Mujer Libre
25th March 2009, 12:50
(15) Steve Biko and 'Black Consciousness', 1970s
Critically analyse the significance of Steve Biko and the ideas of 'Black Consciousness' to the revival of serious Black resistance to apartheid in the 1970s.
Introduction
The Black Consciousness Movement began in the late 1960s, and rose to prominence in the 1970s, stepping in to fill a vacuum of Black resistance to apartheid. During the previous decade, especially in the years after the Sharpeville massacre, the National Party seemed virtually invincible; bannings, imprisonment and exile had resulted in the anti-apartheid movement’s loss of direction. It was into this void that the Black Consciousness Movement, led by Steve Biko and others, stepped. While the Movement was relatively small in membership, as most anti-apartheid organisations were, it contributed significantly to the resurgence of resistance to apartheid in the 1970s.
If the Black Consciousness Movement was able to contribute to the revival of Black activism in this period, how was this possible if previous organisations had failed or been suppressed? What allowed this movement to survive and even thrive in the repressive atmosphere of South Africa at that time? The answer to this question lies partially in examining the political situation of Black people in South Africa during the decade in question, as well as in the ideology of Black Consciousness itself. Due to the broad nature of the Black Consciousness movement, which encompassed several spheres and organisations, this essay will focus on two main organisations, the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO) and the Black People’s Convention (BPC). Due to his prominence within these organisations, consideration of the ideas and life of Steve Biko will form an integral part of this essay.
The Anti-Apartheid Movement Prior to Black Consciousness
By the late 1960s the National Party government appeared to be in firmly control of South Africa and to have, “by banning, imprisonment, exile, murder and banishment,”[1] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn1) effectively silenced opposition to apartheid. This situation came about due to the crisis in White South Africa caused by the Sharpeville massacre and Black resistance to apartheid in general. The crisis situation made it clear that the white authorities had to choose between two options; either concessions had to be made to the Black population, or further repression was required to maintain white rule.[2] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn2) The government chose the latter, and pursued this goal with ruthless efficiency. Laws were passed banning the two leading Black resistance organisations, the ANC and PAC, and multiracial political organising was prohibited. In addition to this legislative repression, which was accompanied by brute force, the ‘alternative’ of “separate development” was offered as a carrot to induce Black co-operation and submission.[3] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn3) In short, the choice for Black political activists appeared to be between working within the system, working underground in constant danger, or being inactive.
The Origins of the Black Consciousness Movement
In this restrictive situation, student organisations became one of the few outlets for Black anti-apartheid activists. However, even in this case, the options of students were limited. Organisations linked to banned groups were incapable of fulfilling any meaningful function; so many Black activists looked to the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS). While committed to the ideal of non-racialism, NUSAS was an organisation dominated by white liberal students, in both numbers and ideological direction. This state of affairs led to action by NUSAS remaining largely symbolic, rather than directly challenging the system. This perceived weakness was the key reason behind a group of Black students, led by Steve Biko, seeking to form an all-Black students’ organisation, free from the diluting influence of white liberals, as early as 1968.[4] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn4) When it became apparent that support for such an organisation existed, SASO was formed in 1969 with Steve Biko as its first president. It was based on the understanding that the issue of race should be the primary concern of Black activists, that for the struggle to be effective Black people needed to ‘go it alone’ and that Black consciousness and pride were key to this approach.[5] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn5)
It eventually became clear that this analysis was applicable and desirable for a political movement that encompassed activism beyond the student realm. This organisation was to be seen as an alternative to working within the apartheid system in the Bantustans or going underground, aimed at using non-violent means to bring about Black Consciousness, i.e. to give Black people the confidence and ability to throw off oppression.[6] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn6) The Black People’s Convention was formed in 1971 as collaboration between several Black organisations and, because of the perceived compatibility of its ideology with ‘separate development,’ was able to function relatively unhindered until 1973, when many of its leaders were banned.[7] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn7)
Black Unity and Identity
Perhaps the main reason why the apartheid authorities initially welcomed or overlooked the arrival of the Black Consciousness Movement was because it advocated a Black-only movement, which at first appeared to be congruent with the ideology of ‘separate development.’ The government-backed and influenced Afrikaans press published editorials applauding the rise of the Black Consciousness Movement and its rejection of “white politics.”[8] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn8) This allowed the Black Consciousness movement to operate above-ground for a number of years until its leadership was banned and the movements’ ability to organise was strictly curtailed. In these years Black Consciousness altered the landscape of Black resistance to apartheid, as a movement as well as in a more general sense, as shall be examined later.
