I Write What I Like

“We have a responsibility not only to ourselves but also to the society from which we spring.”

Biko’s aim with SASO was not just to unite and empower Black students across South Africa, but to effect change in the broader community. His writings emphasize the theme of The Role of Solidarity and pride as means of creating a more equitable society.

“The blacks are tired of standing at the touchlines to witness a game that they should be playing. They want to do things for themselves and all by themselves.”

This quote captures Biko’s dissatisfaction with liberal bilateralism, the primary reason he left NUSAS and founded SASO. Biko objected to liberal forms of integration, arguing that they were dominated by white students with paternalistic attitudes toward Black students. One of his aims with SASO was to create an all-Black organization that empowered Black people to effect change without input from white people, centering instead The Importance of Pride and Black Consciousness.

“The idea that blacks and whites can participate as equal partners in an open organisation is being questioned even by the most ardent black supporters of non-racialism.”

Biko encountered opposition from Black and white students when he founded SASO. However, the paternalism of NUSAS and other integrated organizations persuaded him that Black and white people would never be equal partners, not even in the most liberal organization. Biko’s experiences with NUSAS prompted him to leave the organization and establish SASO.

“The myth of integration as propounded under the banner of the liberal ideology must be cracked because it makes people believe that something is being achieved when in reality the artificially integrated circles are a soporific to the blacks while salving the consciences of the few guilt-stricken whites.”

This passage touches on two of Biko’s critiques of liberalism: first, his belief that it fools Black people into thinking that white people are actively fighting oppression; and second, his argument that it does not reflect a belief in equality, but instead serves to ease white people’s guilt for benefiting from and maintaining the status quo. Biko made these arguments to promote The Role of Solidarity in Black South African emancipation and to justify the foundation of SASO.

“Instead of involving themselves in an all-out attempt to stamp out racism from their white society, liberals waste a lot of time trying to prove to as many blacks as they can find that they are liberal.”

This quote exemplifies Biko’s direct and, at times, unvarnished writing style. He does not hide his contempt for white liberals, accusing them of posturing rather than actively working to end racial oppression.

“The type of black man we have today has lost his manhood.”

Recognizing The Importance of Pride and Black Consciousness and fostering pride in Blackness are the central aims of the BCM. Biko argues that centuries of racial oppression have crushed Black people’s morale, and that rebuilding it is a key step to emancipation.

“A people without a positive history is like a vehicle without an engine.”

The legacy of colonialism runs as a throughline in Biko’s writings. The ruling minority not only deemed themselves superior to the Black majority, but also promoted their views in colonial institutions, including schools, which presented African history in a negative light. Biko believes that Black Consciousness can reverse this trend by encouraging Black South Africans to take pride in their history and culture.

“The black lion is beginning to raise its voice.”

In this quote, Biko uses a metaphor to convey the discontent growing among South Africa’s Black population. Black people were speaking out in greater numbers, and in an increasingly unified way, against the injustices of apartheid.

“We regard our living together not as an unfortunate mishap warranting endless competition among us but as a deliberate act of God to make us a community of brothers and sisters jointly involved in the quest for a composite answer to the varied problems of life.”

This passage underscores Biko’s belief in The Role of Solidarity in the advancement of Black South Africans. It also alludes to a salient feature of African culture, namely, the importance of community. Biko argues that joint community action toward the common goal of ending racial oppression will be more effective than individual efforts, which is a hallmark of capitalism.

“Sure there are a few good whites just as much as there are a few bad blacks. However what we are concerned with here is group attitudes and group politics. The exception does not make a lie of the rule—it merely substantiates it.”

This quote is about systemic racism. Biko identifies white racism as a force pervading all aspects of South African society, including the government, schools, and religion. He maintains that it is impossible for Black people to fight racism from within the system, and that racism is ultimately a problem for white people to solve.

“I would like to remind the black ministry, and indeed all black people, that God is not in the habit of coming down from heaven to solve people’s problems on earth.”

