Steve Biko

Stephen Bantu Biko (18 December 1946 – 12 September 1977) was a South African activist. He is famous for his activism against apartheid in South Africa during the 1960s and 1970s. He created the Black Consciousness Movement.

Life
Biko was born in Ginsberg Township (now called the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa). He started high school at Lovedale High School.  However, he was kicked out of school because of his political ideas about South Africa.  He finished high school at St. Francis College.

During the late 1960s, Biko was a medical student at the University of Natal.  During this time, he helped create the South African Students' Organisation. The organization later changed into the Black Consciousness Movement, and elected Biko as its first president in 1968.

As a student, during the early 1970s, Biko fought against apartheid in many ways. Eventually, in 1972, he was kicked out of the University of Natal. In February 1973, the South African apartheid government banned Biko.  This severely limited his freedom of speech.

Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement played key roles in organizing protests, led by South African high school students, that resulted in the Soweto Uprising.

Death
On 18 August 1977, Biko was arrested.  He died on 12 September 1977 due to injuries he got while in police custody.

Cultural references
In the movie Cry Freedom (1987), which was about Biko's role in the anti-apartheid struggle and about his death while in police custody, Biko was played by American actor Denzel Washington.

References

Other websites

Young Black Leader Dies in Detention in South Africa, Raising Fears of New Unrest By John F. Burns, special to the New York Times
Thesis on the prospects of Bikoism in today's South Africa 
The Steve Biko Foundation
The relevance of Black Consciousness today
Donald Woods talks in 1987 about his friendship with Steve Biko
New Introduction to I Write What I Like by Lewis Gordon
Black Consciousness: The dialectics of liberation 

Category:1946 births
Category:1977 deaths
Category:South African activists

Category:Prisoners
Category:South African political writers