Untold History; The Story of Steve Biko

Victor Wairiuko January 20, 2023
"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". Notable Quote: Steve Biko

Steve-biko Steve Biko


Steve Biko Biography

One of South Africa's most notable political activists and a key figure in the founding of the Black Consciousness Movement was Steve Biko (Born Bantu Stephen Biko; December 18, 1946–September 12, 1977).

Steve Biko Bantu's passing on September 12, 1977, dealt a severe blow to South Africa's anti-apartheid movement. Up to his death in police custody in 1977, Steve Biko was a well-known spokesperson for black liberation in South Africa.

In certain circles, Steve Biko was regarded as the most significant black South African leader of his time. He was one of the most well-known figures in the anti-apartheid movement. Because of his significance, the apartheid administration was scared of Steve Biko.

Unfortunately, Steve Biko paid the ultimate price with his life by inspiring a generation of black South Africans to assert their actual identities and refuse to participate in their own subjugation.

In this Kiki's History post, one of the leaders of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, Steve Biko, is profiled along with his legacy.

Steve Biko's Early Life and Education

The historical figure known as Bantu Steve Biko was born in King William's Town, Eastern Cape, South Africa, on December 18, 1946. The third child of the late Mzingaye Biko and Nokuzola Macethe Duna was Steve Biko. In the future, Steve Biko held positions as a police officer and then a clerk in the King William's Town Native Affairs office.

Mzingaye Biko, Steve Biko's father, was an extremely intelligent man who had enrolled in the University of South Africa's distance learning program to earn his law degree. Unfortunately, he had not finished enough courses before his death in 1948, when Steve Biko was only two years old, in order to do so. In the present-day Eastern Cape, right outside King William's town, the family relocated to Ginsburg Township.

Steve Biko's mother raised the children on her own while working as a cook at Grace Hospital after the boy's father, Mzingaye Biko, passed away unexpectedly in 1950 when he was only four years old. As Steve Biko grew up, his friends knew him as a joker, and his primary school teacher remembered him as a mischievous boy who was always barefoot. This was the same teacher who suggested that Steve Biko skip grade and be promoted to standard 5 because of his exceptional

Where Did Steve Biko Go To Primary School?

Steve Biko graduated from grade six in 1959, from elementary school in King William's Town, and from Marian hill, a missionary school in the same-named town in KwaZulu-Natal, in 1960. While at the school, many people passed through and went on to become well-known individuals in post-apartheid South Africa. Steve Biko performed exceptionally well in math and English, and at the age of 16, he earned his junior certificate.

Steve Biko completed his sixth grade education in 1959, his elementary education in King William's Town, and his missionary education at Marianhill in the same town in KwaZulu-Natal in 1960. Many persons passed through school during their time there and went on to become well-known figures in South Africa after apartheid. Steve Biko, who completed his junior certificate at the age of 16, excelled in mathematics and English.

What Were The Racial Categories In South Africa?

 Four racial groups were used to categorize South Africans:

1. The Bantus who were the South African natives.

2. The Colored Group 

3. The White People and 

4. The Asians

Because skilled jobs were exclusively reserved for white people under apartheid laws, black people were only given training in manual and agricultural labor in schools, not skilled trades. Despite being South African natives, black people were forced to live in 10 Bantu homelands after the Promotion of Bantu South Government Act of 1959 was passed.

From 1961 to 1994, more than 3.5 million people were forcibly removed from their homes and placed in the Bantu stands, where they were thrown into a life of destitution and hopelessness. It appeared that the law's goal was to divide the black population in order to prevent the Bantu from forming a cohesive political unit in South Africa and western control from the white minority.

The general framework in which Steve Biko was growing up and negotiating life as a young man during apartheid required black people to always carry pass books to allow them admission into public venues designated for white people.

Young Steve Biko received a scholarship in 1964 to study with his brother Kaya Biko at Lovedale College, a prestigious boarding school in the Eastern Cape at the time of political attention at the school. Steve Biko enrolled there shortly after Thabo Mbeki, a future South African president, was expelled as a result of student strikes. Steve Biko received the same fate of expulsion before him later in April 1964, when he was arrested by the police.

