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Conscience noire.
In May 1976, nine Blacks were arrested in South Africa and charged with terrorism for having 'thoughts' unacceptable to the regime. Bantu Stephen Biko, that country's most important Black leader, stepped forward to testify on their behalf and thus broke the ban on his public speaking.
In the late 1960s, Biko had founded the Black Consciousness movement, which called for the psychological and cultural liberation of the Black mind as a precondition to political freedom; the movement spread rapidly among students and the masses, and his goal of using group pride to break the strangle hold of White oppression was partly realized by the time that his colleagues were placed on trial.
Biko's courageous and delicate testimony, recorded here in the dramatic format of direct and cross examination, explores almost every issue in South Africa and..shows something of Biko's brilliance, humor, vision and quickness of mind.
This was to be his last public statement. In Sept. 1977, Bantu Stephen Biko was murdered in a South African jail.
In the late 1960s, Biko had founded the Black Consciousness movement, which called for the psychological and cultural liberation of the Black mind as a precondition to political freedom; the movement spread rapidly among students and the masses, and his goal of using group pride to break the strangle hold of White oppression was partly realized by the time that his colleagues were placed on trial.
Biko's courageous and delicate testimony, recorded here in the dramatic format of direct and cross examination, explores almost every issue in South Africa and..shows something of Biko's brilliance, humor, vision and quickness of mind.
This was to be his last public statement. In Sept. 1977, Bantu Stephen Biko was murdered in a South African jail.
172 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1978
21 people are currently reading
1021 people want to read
About the author
Steve Biko
11 books177 followersStephen Biko was a noted anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population.
While living, his writings and activism attempted to empower black people, and he was famous for his slogan "black is beautiful", which he described as meaning: "man, you are okay as you are, begin to look upon yourself as a human being".
Since his death in police custody, he has been called a martyr of the anti-apartheid movement.
While living, his writings and activism attempted to empower black people, and he was famous for his slogan "black is beautiful", which he described as meaning: "man, you are okay as you are, begin to look upon yourself as a human being".
Since his death in police custody, he has been called a martyr of the anti-apartheid movement.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
July 8, 2009
The South African Terrorism Act was the reason I initially picked up this book. It was worse than the Patriot Act, but the Patriot Act is clearly modeled after it. The difference here is that the South African system of law was more restrictive to begin with: no Bill of Rights, and Parliament "may make any encroachment it pleases upon the life, liberty , or property of any individual subject to its sway, and it is the function of the courts of law to enforce its will" (Introduction, p. xxviii.)
The similarities to our Patriot Act: Detention without being charged with a crime and with no right of habeus corpus, and no recourse to the courts. Freedom of speech is curtailed. Any statement which "embarrasses the state" could be considered an act of terrorism. Indeed, "any act" could be an act of terrorism.
A person could be convincted of terrorism if s/he "with intent to endanger the maintenance of law and order in the Republic or elsewhere, commits any act or attempts to commit any act." This broad definition of terrorism allows people to be labeled as terrorists merely for writing a pamphlet, which is exactly what happened to Biko and to the other members of SASO and the BCP that were defendants in the trial chronicled in the pages of this book.
The Terrorism Act was clearly a perversion of the dictionary definition of terrorism.
Terrorism is defined as "the intentional use or threat to use violence against civilians and non-combatants "in order to achieve political goals"[1:]. This tactic of political violence is intended to intimidate or cause terror[2:] for the purpose of "exerting pressure on decision making by state bodies."[1:] The term "terror" is largely used to indicate clandestine, low-intensity violence that targets civilians and generates public fear. Thus "terror" is distinct from asymmetric warfare, and violates the concept of a common law of war in which civilian life is regarded." Definition from Wikipedia.
Clearly, writing a pamphlet directed at the South African State, even if it 'embarrasses' the state, is not terrorism. Biko's accurate assessment that fear is behind its labeling as terrorism, the white fear of reprisal for the inequities of Apartheid, leads to these deeply draconian laws, just as they do in the United States. Although I don't think our fears are so much tied up with whiteness per se, as much as our economic system and our way of life. Which probably does have something to do with racial privilege, although the lines aren't as clearly drawn as they were in Apartheid South Africa. Our African American president notwithstanding.
I suppose the reason this was interesting to me at all is that most Americans can agree on the fact that Apartheid South Africa was bad. They can agree that Nazi Germany was bad. But they can't see those parallels at home. I wanted to compare the legislation that made repression under Apartheid rule possible to our own Anti-Terrorist legislation, and there are striking parallels, with strikingly similar consequences.
Biko died from head wounds sustained from blows incurred during an interrogation in a South African jail. He was charged with disobeying his banning order. He had no legal rights once detained. He was much like those detained under the Patriot Act at Guantanamo, or elsewhere.
I gave this book four stars because it is merely the transcript of a criminal trial with an introduction discussing the trial, a post-script of inquest into Biko's death, and a reprint of Biko's pamphlet: I Write What I Like. Perhaps the saddest part is that Biko's philosophy was not really one of violent reprisal, but of helping Black people to become self-sufficient, to see their own worth, and to become literate. He was a follower of Popular Education theorist Paolo Friere. (They misspell his name in the court transcript as "Paul Lafrere") This was a great threat to the South African state, which depended on the passive acceptance by Black South Africans that they were worthless and deserved to be maltreated. This idea was a bigger threat than any bomb. And that is the danger of Anti-Terrorist legislation - it can and is used to target even non-violent resistance in a very violent manner.
