Steve Biko: Sydafrikansk anti-apartheid aktivist

I choose this topic after seeing the movie Cry Freedom, I think is a really good movie and it made an impact on me. So, I wanted to know more about him.

Who was Steve Biko?

Bantu Stephen Biko also known as Steve Biko, was a South African anti-apartheid activist. He was born in 1946 in King William's Town, South Africa. After being expelled from high school for political activism, Biko enrolled in and graduated from St. Francis College, a liberal boarding school in Natal, and then entered the University of Natal Medical School. In 1970, Biko married Ntsiki Mashalaba. The couple later had two children together: sons Nkosinathi and Samora. Biko also had two children with Mamphela Ramphele, an active member of the Black Consciousness Movement: daughter Lerato, who was born in 1974 and died at 2 months old, and son Hlumelo, born in 1978.

Steve and the organizations

Steve Biko, founded or co-founded organizations. In 1968 he cofounded the all-black South African Students’ Organization (SASO), and he became its first president the following year. SASO was based on the philosophy of black consciousness, which encouraged blacks to recognize their inherent dignity and self-worth. In the 1970s the Black Consciousness Movement spread from university campuses into urban black communities throughout South Africa. In 1972 Biko was one of the founders of The Black People’s Convention, an umbrella organization of black consciousness groups.