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| Steve Biko on the cover of Drum Magazine |
The
period 1967–1977 produced a substantial and coherent body of
thought that was inspired by the ideas of Black Consciousness (BC).
The writings in the SASO Newsletter
and
other BC publications, along with the outpouring of creative writing,
constituted an unprecedented
intellectual legacy in South Africa. From its beginnings as a student
movement, BC became an intellectual movement surpassing the 1950s
‘Sophiatown renaissance’ that, in intellectual terms, produced a
small group of journalists and creative writers.3 As BC spread into
various communities it also became the training ground, through its
‘small scattered organisations’ (such as health clinics) that
became the chosen path to black empowerment. Its programmes linked
with people’s ‘material’ interests and were designed to train
hundreds of followers who would in turn train thousands of others.
Activity, not activism as such, marked BC strategy. It sought as far
as possible to avoid direct political confrontation with the state,
hoping to prevent premature elimination before it had even got off
the ground. Its most astute exponents understood that if they formed
a rigidly structured organisation the police would immediately
destroy it. They intended their programmes to translate into
responsibility and organisation, as in leadership training at
formation schools.
Click here to download this chapter from The Road to Democracy in South Africa in pdf.