Why Was Steve Biko Jailed?

An organization known as PAC, the armed branch of the Pan-African East Congress, was thought to be connected to Steve Biko. The police arrested both brothers and took them to King Williams Town, 60 kilometers away, where Kaya Biko was charged and given a two-year sentence with 15 months suspended. He served his sentence at Fort Glamorgan Prison, close to East London, after the government had outlawed the PAC, an organization that advocates for African nationalism.

Even though there was no concrete proof of Steve Biko's involvement with PAC, he was nonetheless freed and allowed to return home. Lovedale College expelled Steve Biko. This event gave Steve Biko a deep-seated animosity toward white authorities that would influence his political career.

Steve Biko studied in St Francis College, a liberal boarding school in Natal Province, after being expelled from high school for his political activism. Steve Biko developed his political consciousness at the liberal political culture college. Steve Biko developed a keen interest in the idea of replacing South Africa's white minority colonial government with a government that reflected the country's black majority while he was a student there.

Memorial to Steve Biko in front of the East London City Hall, Eastern Cape.
Memorial to Steve Biko in front of the East London City Hall, Eastern Cape.

Which University Did Steve Biko Go To?

In 1966, Steve Biko enrolled in the black part of the University of Natal Medical School to pursue a degree in medicine after graduating from Saint Francis College with high academic standing.

At Natal University, Steve Biko resided in the segregated housing for African students. Steve Biko shown an immense thirst for knowledge that well transcended his own medical degree very early in his tenure at the institution and went on to become one of the most well-known student leaders there.

This university's black division had a separate student representative council that belonged to the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS)

In his first year, Steve Biko was elected to the position of secretary. He got involved in NUSAS politics by attending the annual news conference for the first time, but he was already debating the function of nurses before the news conference.

The bulk of South Africa's university students were from the country's white minority, despite News' efforts to create a diverse membership, and this caused it to remain fairly dominant.

In the news conference of 1967, the following is a vivid example of how Steve Biko felt that the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) had failed to adequately represent the demands of black students. The Black African delegates were informed they could stay in a nearby church, but when the students arrived they discovered that only the White and Indian delegates had been provided with dormitory accommodations.

The conditions were so abhorrent that it was clear to the black students how highly prized they were to the group. The separate amenities statute was followed, and the pupils were certainly fed and housed separately. To prevent contact between the various races in South Africa, the Separate Amenities Act required segregation on all public amenities, including buildings and transportation.

The facilities for various races did not have to be equal, as stated by this statute, but in practice, the best facilities were reserved for the White population while those for the other races were subpar.

The Black Students at this particular NUSAS convention, notably Steve Biko, were offended by this attitude.

Later, Steve Biko recalled how this incident made him reevaluate his support for the multiracial strategy for political activism. The South African Students' Organization was established by Steve Biko and a number of his friends after he became bitterly dissatisfied with the annoyance. The organization's initial congress, held in 1969, saw SASO Steve Biko elected as its first president.

What Impact Did South African Students' Organisation (SASO) Have On Black Students?

Students in South Africa Organization. Black students' discontent with the liberal, multicultural organization NUSAS led to the creation of SASO. Students in South Africa Organization. The primary tenet of SASO was that black students should not watch a game in which they should be taking part.

Students in South Africa Organization. The fundamental goal of SASO was to combat the inferiority complex that formed the foundation of passivity among black pupils.

South African Students' Organisation appeared quickly. The SASO developed into the most powerful political force, influencing colleges across the nation and abroad.

Students in South Africa Organization. As Steve Biko's reputation grew, SASO got involved in giving legal aid, running medical clinics, and assisting underprivileged black communities in creating cottage enterprises.

When Did The Black Consciousness Movement Start?