The state’s permissive attitude was based on the assumption that a rejection of white politics meant embracing ‘separate development’ in its totality, including the balkanisation of the Black population into so-called ethnic homelands. In reality, the underlying principle of the Black Consciousness Movement was to bring about greater unity among Black people in South Africa, including Africans, “coloureds” and “Indians,” in order to more effectively combat apartheid. Steve Biko noted that all Black people were oppressed by the same system, and that the fact that groups were oppressed to different degrees was an attempt to stratify them and thus diffuse any potential for resistance by bringing about disunity.[9] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn9)
This approach on the part of the Movement was a clear departure from previous anti-Apartheid movements in that they had sought unity amongst all opponents of apartheid, regardless of race. The BCM instead desired the creation of a positive Black identity as part of the antidote to the divide-and-rule tactics of the state. This approach clearly appealed to many people, as demonstrated by the fact that circulation of the SASO newsletter reached four thousand copies by 1972,[10] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn10) while the organisation was still relatively young and operated on a very limited budget. In the vacuum created by the crackdown on resistance during the 1960s SASO, and the ideology of Black Consciousness, quickly rose to prominence as perhaps the most important active anti-apartheid movement of the period.
The idea of Black unity, in solidarity with Africans and each other, was particularly challenging to the Indian and Coloured communities, who had historically been identified as separate. While the concept did appeal to many members of these groups, such as Peter Jones, a “coloured” activist who was arrested along with Steve Biko in 1977[11] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn11) and Indians who supported striking African workers from 1973 onwards,[12] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn12) it caused much controversy in groups such as the Natal Indian Congress, which debated the issue in 1972.[13] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn13) Some delegates, particularly from the Durban area, favoured the Black Consciousness approach and the restriction of membership to Black people only. However, it was the majority view that traditional non-racial policy of Congress should be maintained, and this was upheld. From these examples it can be seen that the idea of Black (and Black-only) unity, in its efficacy as a means of resistance to apartheid, was a double-edged sword which served to create a stronger opposition among its supporters while alienating anti-apartheid activists who disagreed with the approach or were uncertain about its implications.
Closely linked to the concept of Black unity was the idea that a positive Black identity needed to be developed and asserted. This was deemed necessary because one of the cornerstones of apartheid was the psychological oppression of Black people, through measures like pass laws, influx control and Bantu Education. As Biko put it, “the most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the minds of the oppressed.”[14] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn14) If oppressed people did not believe that they could liberate themselves, it follows that their resistance would be significantly weakened. This part of the Black Consciousness analysis was relatively new in South Africa and was influenced by Black thinkers from around the world, such as Fanon, Stokely Carmichael and Charles Hamilton[15] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn15), as well as anti-colonial movements, particularly those in Africa. Under these international conditions, in which African nationalism and consciousness were in the ascendance, it is unsurprising that the Black Consciousness Movement grew to prominence and that this helped reinvigorate the struggle in South Africa. While particular instances of resistance to apartheid may not have necessarily been affiliated to, or organised by, the Movement, it is clear that the ideology had, in some form, dispersed throughout Black society in South Africa.
This is particularly true amongst the youth of South Africa, who gained the confidence to resist the apartheid state at least in part through ideas of Black Consciousness. SASO itself had begun as an organisation of university students and it eventually became apparent that high school students were being influenced by Black Consciousness and could be organised. Thus, in 1972 SASO set up branches to cater both to high school students and other non-university students.[16] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn16) Perhaps Black Consciousness was especially appealing to young people because they had not experienced the setbacks of the 1960s or the overwhelming influence of the ANC and PAC. Rather, they inherited a situation in which activism was severely limited and the state ultra-repressive. Under these conditions it is easy to understand why young people were so effectively politicised by movements such as the Black Consciousness Movement. Once their levels of political consciousness was raised, these young people set up organisations of their own, including in Soweto where the student uprising of 1976 took place.[17] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn17) This was not an isolated incident. While the 1960s had been a quiet decade in terms of resistance to apartheid, after a subdued beginning the 1970s were a decade characterised by increasing resistance to apartheid. According to Henry Isaacs, former president of SASO, the crucial change was “in Black’s perception of themselves and their situation.”[18] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn18) What is interesting about the uprising is not merely the fact that they occurred amid a rising tide of Black activism, but that they targeted state instruments of psychological control- namely Bantu Education and the use of Afrikaans in schools. The assertion of Black agency by these students and their desire to free themselves from psychological domination demonstrate the extent to which the Black Consciousness Movement had influenced the anti-apartheid movement in the 1970s.
