The Nature and Aims of Black Consciousness:
● Late 1960s/early 1970s, new generation of black students began to organize
resistance in SA
● Many of them were students at the “Bush Colleges” (segregated universities
established for black students under apartheid, located in remote or rural areas)
under the system of Bantu Education, such as the University of Zululand and
the University of the North.
● They adopted ideas known as Black Consciousness (attitude of mind, rather than
political stance)
● Use of term “black” was a direct challenge to the apartheid term of “non-white”.
● Movement defined black people as all those who were opposed to apartheid,
including Indian and coloured people.
● Promoted new, unified identity
● The main aims of Black Consciousness were:
1. To raise self-respect and confidence of black people to liberate themselves
2. To promote pride in black identity, culture and history
3. To stop working with white liberals (supporting individual freedom and in favour of
moderate political and social reform) in multi-racial organisations, but to encourage
them to educate other white people to change their attitudes
4. To promote unity amongst black people by mobilising them to fight against
apartheid, in particular against the divisions caused by separate development.
● Many of these ideas echoed the views of the Africanist and PAC (Pan Africanist
Congress) traditions of the 1950s, which had stressed that South Africa belonged
to black people alone.
● There were also similarities with Black Power in the USA at the time, which
stressed the idea of black assertiveness.
● The Black Consciousness movement developed in the context of international
youth revolt of the late 1960s, and most of its supporters were students.
● It was encouraged, too, by the granting of independence to African colonies and
growing international criticism of South Africa.
● The followers of Black Consciousness were also influenced by the ideas of new
leaders in independent Africa, such as Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana), Julius Nyerere
(Tanzania) and Kenneth Kaunda (Zambia).
, ● The driving force behind Black Consciousness was the South African Students
Organisation (SASO), established in 1968 under the leadership of Steve Biko.
Steve Biko:
❏ Steve Biko was born in King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape in
1946.
❏ After school he studied medicine at the University of Natal, while he was
there became active in student politics through National Union of South
African Students (NUSAS).
❏ However, NUSAS was dominated by white liberals, and in 1968 Biko
broke away to form SASO, a separate union for black students.
❏ He believed that blacks should not rely on help from whites (even if they
were against apartheid) but should lead their own resistance.
❏ This meant rejecting the non-racialism of the ANC and the Freedom
Charter.
❏ Biko was influenced by the ideas of a French-speaking writer, Frantz
Fanon, who was well-known for his studies on resistance to French rule in
Algeria.
❏ In his best-known book, The Wretched of the Earth, Fanon examined the
economic and psychological effects of imperialism (the policy of extending
the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of
acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies) on colonised people.
❏ He believed that it was only through violence that colonised people could
free themselves from this psychological oppression.
❏ Like Fanon, Biko believed that blacks in South Africa needed to free
themselves from the psychological state of being treated as inferior after
centuries of colonialism and apartheid.
❏ He believed that once blacks had liberated themselves in this way, and
gained psychological, physical and political power, then non-racial
organisations would be able to operate properly.
❏ Biko believed that all those classified as “non-white” by the apartheid
government (including Indians and Coloureds) should see themselves as
“black” and that this would be the first step towards their liberation.
❏ However, he did not see Black Consciousness as black racism, and did
not call for revenge on white society.
● Late 1960s/early 1970s, new generation of black students began to organize
resistance in SA
● Many of them were students at the “Bush Colleges” (segregated universities
established for black students under apartheid, located in remote or rural areas)
under the system of Bantu Education, such as the University of Zululand and
the University of the North.
● They adopted ideas known as Black Consciousness (attitude of mind, rather than
political stance)
● Use of term “black” was a direct challenge to the apartheid term of “non-white”.
● Movement defined black people as all those who were opposed to apartheid,
including Indian and coloured people.
● Promoted new, unified identity
● The main aims of Black Consciousness were:
1. To raise self-respect and confidence of black people to liberate themselves
2. To promote pride in black identity, culture and history
3. To stop working with white liberals (supporting individual freedom and in favour of
moderate political and social reform) in multi-racial organisations, but to encourage
them to educate other white people to change their attitudes
4. To promote unity amongst black people by mobilising them to fight against
apartheid, in particular against the divisions caused by separate development.
● Many of these ideas echoed the views of the Africanist and PAC (Pan Africanist
Congress) traditions of the 1950s, which had stressed that South Africa belonged
to black people alone.
● There were also similarities with Black Power in the USA at the time, which
stressed the idea of black assertiveness.
● The Black Consciousness movement developed in the context of international
youth revolt of the late 1960s, and most of its supporters were students.
● It was encouraged, too, by the granting of independence to African colonies and
growing international criticism of South Africa.
● The followers of Black Consciousness were also influenced by the ideas of new
leaders in independent Africa, such as Kwame Nkrumah (Ghana), Julius Nyerere
(Tanzania) and Kenneth Kaunda (Zambia).
, ● The driving force behind Black Consciousness was the South African Students
Organisation (SASO), established in 1968 under the leadership of Steve Biko.
Steve Biko:
❏ Steve Biko was born in King William’s Town in the Eastern Cape in
1946.
❏ After school he studied medicine at the University of Natal, while he was
there became active in student politics through National Union of South
African Students (NUSAS).
❏ However, NUSAS was dominated by white liberals, and in 1968 Biko
broke away to form SASO, a separate union for black students.
❏ He believed that blacks should not rely on help from whites (even if they
were against apartheid) but should lead their own resistance.
❏ This meant rejecting the non-racialism of the ANC and the Freedom
Charter.
❏ Biko was influenced by the ideas of a French-speaking writer, Frantz
Fanon, who was well-known for his studies on resistance to French rule in
Algeria.
❏ In his best-known book, The Wretched of the Earth, Fanon examined the
economic and psychological effects of imperialism (the policy of extending
the rule or authority of an empire or nation over foreign countries, or of
acquiring and holding colonies and dependencies) on colonised people.
❏ He believed that it was only through violence that colonised people could
free themselves from this psychological oppression.
❏ Like Fanon, Biko believed that blacks in South Africa needed to free
themselves from the psychological state of being treated as inferior after
centuries of colonialism and apartheid.
❏ He believed that once blacks had liberated themselves in this way, and
gained psychological, physical and political power, then non-racial
organisations would be able to operate properly.
❏ Biko believed that all those classified as “non-white” by the apartheid
government (including Indians and Coloureds) should see themselves as
“black” and that this would be the first step towards their liberation.
❏ However, he did not see Black Consciousness as black racism, and did
not call for revenge on white society.