High school students in the nation organized themselves into a movement that took the name South African Students Movement. The 1976 Soweto Uprising, which hastened the course of Steve Biko and the South African Students' Organization's liberation campaign, was a turning point for this movement. Beginning with SASO, the black consciousness movement's seeds were sown. This idea aimed to help black people understand their innate value and dignity, but we'll talk about the black consciousness movement later.

South African Students' Organization has existed since about 1970. The notion of a larger community formation emerged as SASO leaders started to think about the drawbacks of groups limited to merely student members. This idea would eventually lead to the founding of the Black People's Convention (BPC)

steve-biko
Steve Biko


What Was the Aim of the Black People's Convention (BPC)?

The Black People's Convention (BPC) was established by Steve Biko in 1972 as an umbrella group for the Black Consciousness Movement, which had started to spread across South African institutions.

A core South African Students' Organization was developed and established in large part thanks to Steve Biko. The Black Community Programs, for whom Steve Biko was then employed, co-sponsored the SASO project, the black workers project. The issues faced by black workers whose unions were not yet legally recognized were addressed by the black community initiatives.

While all of this was going on, Steve Biko originally fared well in his university studies, but as he spent more and more of his time to political activism, his grades started to slip. He found himself having to redo his third year of studies in 1972, six years after beginning his degree. His admission to the University of Natal Medical School was denied due to his subpar academic standing.

Steve Biko joined the Black People's Convention (BPC) in their Durban offices in 1972 after being turned down for admission to medical school. The Black People's Programme worked on several neighborhood-based initiatives and produced an annual periodical called the Black Review that examined national political trends.

After giving up on his dream of becoming a doctor, Steve Biko enrolled in a variety of courses at the remote learning university. In 1973, he started studying political science and law, which were more pertinent to his political participation.

Bantu Steve Biko's experiences living under apartheid influenced his philosophy and political involvement as he grew up. This is because his political activism and engagement were grounded by a philosophy that would later become known as the Black Consciousness Movement.

Steve Biko's theory of black consciousness was centered on emancipating the minds of black people who had been degraded by white power structures due to his childhood experiences with political raids and the brutality and intimidation the apartheid government was notorious for.

Black consciousness was defined by the black consciousness movement as first being an inward-looking process where Black People regain the pride that was taken away from them by the apartheid system. The black consciousness movement saw the liberation of the mind as a primary weapon in the fight for freedom in South Africa.

The first step, according to one of Steve Biko's many well-known quotations, is to get the black man to face himself, fill his empty shell with pride and dignity, and remind him of his culpability in the crime of permitting evil to rule in his nation of origin by allowing himself to be mistreated.

According to Steve Biko, this is what black awareness entails. It entails raising the Heroes of African History and promoting African Heritage in order to shatter the stereotype that Africa is the Dark Continent.

Black awareness aimed to take the good things from native African cultures and turn them into a yardstick by which black people measure themselves. Thus, the first form of resistance to imperialism and apartheid would be this.

Black Consciousness sought to bring citizens together around their overarching mission in apartheid South Africa. Because of Steve Biko's charm, the black consciousness movement spread throughout South Africa and beyond the university campuses.

The black consciousness movement was starting to emerge in the South Africa nation, and it wasn't just at higher institutions; it was also visible in the media, in classrooms, and in community theaters. As you can undoubtedly guess, the apartheid regime took offense to this movement and retaliated.

Black consciousness was initially not viewed as a significant danger by the apartheid government; rather, the appointed state thought that this ideology of black people working independently matched well with his own idea of separate development, which was ingrained in his apartheid policy.

However, as support for other black awareness organizations and the South African Students' Organisation (SASO) rose, the apartheid regime started to repress Steve Biko and other Black Consciousness Movement leaders.

The government gave no justification for these bans, but it was obvious that they hoped to put an end to the black consciousness movement by the end of 1973. Eight black consciousness leaders, including Steve Biko, were banned in 1973. This meant that for five years they were limited to the area in which they lived and could not speak to or meet with more than one person at a time.

Steve Biko
Bantu Steve Biko


What Did Steve Biko Do To Fight Against Apartheid?