Black Consciousness as a Black-Only Movement
Another feature of the Black Consciousness Movement was the fact that it was an explicitly Black-only movement. One key reason for this was inherent in the Black Consciousness analysis of the power structure,[19] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn19) distinguishing it from previous movements which tended to restrict their analysis to the government. Black Consciousness recognised that power was embedded in society and extended much further than the state. According to this analysis, all white people in South Africa formed a part of the power structure by virtue of the privilege into which they were born. Thus, white society was conditioned to “accept it as normal that it alone is entitled to privilege”[20] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn20) and that Black people are not. Following on from this, white anti-apartheid activists were placed in a position where their activism was largely limited to symbolism, due both to their indoctrination within the apartheid system and their material interest in the oppression of Black people. Additionally, Black activists had been conditioned by circumstances to be deferential to whites because in apartheid South Africa there was “no real communication between black and white outside a master-servant relationship.”[21] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn21) This was carried out in NUSAS, which was an organisation committed to anti-apartheid activism yet limited itself to largely symbolic race-mixing, due to the fact that the direction of the organisation was largely determined by white liberals who by virtue of their place within the system could not contribute to its destruction.[22] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn22) This feeling that white liberalism was holding back the struggle, and that the liberals were determining the “modus operandi”[23] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn23) of Black activists prompted the founding of SASO, which, once it had laid firm foundations for itself, became much a much more radical and active organisation than NUSAS, which significantly contributed to the politicising of South Africa’s youth. After the previous years in which the struggle was effectively suppressed, the Black Consciousness Movement provided a new level of radicalism which made previous attempts at activism, such as NUSAS and relatively progressive leaders in the Bantustans, seem “moderate”[24] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn24) and ineffective.
Criticisms of Black Consciousness
With its ideas that Black activists should ‘go it alone’ and its rejection of liberalism (white liberalism in particular) it is unsurprising that Black Consciousness generated a great deal of controversy within the liberation movement in South Africa. The major criticism was that the movement was racist, or interested in promoting “racial exclusiveness.”[25] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn25) While it was true that organisations such as SASO and the BPC did insist on Black membership, the post-apartheid society they envisaged was, for the most part, non-racial. According to Biko, who adopted a dialectical approach, Black Consciousness was the antithesis to the thesis of white racism, and the synthesis of a non-racial society would emerge from the conflict between these opposites.[26] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn26) In that sense, Black Consciousness aspired to the creation of a similar society to that envisaged by other anti-apartheid groups (the ANC in particular). The processes by which they worked, however, were different, and more appropriate to the restrictive climate of South Africa at the time, when ‘softer’ approaches were all too easily squashed or co-opted into the apartheid machine.
Conclusion
During the 1960s the apartheid government had decided to take a course of complete repression, determined to nullify all resistance to apartheid with the use of legislation backed up by force and ‘alternatives’ to resistance such as Bantustans. The two most prominent anti-apartheid groups, the ANC and PAC, had been forced out of sight and for a time Black activists had to rely on white-dominated groups to provide them with a voice. However, it soon became clear that this was not a desirable state of affairs, and organisations led by Black people, in which they were able to define their own goals and ideals, were established. These groups, such as SASO and the BPC, became extremely influential in South Africa during the 1970s, both as groups in their own right and as part of a movement which significantly raised levels of political consciousness and activity in South Africa’s Black communities. The outcry over Steve Biko’s death in custody, both in South Africa and internationally, demonstrated the extent of the influence of the Black Consciousness Movement and its ideas. Nevertheless, in the years following the 1970s, Black Consciousness receded in importance, while the ANC and to a lesser extent the PAC enjoyed a resurgence. This indicates that the ideology of Black Consciousness thrived, and was particularly effective, in a particular historical period which was characterised by extreme political repression and racism, a vacuum in the resistance movement and a world in which African nationalism was asserting itself strongly for the first time. While the movement did decline in prominence towards apartheid’s latter years it is important to recognise the contribution it made to the resistance during a difficult period as well as the ongoing legacy of Black Consciousness in the form of its influences on the ideas of Black people in South Africa as “at attitude of mind, a way of life.”[27] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn27)
Bibliography
Primary Sources
"Chapter One: Black Organisations- Political Groups." Black Review 1 (1972).
