized racism and the inferiority complex that the apartheid system had imposed on them. The movement also advocated for the self-reliance and the self-determination of the black people, and for the creation of a black culture and identity that was independent and proud.
Biko was one of the founders and the leaders of the Black Consciousness Movement. He became the president of the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO), which was the student wing of the movement, in 1968. He also established the Black People’s Convention (BPC), which was the umbrella organization of the movement, in 1972. He was the main spokesperson and the ideologue of the movement, and he wrote and spoke extensively on the philosophy and the principles of the black consciousness. He also organized and participated in various activities and campaigns of the movement, such as community projects, cultural events, publications, and protests.
The Black Consciousness Movement had a significant influence on the anti-apartheid struggle and the black community. The movement inspired and empowered the black people to stand up and fight for their rights and dignity, and to reject the oppression and the exploitation of the apartheid regime. The movement also contributed to the revival and the development of the black culture and the arts, and to the formation of a black solidarity and a black consciousness that transcended the ethnic and the class divisions. The movement also posed a serious threat and a challenge to the apartheid regime, which tried to suppress and destroy it by banning, arresting, and killing its members and leaders.
Detention and death
Biko was arrested and detained by the apartheid police several times for his political activities and his involvement in the Black Consciousness Movement. He was also banned from speaking in public, from traveling, from meeting with more than one person, and from being quoted in the media. He was also harassed and monitored by the security forces, who tried to intimidate and silence him.
His final arrest and detention occurred on August 18, 1977, when he was stopped at a roadblock near Grahamstown, and taken to the Walmer police station in Port Elizabeth. He was interrogated and tortured by the police for several days, and suffered severe head injuries and brain damage. He was then transferred to the Pretoria Central Prison, where he died on September 12, 1977, in a cell.
His death was a result of the brutality and the negligence of the apartheid police, who denied him medical attention and lied about the cause of his death. They claimed that he died of a hunger strike, and that he had no visible injuries. However, his death was exposed and investigated by the journalists, the lawyers, and the activists, who revealed the truth and the evidence of his murder. His death also sparked outrage and protests in South Africa and abroad, and became a symbol and a catalyst of the anti-apartheid movement and the international pressure against the apartheid regime.
Legacy and impact
Biko’s ideas and writings have inspired and empowered the black people and the anti-apartheid movement, both during and after his life. His books, such as I Write What I Like, and his slogans, such as “Black is Beautiful” and “The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed”, have become classics and anthems of the black consciousness and the liberation struggle. His work has also influenced the culture and the arts in South Africa and beyond, and has been referenced and celebrated by various artists, such as Peter Gabriel, Ben Harper, and Spike Lee.
Biko’s death has galvanized and mobilized the resistance and the international pressure against the apartheid regime, and has contributed to the end of apartheid and the transition to democracy in South Africa. His death has also raised the awareness and the consciousness of the human rights and the social justice issues in South Africa and the world, and has inspired and motivated the activists and the movements that fight for them. His death has also been commemorated and honored by various institutions and events, such as the Steve Biko Foundation, the Steve Biko Centre, and the Steve Biko Day.
Biko’s contribution and legacy are still relevant and inspiring today, not only in South Africa, but also in the world. He is regarded as one of the greatest and the most influential leaders and thinkers of the 20th century, and as a hero and a martyr of the anti-apartheid movement and the black consciousness. He is also a role model and a source of inspiration for the young and the old, who aspire to follow his example and his vision of a free and a dignified humanity.
