12/09/2025
Black Consciousness: Remembering Steven Bantu Biko
The killed the man but they could.not kill the idea
What is Black Consciousness.? There are many definitions on goggle and from many scholars, however, for me Biko's definition of Black Consciousness speaks to me, as defined in his book, I write what I like, Biko defines Black Consciousness as "the awakening of self-worth in Black populations."
On the 12 September 1977, exactly 48 yrs today, in a state of unconsciousness, after being severely beaten for 21days Steve Biko was carried in the back of a truck to Pretoria. Steve Biko gave in to his injuries and died, an inquest would later find the Police who brutally killed Biko, not guilty. Later in life I met this giant through books, lectures, and seminar, I took a conscious decision to advocate for a black person unapologetically and always stand on the side of black people, because Biko's ideas resonated so much with his convictions me
Black Consciousness is holding each other accountable.
Biko argued that "Being Black is not a matter of pigmentation, being black is a reflection of mental attitude". Skin pigmentation must never be used to determine the ability and competence of individuals! Equally skin pigmentation should never be used to encourage mediocrity and poor quality service..many black people today want to ride on blackness to hide their inability and incompetencies. The notion of "because I'm black" has silenced many people and has given us poor quality, because black people felt unpatriotic for raising poor quality issues with their fellow black folks.
Sadly today many of our black people want to occupy positions of power and influence simply because of skin pigmentation, no willingness to learn, just because I'm black therefore, we have a sense of entitlement. Some of us do not want to work hard and earn respect of others without pulling the tired "its because I'm black" rhetoric! Sadly
Institutions are collapsing because we do not empower ourselves and our fellow black brothers and sisters, our succession planning is mainly influenced by who agrees with me or who will not outclass me, the rest are denied the opportunity to learn and be empowered.
Black Consciousness is to empower the black population, we are not a problem, you are not a problem!! Delivering Biko's memorial lecture in 2007, Thabo Mbeki said, "Steve Biko understood that to attain our freedom, we had to rebel against the notion that we are a problem, that we should no longer merely cry out: why did God make me an outcast and stranger in my own house? That we should stop looking at ourselves through the eyes of others and measuring our souls by the tape OF others who looks on in amused and contempt pity. Thabo Mbeki 2007 Memorial Lecture.
We must rebel against every agenda to turn us against ourselves and make us feel bad for challenging the status quo, injustice, unfair practices and purging. Those who sit in position of power have a tendency to emotionally blackmail us, and make us feel bad for raising our hands challenge their lack of commitment to quality leadership.
Across eras and epochs, I have seen how leaders change once they occupy offices of power and label us they same way their predecessors labeled us, we should stop looking at ourselves through the eyes of our critiques and measuring our souls using the tape given by them.
It is the right thing to rebel against any system that seeks to mute us and turn us into a problem without self reflection or self evaluation. Biko faced a brutal system, brutal police and rejection from his peers, he boldly says “I’m going to be me as I am, and you can beat me or jail me or even kill me, but I’m not going to be what you want me to be.”
Black Consciousness is Consciousness,
Biko died in 1977 he was 31. Barney Pityana who was a close associate and a friend was 32, Frank Chikane who was part of kairos moment and prominent figure in the formation of UDM was 26yrs in '77. Enerst Baartman who called black ministers in 1976 to form BMC in the MCSA was 41 in 1977, Itumeleng Mosala, an astute scholar and an associate of Biko was 27 in 1977. What makes all these leaders outstanding is their level of consciousness, they could see that no matter how apartheid government tried to conceal their evil acts through abuse of power, they remain oppressed and they must do something about it.
Black Consciousness is radically opposed to being a puppet and a beggar, if you still playing small and waiting to be recognized by the elders, you will die a puppet. Power, influence and control cannot be negotiated, they are not voluntarily given. Power, influence and control are seductive, and those who enjoy them now, will continue to give you crumbs and label you ungrateful when you demand space on the table, they prefer you outside and waiting for them to give you controlled information
Black Consciousness is searching for information to restore the self esteem of black people and blackness. Chinua Achebe presenting Biko's lecture in 2002 advances an argument that "Biko, A young man with sharp intellect and a flair for organization and leadership, realized the need to raise the sagging morale of black people, to raise their consciousness and self esteem; to overcome the psychological opression black people by whites" Prof Chinua Achebe, Memorial Lecture 2002
Being excluded can lead to mental illness, I recently met a parent who made me to listen to her daughter who is at boarding school and feeling excluded by other kids and refusing to be friends with her. Sometimes in my life I had to deal with my child's pain of being excluded because she was new in the school due to my moves as priest. Being excluded is psychological and can lead to depression. Achebe draws lessons from Biko and counsels us, we must fight the psychological outcomes that comes with exclusion, black people in offices of power and influence are there to open doors for more black people not to close the doors and shut them, that's evil we must fight. The notion of "I was the first black person to be" must be eliminated by creating more space for black people
Black Consciousness is supposed to give hope. It is a Nigerian scholar an activist Ben Okri who says "There are three kinds of Africans, the one we see, the one they write about and the real magica african unfolding through difficult circumstances we never see; Ben Okri. Black Consciousness must remind all black Africans that it is not yet Uhuru, the struggle continues and it now continues against the self proclaimed owners of our freedom who are more interested in their legacies and not the welfare of those who elected them into power, it is now or never!
One leader once said to me, Sethunya during apartheid it was easy, we knew the enemy, the problem today is that the enemy looks just like us. "May the fires of history burn us into a new consciousness". Ben Okri 2012
Presenting the 2012 Lecture in memory of Biko, Ben Okri argues that "No one will give you your destiny, you will have to do it, the real freedom begins with what we do with freedom acquired. To go around with a basket hoping to receive hand outs from generous onlookers is to kill black Consciousness, no one will give it to you on a silver platter.
At the funeral of Advocate Selebogo Mapahtchwane, a father who invested his time moulding me in my youth and was brutally murdered in his own house in the year 2000, his friend, a fellow Turfloop law student paying tribute to Ntate Mapahtchwane said "Selebogo was born struggling, lived a struggling life, endured struggle, struggled to build his practice and Selebogo died struggling, therefore, we can never abandon this agenda". Black Consciousness is to continuously remember that we can never abandon the struggle to liberate black children from systems that are determined to exclude and isolate them
Black Consciousness is being responsible
"The leaders you have say something about the people we are...we should blame or praise ourselves for our leaders" Ben Okri
Leaders do not put themselves in power, they are put by their followers therefore, if you have bad leaders, blame yourself, if you have uncaring and selfish leaders, blame yourself, if you have distant leaders, blame yourself, if you have leaders who use gossip and perception to lead and take decisions based on that, blame yourself, yes you elected them
Biko's key contribution to the freedom we enjoy today is in freeing us from the fear of death, thus allowing us to become fully what we were created to be- agents of our own history. Mamphele Ramphele 2005 Memorial lecturer
Yes, they killed the man but they could not kill the idea
May Biko's Spirit live forever
Rev Sethunya Motlhodi
Connexional BMC Chairperson