Biko, Steve. "Black Consciousness and a Quest for a True Humanity." Frank Talk 2 (1987): 42-47.
Biko, Steve. "The Black Man's Quest." Ikwezi 8 (1983): 5-8.
Biko, Steve. "The Definition of Black Consciousness." In I Write What I Like: A Selection of His Writings, edited by A. Stubbs, 62-67. London: Bowerdean Press, 1978.
Biko, Steve. "Fear- an Important Determinant in South African Politics." Frank Talk 2 (1987): 47-50.
Biko, Steve. "White Racism and Black Consciousness." Frank Talk 1, no. 1 (1984): 6-9.
Isaacs, Henry. "The Emergence and Impact of the Black Consciousness Movement." Ikwezi 2, no. 4 (1976): 7-14.
SASO. "Black Students' Manifesto." SASO Newsletter 5, no. 3 (1975): back cover.
Selby, Arnold. "A Reply to Dan Crowe on Black Consciousness." Sechaba 7, no. 2 (1973): 20-21.
Woods, Donald. Biko. London: Penguin Books, 1987.
Secondary Sources
Gerhart, Gail M. Black Power in South Africa: The Evolution of an Ideology. University of California Press: Berkeley, 1978.
Hirson, Baruch. Year of Fire, Year of Ash: The Soweto Revolt: Roots of a Revolution? Zed Press: London, 1979.
Mandela, Nelson. "Steve Biko: Address at the Commemoration of the Twentieth Anniversary of Steve Biko's Death, East London, 12 September 1997." In Nelson Mandela in His Own Words: From Freedom to the Future, edited by Kader Asmal, David Chidester and Wilmot James, 451-4. London: Little, Brown, 2003.
[1] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref1) Nelson Mandela, "Steve Biko: Address at the Commemoration of the Twentieth Anniversary of Steve Biko's Death, East London, 12 September 1997," in Nelson Mandela in His Own Words: From Freedom to the Future, ed. Kader Asmal, David Chidester, and Wilmot James (London: Little, Brown, 2003).p451
[2] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref2) Gail M. Gerhart, Black Power in South Africa: The Evolution of an Ideology (University of California Press: Berkeley, 1978). p242-3
[3] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref3) Ibid. p251
[4] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref4) Ibid. p261
[5] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref5) Donald Woods, Biko (London: Penguin Books, 1987). p35
[6] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref6) Mandela, "Steve Biko." p452-3
[7] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref7) Gerhart, Black Power in South Africa: The Evolution of an Ideology. p293
[8] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref8) Ibid. p 269
[9] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref9) Steve Biko, "The Definition of Black Consciousness," in I Write What I Like: A Selection of His Writings, ed. A. Stubbs (London: Bowerdean Press, 1978). p65
[10] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref10) Gerhart, Black Power in South Africa: The Evolution of an Ideology. p270
[11] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref11) Peter Jones quoted in Woods, Biko. p377-99
[12] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref12) Henry Isaacs, "The Emergence and Impact of the Black Consciousness Movement," Ikwezi 2, no. 4 (1976). p8
[13] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref13)"Chapter One: Black Organisations- Political Groups," Black Review 1 (1972). p6
[14] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref14) Steve Biko quoted in Woods, Biko. p59
[15] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref15) Gerhart, Black Power in South Africa: The Evolution of an Ideology. p275
[16] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref16) Ibid. p297
[17] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref17) Ibid.
[18] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref18) Isaacs, "The Emergence and Impact of the Black Consciousness Movement." p12
[19] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref19) Woods, Biko. p57
[20] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref20) Steve Biko, "Black Consciousness and a Quest for a True Humanity," Frank Talk 2 (1987). p43
[21] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref21) Isaacs, "The Emergence and Impact of the Black Consciousness Movement." p8
[22] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref22) Gerhart, Black Power in South Africa: The Evolution of an Ideology. p257-9
[23] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref23) Biko, "Black Consciousness and a Quest for a True Humanity." p32
[24] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref24) Gerhart, Black Power in South Africa: The Evolution of an Ideology. p295
[25] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref25) Arnold Selby, "A Reply to Dan Crowe on Black Consciousness," Sechaba 7, no. 2 (1973). p20
[26] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref26) Biko, "Black Consciousness and a Quest for a True Humanity." p43
[27] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref27) Mandela, "Steve Biko." p452
Critically analyse the significance of Steve Biko and the ideas of 'Black Consciousness' to the revival of serious Black resistance to apartheid in the 1970s.
