Stephen Biko Sites

The following blog post was written on the afternoon of the 1st of August

Today we went an a mini-tour of Steve Biko sites by Jill’s friend Leslie, who is in King William’s Town (which is near East London) on a Fulbright doing research on Steve Biko’s Black consciousness movement.

Bantu Stephen Biko was born in 1946 in King William’s Town. He was a smart kid and was fairly political early on. He was accepted into medical school in Natal in 1966, were he became more political as time continued. He started working for what he called Black consciousness, which was a movement that encouraged Black South Africans to be proud of their blackness and to motivate them to do things for themselves. He was eventually kicked out of medical school for “failing academic performance,” but many people believe it was because of his political affiliations. During the 1970’s the south African government began to ban many anti-apartheid organizations and their leaders, Steve Biko was banned in 1974 but was allowed to continue doing work in the township areas around King Williams town. He worked to start a clinic run by Black doctors and nurses, small businesses for Black women and men, and other organizations meant to help people pull themselves up from their own poverty and fight oppression. In 1977 he was detained by the police and beaten to near death, he was then thrown naked into the back of a truck and sent to the hospital in Pretoria, hours away. It is debated as to his contention upon arrival in Pretoria, but it is well known that his death was the result of the beating by the police. These officers later requested amnesty during the Truth and Reconciliation committee, but were denied due to their inability to fully accept responsibility. Today Biko is honored by many South Africans for the contributions he made during his short life.

We started our tour in East London, with a visit to the stature located outside of city hall. Then, we visited the Zanempilo Clinic, one of Biko’s projects which is currently run by the government. Then we visited the Steven Biko foundation where Leslie spends much of her time doing interviews for her project. We ended up meeting a childhood friend of Steve Biko’s as well as his wife, who happened to be in the office while we were visiting. It was a big honor to be able to meet her and we found her to be an exceptionally kind person. After visiting the foundation, we went to his childhood home, which is now a national historic site and museum. Our last stop was the burial site of Steve Biko.

Overall, it was an excellent afternoon and I feel very lucky to have been able to see the sights with Leslie, who knows so much about Biko’s life and mission. It was fantastic and I am excited to read more about him in the future…and I will definitely be adding his ideas and movement into my curriculum in the future.