Steve Biko

Categories: 1946 births | 1977 deaths | South African people

Stephen Biko

Stephen Bantu Biko (December 18, 1946 – September 12 1977) was a noted nonviolent anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s. He was a student at the University of Natal Medical School. Because he was dissatisfied with the National Union of South African Students, he helped found the South African Students' Organization in 1968 and was elected its first president. In 1972, Biko became honorary president of the Black People's Convention. He was banned during the height of apartheid in March 1973, meaning that he was not allowed to speak to more than one person at a time and so could not make speeches in public. It was also forbidden to quote anything he said, including speeches or simple conversations, or to otherwise mention him.

On September 6, 1977, he was arrested at a police roadblock under the Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967. He suffered a major head injury while in police custody and was chained to a window grille for a full day. On September 11, police loaded him into the back of a car and began the 740-mile drive to Pretoria. He died shortly after the arrival in the Pretoria prison. Police claimed his death was the result of an extended hunger strike.

On October 7, 2003, South African Justice Ministry officials announced that the five policemen who were accused of killing Biko would not be prosecuted because of insufficient evidence. They said a murder charge could not be supported partly because there were no witnesses to the killing. Charges of culpable homicide and assault were also considered, but because the killing occurred in 1977, the time frame for prosecution had expired. [1]

In 2004, he was voted 13th in the top 100 great South Africans list.

1 Quotes
2 References in the arts
3 Further reading
4 See also
5 External links

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Quotes

"The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed."
("White Racism and Black Consciousness", in I Write What I Like)
"The logic behind white domination is to prepare the black man for the subservient role in this country. Not so long ago this used to be freely said in parliament, even about the educational system of the black people. It is still said even today, although in a much more sophisticated language. To a large extent the evil-doers have succeeded in producing at the output end of their machine a kind of black man who is man only in form. This is the extent to which the process of dehumanization has advanced.”
("We Blacks", ibid.)
"The system concedes nothing without demand, for it formulates its very method of operation on the basis that the ignorant will learn to know, the child will grow into an adult and therefore demands will begin to be made. It gears itself to resist demands in whatever way it sees fit."
("The Quest for a True Humanity", ibid.)
"In time, we shall be in a position to bestow on South Africa the greatest possible gift—a more human face."
"It is better to die for an idea that will live, than to live for an idea that will die."
"Even today, we are still accused of racism. This is a mistake. We know that all interracial groups in South Africa are relationships in which whites are superior, blacks inferior. So as a prelude whites must be made to realize that they are only human, not superior. Same with blacks. They must be made to realize that they are also human, not inferior."

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References in the arts

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Cinema

Malcolm Clarke made the documentary The life and death of Steve Biko in 1978.
In 1987, Richard Attenborough directed the movie Cry Freedom, a biographical drama about Biko starring Denzel Washington and Kevin Kline. Peter Gabriel's song (see below) was included in the film's soundtrack.

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Music

Tom Paxton released the song "The Death of Stephen Biko" on his 1978 album Heroes.
Steel Pulse released the song "Biko's Kindred Lament" on their 1979 album Tribute to the Martyrs.
Peter Gabriel tells the tale of Biko in the song of the same name on his 3rd self titled album Peter Gabriel (III) (alternatively known as Melt for the cover art) released in 1980. Gabriel sings: "You can blow out a candle / But you can't blow out a fire / Once the flames begin to catch / The wind will blow it higher"
Simple Minds' covered Peter Gabriel's "Biko" in their 1989 album Street Fighting Years.
Sweet Honey in the Rock's 1981 album Good News contains tracks titled "Biko" and "Chile Your Waters Run Red Through Soweto".
Billy Bragg later covered Sweet Honey in the Rock's song "Chile Your Waters Run Red Through Soweto" in 1992, comparing Biko's death to that of Victor Jara.
The A Tribe Called Quest 1993 album Midnight Marauders includes the song "Steve Biko (Stir It Up)."
Beenie Man's 1998 album Many Moods of Moses contains a track named after Biko.
Dead Prez reference Biko in a track entitled "I'm An African" on their 2000 album Let's Get Free.

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Television

In Star Trek: The Next Generation, there is a starship named USS Biko (NCC-50331), an Oberth class starship which is used for transport or scientific research.

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