Introduction
The Black Consciousness Movement began in the late 1960s, and rose to prominence in the 1970s, stepping in to fill a vacuum of Black resistance to apartheid. During the previous decade, especially in the years after the Sharpeville massacre, the National Party seemed virtually invincible; bannings, imprisonment and exile had resulted in the anti-apartheid movement’s loss of direction. It was into this void that the Black Consciousness Movement, led by Steve Biko and others, stepped. While the Movement was relatively small in membership, as most anti-apartheid organisations were, it contributed significantly to the resurgence of resistance to apartheid in the 1970s.
If the Black Consciousness Movement was able to contribute to the revival of Black activism in this period, how was this possible if previous organisations had failed or been suppressed? What allowed this movement to survive and even thrive in the repressive atmosphere of South Africa at that time? The answer to this question lies partially in examining the political situation of Black people in South Africa during the decade in question, as well as in the ideology of Black Consciousness itself. Due to the broad nature of the Black Consciousness movement, which encompassed several spheres and organisations, this essay will focus on two main organisations, the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO) and the Black People’s Convention (BPC). Due to his prominence within these organisations, consideration of the ideas and life of Steve Biko will form an integral part of this essay.
The Anti-Apartheid Movement Prior to Black Consciousness
By the late 1960s the National Party government appeared to be in firmly control of South Africa and to have, “by banning, imprisonment, exile, murder and banishment,”[1] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn1) effectively silenced opposition to apartheid. This situation came about due to the crisis in White South Africa caused by the Sharpeville massacre and Black resistance to apartheid in general. The crisis situation made it clear that the white authorities had to choose between two options; either concessions had to be made to the Black population, or further repression was required to maintain white rule.[2] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn2) The government chose the latter, and pursued this goal with ruthless efficiency. Laws were passed banning the two leading Black resistance organisations, the ANC and PAC, and multiracial political organising was prohibited. In addition to this legislative repression, which was accompanied by brute force, the ‘alternative’ of “separate development” was offered as a carrot to induce Black co-operation and submission.[3] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn3) In short, the choice for Black political activists appeared to be between working within the system, working underground in constant danger, or being inactive.
The Origins of the Black Consciousness Movement
In this restrictive situation, student organisations became one of the few outlets for Black anti-apartheid activists. However, even in this case, the options of students were limited. Organisations linked to banned groups were incapable of fulfilling any meaningful function; so many Black activists looked to the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS). While committed to the ideal of non-racialism, NUSAS was an organisation dominated by white liberal students, in both numbers and ideological direction. This state of affairs led to action by NUSAS remaining largely symbolic, rather than directly challenging the system. This perceived weakness was the key reason behind a group of Black students, led by Steve Biko, seeking to form an all-Black students’ organisation, free from the diluting influence of white liberals, as early as 1968.[4] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn4) When it became apparent that support for such an organisation existed, SASO was formed in 1969 with Steve Biko as its first president. It was based on the understanding that the issue of race should be the primary concern of Black activists, that for the struggle to be effective Black people needed to ‘go it alone’ and that Black consciousness and pride were key to this approach.[5] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn5)
It eventually became clear that this analysis was applicable and desirable for a political movement that encompassed activism beyond the student realm. This organisation was to be seen as an alternative to working within the apartheid system in the Bantustans or going underground, aimed at using non-violent means to bring about Black Consciousness, i.e. to give Black people the confidence and ability to throw off oppression.[6] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn6) The Black People’s Convention was formed in 1971 as collaboration between several Black organisations and, because of the perceived compatibility of its ideology with ‘separate development,’ was able to function relatively unhindered until 1973, when many of its leaders were banned.[7] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn7)
Black Unity and Identity
Perhaps the main reason why the apartheid authorities initially welcomed or overlooked the arrival of the Black Consciousness Movement was because it advocated a Black-only movement, which at first appeared to be congruent with the ideology of ‘separate development.’ The government-backed and influenced Afrikaans press published editorials applauding the rise of the Black Consciousness Movement and its rejection of “white politics.”[8] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn8) This allowed the Black Consciousness movement to operate above-ground for a number of years until its leadership was banned and the movements’ ability to organise was strictly curtailed. In these years Black Consciousness altered the landscape of Black resistance to apartheid, as a movement as well as in a more general sense, as shall be examined later.