There had been more leaders barred, and others had been put under house arrest. While Steve Biko was restricted to the King Williams Town neighborhood and temporarily moved into his mother's home at the address to which he was required to abide by his banishment order, the family was dependent on his wife's income, who had previously served as the primary breadwinner before the family's relocation. Soon after his burning order was modified to bar him from any involvement with the Black Consciousness Movement and the office he had created, the apartheid authorities made sure that Steve Biko's wife would not readily find employment and the family struggled to make ends meet.

Despite being outlawed, the Black Consciousness Movement office he founded did well, able to build a clinic and a crash, both of which were highly-liked by the populace.

Additionally, Steve Biko played a crucial role in the establishment of the Zimele Trust Fund in 1975, which was created to provide aid to political prisoners and their families.

The state security agent, however, tried to frighten him constantly. Steve Biko used to frequently receive threatening phone calls from unknown callers, and as a result, a group of young guys who went by the name of the Cubans started protecting him from these assaults.

He was detained by the security services four times, each time for more than a hundred days. Unfortunately, Bantu Steve Biko was approaching a horrific end at the hands of the apartheid authorities and his days were numbered.

Following the Soweto uprising of 1976, which started as a protest against the government's insistence that the Afrikaans language be used as the medium of instruction in Soweto's high schools, Black consciousness spurred many students in Soweto to take serious action against their own oppression.

What Really Happened To Steve Biko?

Targeting black awareness was deliberate. The fact that Steve Biko is regarded as the founder of the black consciousness movement made matters worse because he frequently disregarded these court orders to stop speaking in front of crowds and to carry on with his activities in the movement.

Steve Biko departed Port Elizabeth on August 17 to travel with a guy named Peter Jones to the Western Cape to attend a conference. On their way back, on August 21, they were halted at a police road block and held.

Steve Biko was detained in Port Elizabeth in the east and subjected to cruel torture while being questioned. By September 11th, Steve Biko was detained on terrorism-related accusations. He was discovered shackled to the door of a jail cell while naked.

The following day, Steve Biko passed away in a hospital bed from brain damage brought on by the police. Bantu The age of Steve Biko was just thirty.

Following a seven-day hunger strike and an official inquiry into the murder of Steve Biko, the South African minister of police declared that he had passed away.

Despite evidence to the contrary, it was determined that no person's act or omission involving a crime could have caused his death. After this declaration, there were riots, and some students were killed during the demonstration.

At Steve Biko's burial, 15,000 people attended, including 13 western diplomats and foreign leaders from Africa. Official declarations of outrage were issued by the governments of Ghana and Lesotho.

The potential repercussions of Steve Biko's death were obviously underestimated by the South African authorities, and a worldwide movement arose calling for justice for Steve Biko. Steve Biko's death in custody made him the official 46th person to suffer torture and pass away. His passing under the state security regulations served to draw attention to the general situation of Black South Africans and the cruelty of South African security laws to the international community.

It directly influenced western nations' choice to endorse the UN Security Council resolution banning arms transfers to the South African Apartheid government. The facts behind Steve Biko's death wasn't made public until a truth and reconciliation committee several years later.

Early in 1997, Kennel Gideon Newfound and four other former officers of the law went before the commission and confessed to killing Steve Biko two decades previously. The panel agreed to consider their claims for political amnesty, but in 1999 the committee declined to pardon them because the men had not proven that their horrific murder of Steve Biko was motivated by politics.

Possibly the most well-known member of the resistance movement against white minority rule in South Africa was Bantu Steve Biko. Black awareness extended beyond the movement, and Steve Biko's legacy—one of resistance and self-determination in the face of pervasive oppression—remains one that is still highly relevant today.

What Did Nelson Mandela Say About Steve Biko?

History will always favor those leaders who take the opportunity and unite the desires and aspirations of the oppressed. Such was Steve Biko, a proud embodiment of a people's reawakening and a commensurate product of his period.

Related; Untold Story; The Story of Tom Mboya [[LINK]]


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