Biko promoted several SASO and Black Consciousness beliefs at the conference for the Interdenominational Association of African Ministers of Religion. This quote stresses the importance of The Role of Solidarity and group action, rather than divine intervention, as a means of ending racial oppression.

“The white man’s quest for power has led him to destroy with utter ruthlessness whatever has stood in his way.”

Biko identifies white racism as South Africa’s primary ill. Initially motivated by economic gain, white people eventually came to believe in their own superiority, justifying the subjugation of Black people for centuries. For Biko, the formation of Bantustans was among the white government’s most egregious acts against Black people. Cast as a positive development, Biko instead presented Bantustans as Tools of Government Control that hurt Black people by relegating them to small, undeveloped areas and by hindering Black solidarity.

“The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.”

This quote describes a salient aspect of SASO and Black Consciousness, namely, the need to change the mentality of Black people. Biko urged Black people to reject notions of white superiority and instead take pride in their culture, history, and heroes. For Biko, this mental shift was a necessary step toward emancipation, reflecting The Importance of Pride and Black Consciousness.

“Black people should not at any one stage be surprised at some of the atrocities committed by the government.”

This passage draws attention to the long history of oppression in South Africa. Biko traces this oppression to the beginning of colonialism, when the settler government showed cruelty and contempt toward Black people, cowing the indigenous population through force and persuasion. For Biko, expecting justice from white people after centuries of injustice is simply naïve.

“It is this fear that erodes the soul of black people in South Africa.”

According to Biko, fear is the primary means by which white South Africans control the Black population. All white people trigger fear, including police officers, civil servants, farmers, and store owners. Indeed, fear is so pervasive and instinctive that it prevents Black people from behaving like free people.

“Why are we against the bantustan idea? Black people reject this approach for so many reasons, none of which are as fundamental as the fact that it is a solution given to us by the same people who have created the problem.”

Biko argues that Black people should not look to white people to solve racial inequality because white people are responsible for creating the problem. This belief helps explain why Biko is suspicious of all government solutions to inequity, including the creation of Bantustans. He thus presents Bantustans as Tools of Government Control.

“No group, however benevolent, can ever hand power to the vanquished on a plate.”

This quote captures a recurring subject in Biko’s writings—that Black people cannot rely on white people to end racial oppression. Biko argues that even the most liberal white people will resist change to maintain their social, economic, and political advantages.

“In time we shall be in a position to bestow upon South Africa the greatest gift possible—a more human face.”

Despite living under an oppressive regime, Biko expresses hope about the future of South Africa. He envisions an end to apartheid and the creation of Azania, a Black-run state that will uplift and support all citizens, including white people.

“The term black is normally in association also with negative aspects.”

Biko argues that words matter. In Chapter 15, he explains to the judge in the BPC/SASO trial that language can support racist structures by fostering negative attitudes toward Black people. The terms “Black Market” and “Black Sheep,” for instance, exemplify the negative associations of Blackness.

“It is a miracle to live to an adult age.”

This quote conveys the danger of being Black during apartheid. Black people lived in fear of falling victim to white violence and of random assaults in impoverished Black neighborhoods. Biko’s activism aimed to improve the plight of Black people, thereby increasing their life expectancy.

“South Africa is a country in which both black and white live and shall continue to live together.”

This quote describes Biko’s vision for Azania. Recognizing the plurality of South Africa, and the contributions of its Black and white citizens, Biko rejects the idea of an all-Black Azania, insisting that Black leaders will not expel white people. He envisions a society in which Black and white people live side-by-side, with each contributing proportionally to the country’s future.

“Africa has always governed its peoples in the form of the various chiefs, Chaka and so on, who couldn’t write.”

In this passage, Biko makes the argument that Black people should have the right to vote even if they are illiterate. Politicians can convey information to voters verbally, as African chiefs did in the past. The inability to read and write, then, are not impediments to participating in politics.

“There is no more doubt about the inevitability of change—the only questions now remaining are how and when.”

Biko sees apartheid nearing its end. Black people are uniting behind a common cause through recognizing The Role of Solidarity in the emancipation struggle. This belief that solidarity will bring about change is a key feature of the Black Consciousness Movement.