The state’s permissive attitude was based on the assumption that a rejection of white politics meant embracing ‘separate development’ in its totality, including the balkanisation of the Black population into so-called ethnic homelands. In reality, the underlying principle of the Black Consciousness Movement was to bring about greater unity among Black people in South Africa, including Africans, “coloureds” and “Indians,” in order to more effectively combat apartheid. Steve Biko noted that all Black people were oppressed by the same system, and that the fact that groups were oppressed to different degrees was an attempt to stratify them and thus diffuse any potential for resistance by bringing about disunity.[9] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn9)
This approach on the part of the Movement was a clear departure from previous anti-Apartheid movements in that they had sought unity amongst all opponents of apartheid, regardless of race. The BCM instead desired the creation of a positive Black identity as part of the antidote to the divide-and-rule tactics of the state. This approach clearly appealed to many people, as demonstrated by the fact that circulation of the SASO newsletter reached four thousand copies by 1972,[10] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn10) while the organisation was still relatively young and operated on a very limited budget. In the vacuum created by the crackdown on resistance during the 1960s SASO, and the ideology of Black Consciousness, quickly rose to prominence as perhaps the most important active anti-apartheid movement of the period.
The idea of Black unity, in solidarity with Africans and each other, was particularly challenging to the Indian and Coloured communities, who had historically been identified as separate. While the concept did appeal to many members of these groups, such as Peter Jones, a “coloured” activist who was arrested along with Steve Biko in 1977[11] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn11) and Indians who supported striking African workers from 1973 onwards,[12] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn12) it caused much controversy in groups such as the Natal Indian Congress, which debated the issue in 1972.[13] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn13) Some delegates, particularly from the Durban area, favoured the Black Consciousness approach and the restriction of membership to Black people only. However, it was the majority view that traditional non-racial policy of Congress should be maintained, and this was upheld. From these examples it can be seen that the idea of Black (and Black-only) unity, in its efficacy as a means of resistance to apartheid, was a double-edged sword which served to create a stronger opposition among its supporters while alienating anti-apartheid activists who disagreed with the approach or were uncertain about its implications.
Closely linked to the concept of Black unity was the idea that a positive Black identity needed to be developed and asserted. This was deemed necessary because one of the cornerstones of apartheid was the psychological oppression of Black people, through measures like pass laws, influx control and Bantu Education. As Biko put it, “the most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the minds of the oppressed.”[14] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn14) If oppressed people did not believe that they could liberate themselves, it follows that their resistance would be significantly weakened. This part of the Black Consciousness analysis was relatively new in South Africa and was influenced by Black thinkers from around the world, such as Fanon, Stokely Carmichael and Charles Hamilton[15] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn15), as well as anti-colonial movements, particularly those in Africa. Under these international conditions, in which African nationalism and consciousness were in the ascendance, it is unsurprising that the Black Consciousness Movement grew to prominence and that this helped reinvigorate the struggle in South Africa. While particular instances of resistance to apartheid may not have necessarily been affiliated to, or organised by, the Movement, it is clear that the ideology had, in some form, dispersed throughout Black society in South Africa.
This is particularly true amongst the youth of South Africa, who gained the confidence to resist the apartheid state at least in part through ideas of Black Consciousness. SASO itself had begun as an organisation of university students and it eventually became apparent that high school students were being influenced by Black Consciousness and could be organised. Thus, in 1972 SASO set up branches to cater both to high school students and other non-university students.[16] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn16) Perhaps Black Consciousness was especially appealing to young people because they had not experienced the setbacks of the 1960s or the overwhelming influence of the ANC and PAC. Rather, they inherited a situation in which activism was severely limited and the state ultra-repressive. Under these conditions it is easy to understand why young people were so effectively politicised by movements such as the Black Consciousness Movement. Once their levels of political consciousness was raised, these young people set up organisations of their own, including in Soweto where the student uprising of 1976 took place.[17] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn17) This was not an isolated incident. While the 1960s had been a quiet decade in terms of resistance to apartheid, after a subdued beginning the 1970s were a decade characterised by increasing resistance to apartheid. According to Henry Isaacs, former president of SASO, the crucial change was “in Black’s perception of themselves and their situation.”[18] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn18) What is interesting about the uprising is not merely the fact that they occurred amid a rising tide of Black activism, but that they targeted state instruments of psychological control- namely Bantu Education and the use of Afrikaans in schools. The assertion of Black agency by these students and their desire to free themselves from psychological domination demonstrate the extent to which the Black Consciousness Movement had influenced the anti-apartheid movement in the 1970s.
