Page 220 - 224: Causes of Soweto Uprising
The Black Consciousness Movement
In the 1970’s, a new movement called the Black Consciousness Movement (or BC) began
The BC movement was led by a man form the Eastern Cape called Steve Biko
Steve was inspired by some of Sobukwe’s ideas
BC encouraged all black South Africans to recognise their human dignity and self-worth
The Black Consciousness Movement was an understanding that black liberation would not
only come from political changes, but also from psychological changes in the minds of
blacks themselves
It wasn’t enough to just believe in freedom and fight for freedom
To take real power, black people had to believe in themselves and the value of their
blackness
Whites could offer support for political change, but could not lead or belong to the BC
Black people first had to gain psychological, physical and political power for themselves,
before their organisations, like the BC, could truly become non-racial
For Biko, South Africans included people classified as Indians and coloureds
He said that all those classified as non-whites were oppressed by Apartheid
The apartheid government was stronger if the oppressed when divided amongst
themselves
In the 1970’s, the BC spread from university campuses into urban black townships
throughout South Africa
BC was a movement, and not an organisation, which meant that people of different
political parties supported its ideas
Biko was banned in 1973, meaning that he wasn’t allowed to speak to more than one
person at a time, restricted to certain areas, and couldn’t make speeches in public
It was forbidden to quote anything he said in speeches or simple conversations, or to
mention him at all
Afrikaans as a medium of instruction
On the morning of 16 June 1976, 20 000 school children in Soweto went on a protest
march
They were protesting against having to use Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in
arithmetic and social studies at schools
The Bantu Education Act
In 1976, there was a great deal of discontent about the poor facilities in schools for black
children
There was a shortage of classrooms, and a lack of qualified teachers
Pupil-to-student ratios were as high as 70 pupils to 1 teacher
The apartheid government spent far more money on education for white children than
what they did for black children
10 times more money was spent on white children annually
The role of ANC and the Radio Freedom
In the early 1970’s , many young people learnt about the ideas of the ANC by listening to
shortwave radio broadcasts on Radio Freedom which was broadcast from Tanzania
The independence of Angola and Mozambique
Angola and Mozambique were white-ruled Portuguese colonies
They became independent in 1973 and 1974
The introduction of black majority rule in countries so close to South Africa’s borders gave
South Africa a sense of optimism
The new governments in Mozambique and Angola supported the freedom struggle against
apartheid in SA
The PAC underground in Soweto
Zephania (Zeph) Mothopeng was detained in 1976
He was charged and sentenced to 15 years in jail in 1979, when he was 66 years old, for
trying to overthrow the government
He was charged with having recruited and sent men out of the country for military training
and with being involved in the student unrest of 1976
Zeph organised the PAC underground activities in many of the Witwatersrand townships
Page 240 - 241: Unbanning of political movements in 1990
The Black Consciousness Movement
In the 1970’s, a new movement called the Black Consciousness Movement (or BC) began
The BC movement was led by a man form the Eastern Cape called Steve Biko
Steve was inspired by some of Sobukwe’s ideas
BC encouraged all black South Africans to recognise their human dignity and self-worth
The Black Consciousness Movement was an understanding that black liberation would not
only come from political changes, but also from psychological changes in the minds of
blacks themselves
It wasn’t enough to just believe in freedom and fight for freedom
To take real power, black people had to believe in themselves and the value of their
blackness
Whites could offer support for political change, but could not lead or belong to the BC
Black people first had to gain psychological, physical and political power for themselves,
before their organisations, like the BC, could truly become non-racial
For Biko, South Africans included people classified as Indians and coloureds
He said that all those classified as non-whites were oppressed by Apartheid
The apartheid government was stronger if the oppressed when divided amongst
themselves
In the 1970’s, the BC spread from university campuses into urban black townships
throughout South Africa
BC was a movement, and not an organisation, which meant that people of different
political parties supported its ideas
Biko was banned in 1973, meaning that he wasn’t allowed to speak to more than one
person at a time, restricted to certain areas, and couldn’t make speeches in public
It was forbidden to quote anything he said in speeches or simple conversations, or to
mention him at all
Afrikaans as a medium of instruction
On the morning of 16 June 1976, 20 000 school children in Soweto went on a protest
march
They were protesting against having to use Afrikaans as the medium of instruction in
arithmetic and social studies at schools
The Bantu Education Act
In 1976, there was a great deal of discontent about the poor facilities in schools for black
children
There was a shortage of classrooms, and a lack of qualified teachers
Pupil-to-student ratios were as high as 70 pupils to 1 teacher
The apartheid government spent far more money on education for white children than
what they did for black children
10 times more money was spent on white children annually
The role of ANC and the Radio Freedom
In the early 1970’s , many young people learnt about the ideas of the ANC by listening to
shortwave radio broadcasts on Radio Freedom which was broadcast from Tanzania
The independence of Angola and Mozambique
Angola and Mozambique were white-ruled Portuguese colonies
They became independent in 1973 and 1974
The introduction of black majority rule in countries so close to South Africa’s borders gave
South Africa a sense of optimism
The new governments in Mozambique and Angola supported the freedom struggle against
apartheid in SA
The PAC underground in Soweto
Zephania (Zeph) Mothopeng was detained in 1976
He was charged and sentenced to 15 years in jail in 1979, when he was 66 years old, for
trying to overthrow the government
He was charged with having recruited and sent men out of the country for military training
and with being involved in the student unrest of 1976
Zeph organised the PAC underground activities in many of the Witwatersrand townships
Page 240 - 241: Unbanning of political movements in 1990