Black Consciousness as a Black-Only Movement
Another feature of the Black Consciousness Movement was the fact that it was an explicitly Black-only movement. One key reason for this was inherent in the Black Consciousness analysis of the power structure,[19] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn19) distinguishing it from previous movements which tended to restrict their analysis to the government. Black Consciousness recognised that power was embedded in society and extended much further than the state. According to this analysis, all white people in South Africa formed a part of the power structure by virtue of the privilege into which they were born. Thus, white society was conditioned to “accept it as normal that it alone is entitled to privilege”[20] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn20) and that Black people are not. Following on from this, white anti-apartheid activists were placed in a position where their activism was largely limited to symbolism, due both to their indoctrination within the apartheid system and their material interest in the oppression of Black people. Additionally, Black activists had been conditioned by circumstances to be deferential to whites because in apartheid South Africa there was “no real communication between black and white outside a master-servant relationship.”[21] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn21) This was carried out in NUSAS, which was an organisation committed to anti-apartheid activism yet limited itself to largely symbolic race-mixing, due to the fact that the direction of the organisation was largely determined by white liberals who by virtue of their place within the system could not contribute to its destruction.[22] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn22) This feeling that white liberalism was holding back the struggle, and that the liberals were determining the “modus operandi”[23] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn23) of Black activists prompted the founding of SASO, which, once it had laid firm foundations for itself, became much a much more radical and active organisation than NUSAS, which significantly contributed to the politicising of South Africa’s youth. After the previous years in which the struggle was effectively suppressed, the Black Consciousness Movement provided a new level of radicalism which made previous attempts at activism, such as NUSAS and relatively progressive leaders in the Bantustans, seem “moderate”[24] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn24) and ineffective.
Criticisms of Black Consciousness
With its ideas that Black activists should ‘go it alone’ and its rejection of liberalism (white liberalism in particular) it is unsurprising that Black Consciousness generated a great deal of controversy within the liberation movement in South Africa. The major criticism was that the movement was racist, or interested in promoting “racial exclusiveness.”[25] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn25) While it was true that organisations such as SASO and the BPC did insist on Black membership, the post-apartheid society they envisaged was, for the most part, non-racial. According to Biko, who adopted a dialectical approach, Black Consciousness was the antithesis to the thesis of white racism, and the synthesis of a non-racial society would emerge from the conflict between these opposites.[26] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn26) In that sense, Black Consciousness aspired to the creation of a similar society to that envisaged by other anti-apartheid groups (the ANC in particular). The processes by which they worked, however, were different, and more appropriate to the restrictive climate of South Africa at the time, when ‘softer’ approaches were all too easily squashed or co-opted into the apartheid machine.
Conclusion
During the 1960s the apartheid government had decided to take a course of complete repression, determined to nullify all resistance to apartheid with the use of legislation backed up by force and ‘alternatives’ to resistance such as Bantustans. The two most prominent anti-apartheid groups, the ANC and PAC, had been forced out of sight and for a time Black activists had to rely on white-dominated groups to provide them with a voice. However, it soon became clear that this was not a desirable state of affairs, and organisations led by Black people, in which they were able to define their own goals and ideals, were established. These groups, such as SASO and the BPC, became extremely influential in South Africa during the 1970s, both as groups in their own right and as part of a movement which significantly raised levels of political consciousness and activity in South Africa’s Black communities. The outcry over Steve Biko’s death in custody, both in South Africa and internationally, demonstrated the extent of the influence of the Black Consciousness Movement and its ideas. Nevertheless, in the years following the 1970s, Black Consciousness receded in importance, while the ANC and to a lesser extent the PAC enjoyed a resurgence. This indicates that the ideology of Black Consciousness thrived, and was particularly effective, in a particular historical period which was characterised by extreme political repression and racism, a vacuum in the resistance movement and a world in which African nationalism was asserting itself strongly for the first time. While the movement did decline in prominence towards apartheid’s latter years it is important to recognise the contribution it made to the resistance during a difficult period as well as the ongoing legacy of Black Consciousness in the form of its influences on the ideas of Black people in South Africa as “at attitude of mind, a way of life.”[27] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftn27)
Bibliography
Primary Sources
"Chapter One: Black Organisations- Political Groups." Black Review 1 (1972).
Biko, Steve. "Black Consciousness and a Quest for a True Humanity." Frank Talk 2 (1987): 42-47.
Biko, Steve. "The Black Man's Quest." Ikwezi 8 (1983): 5-8.
Biko, Steve. "The Definition of Black Consciousness." In I Write What I Like: A Selection of His Writings, edited by A. Stubbs, 62-67. London: Bowerdean Press, 1978.
Biko, Steve. "Fear- an Important Determinant in South African Politics." Frank Talk 2 (1987): 47-50.
Biko, Steve. "White Racism and Black Consciousness." Frank Talk 1, no. 1 (1984): 6-9.
Isaacs, Henry. "The Emergence and Impact of the Black Consciousness Movement." Ikwezi 2, no. 4 (1976): 7-14.
SASO. "Black Students' Manifesto." SASO Newsletter 5, no. 3 (1975): back cover.
Selby, Arnold. "A Reply to Dan Crowe on Black Consciousness." Sechaba 7, no. 2 (1973): 20-21.
Woods, Donald. Biko. London: Penguin Books, 1987.
Secondary Sources
Gerhart, Gail M. Black Power in South Africa: The Evolution of an Ideology. University of California Press: Berkeley, 1978.
Hirson, Baruch. Year of Fire, Year of Ash: The Soweto Revolt: Roots of a Revolution? Zed Press: London, 1979.
Mandela, Nelson. "Steve Biko: Address at the Commemoration of the Twentieth Anniversary of Steve Biko's Death, East London, 12 September 1997." In Nelson Mandela in His Own Words: From Freedom to the Future, edited by Kader Asmal, David Chidester and Wilmot James, 451-4. London: Little, Brown, 2003.
[1] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref1) Nelson Mandela, "Steve Biko: Address at the Commemoration of the Twentieth Anniversary of Steve Biko's Death, East London, 12 September 1997," in Nelson Mandela in His Own Words: From Freedom to the Future, ed. Kader Asmal, David Chidester, and Wilmot James (London: Little, Brown, 2003).p451
[2] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref2) Gail M. Gerhart, Black Power in South Africa: The Evolution of an Ideology (University of California Press: Berkeley, 1978). p242-3
[3] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref3) Ibid. p251
[4] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref4) Ibid. p261
[5] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref5) Donald Woods, Biko (London: Penguin Books, 1987). p35
[6] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref6) Mandela, "Steve Biko." p452-3
[7] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref7) Gerhart, Black Power in South Africa: The Evolution of an Ideology. p293
[8] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref8) Ibid. p 269
[9] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref9) Steve Biko, "The Definition of Black Consciousness," in I Write What I Like: A Selection of His Writings, ed. A. Stubbs (London: Bowerdean Press, 1978). p65
[10] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref10) Gerhart, Black Power in South Africa: The Evolution of an Ideology. p270
[11] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref11) Peter Jones quoted in Woods, Biko. p377-99
[12] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref12) Henry Isaacs, "The Emergence and Impact of the Black Consciousness Movement," Ikwezi 2, no. 4 (1976). p8
[13] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref13)"Chapter One: Black Organisations- Political Groups," Black Review 1 (1972). p6
[14] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref14) Steve Biko quoted in Woods, Biko. p59
[15] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref15) Gerhart, Black Power in South Africa: The Evolution of an Ideology. p275
[16] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref16) Ibid. p297
[17] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref17) Ibid.
[18] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref18) Isaacs, "The Emergence and Impact of the Black Consciousness Movement." p12
[19] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref19) Woods, Biko. p57
[20] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref20) Steve Biko, "Black Consciousness and a Quest for a True Humanity," Frank Talk 2 (1987). p43
[21] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref21) Isaacs, "The Emergence and Impact of the Black Consciousness Movement." p8
[22] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref22) Gerhart, Black Power in South Africa: The Evolution of an Ideology. p257-9
[23] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref23) Biko, "Black Consciousness and a Quest for a True Humanity." p32
[24] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref24) Gerhart, Black Power in South Africa: The Evolution of an Ideology. p295
[25] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref25) Arnold Selby, "A Reply to Dan Crowe on Black Consciousness," Sechaba 7, no. 2 (1973). p20
[26] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref26) Biko, "Black Consciousness and a Quest for a True Humanity." p43
[27] (http://www.revleft.com/vb/#_ftnref27) Mandela, "Steve Biko." p452