The similarities to our Patriot Act: Detention without being charged with a crime and with no right of habeus corpus, and no recourse to the courts. Freedom of speech is curtailed. Any statement which "embarrasses the state" could be considered an act of terrorism. Indeed, "any act" could be an act of terrorism.
A person could be convincted of terrorism if s/he "with intent to endanger the maintenance of law and order in the Republic or elsewhere, commits any act or attempts to commit any act." This broad definition of terrorism allows people to be labeled as terrorists merely for writing a pamphlet, which is exactly what happened to Biko and to the other members of SASO and the BCP that were defendants in the trial chronicled in the pages of this book.
The Terrorism Act was clearly a perversion of the dictionary definition of terrorism.
Terrorism is defined as "the intentional use or threat to use violence against civilians and non-combatants "in order to achieve political goals"[1:]. This tactic of political violence is intended to intimidate or cause terror[2:] for the purpose of "exerting pressure on decision making by state bodies."[1:] The term "terror" is largely used to indicate clandestine, low-intensity violence that targets civilians and generates public fear. Thus "terror" is distinct from asymmetric warfare, and violates the concept of a common law of war in which civilian life is regarded." Definition from Wikipedia.
Clearly, writing a pamphlet directed at the South African State, even if it 'embarrasses' the state, is not terrorism. Biko's accurate assessment that fear is behind its labeling as terrorism, the white fear of reprisal for the inequities of Apartheid, leads to these deeply draconian laws, just as they do in the United States. Although I don't think our fears are so much tied up with whiteness per se, as much as our economic system and our way of life. Which probably does have something to do with racial privilege, although the lines aren't as clearly drawn as they were in Apartheid South Africa. Our African American president notwithstanding.
I suppose the reason this was interesting to me at all is that most Americans can agree on the fact that Apartheid South Africa was bad. They can agree that Nazi Germany was bad. But they can't see those parallels at home. I wanted to compare the legislation that made repression under Apartheid rule possible to our own Anti-Terrorist legislation, and there are striking parallels, with strikingly similar consequences.
Biko died from head wounds sustained from blows incurred during an interrogation in a South African jail. He was charged with disobeying his banning order. He had no legal rights once detained. He was much like those detained under the Patriot Act at Guantanamo, or elsewhere.
I gave this book four stars because it is merely the transcript of a criminal trial with an introduction discussing the trial, a post-script of inquest into Biko's death, and a reprint of Biko's pamphlet: I Write What I Like. Perhaps the saddest part is that Biko's philosophy was not really one of violent reprisal, but of helping Black people to become self-sufficient, to see their own worth, and to become literate. He was a follower of Popular Education theorist Paolo Friere. (They misspell his name in the court transcript as "Paul Lafrere") This was a great threat to the South African state, which depended on the passive acceptance by Black South Africans that they were worthless and deserved to be maltreated. This idea was a bigger threat than any bomb. And that is the danger of Anti-Terrorist legislation - it can and is used to target even non-violent resistance in a very violent manner.
November 22, 2017
I read this in hospital back in the early eighty's but unlikely some sod stole it.The sister on the ward.
This dark horror auto big of man who stud up to the white bastards
This dark horror auto big of man who stud up to the white bastards
May 3, 2011
Stephen Biko was one of the most brilliant minds of his generation. I consider him to be one of the principal influences for me in terms of studying the revolutionary movement in South Africa. He represented the hope of the younger generation. Que Viva Stephen Biko
August 16, 2020
Where does one start to write about Steve Biko. Growing up all I knew was that he was a huge problem for the Apartheid government because he had this mindset that can encourage an uprising amongst Black people and more so because he spoke about Black Consciousness. He was a smart black man that could stand up towards the Apartheid system and bring up solutions.
This book just amplifies all that but from a court transcript perspective. Here lies the transcript of Steve Biko when he was accused alongside others for inciting racial intensity under the terrorism act. We see how he is asked question after question about his involvement in the South African Student Organization and his writing on Black Consciousness.
As smart and articulate he is, we see through these transcripts that he truly had the knowledge and power to bring about a new dawn of racial accountability and stability in South Africa if he were still alive. We see his word power as he explains his way brilliantly to an irritated lawyer trying to evoke some sort of emotion so that he falters through.
This book just amplifies all that but from a court transcript perspective. Here lies the transcript of Steve Biko when he was accused alongside others for inciting racial intensity under the terrorism act. We see how he is asked question after question about his involvement in the South African Student Organization and his writing on Black Consciousness.
As smart and articulate he is, we see through these transcripts that he truly had the knowledge and power to bring about a new dawn of racial accountability and stability in South Africa if he were still alive. We see his word power as he explains his way brilliantly to an irritated lawyer trying to evoke some sort of emotion so that he falters through.
December 18, 2025
Steve Biko's trial and his legacy of Black Consciousness resonates with Black people worldwide who are striving for sensible living & psychological liberation from institutionalized & systemic oppression. His Black Consciousness Movement not only gives validation to the Black Experience in South Africa but also here in the United States Of America among Black Americans. Biko was influenced heavily by leaders before him both native to his country and to our Black American legendary activist Malcolm X. I feel as though every conscious Black American who is interested in raising their awareness in their solidarity of their race should read this book and understand why this trial was not only important in South Africa but important to us here in America. We share very similar struggles and it further bridges the gap of understanding within the context of our upbringing. Collectively we are the Black race and even though we in the Western hemisphere have a distinct subculture than Native Africans in Africa, our shared journey towards sensible living and psychological liberation from oppression is a goal that is one and the same. Both Native African and African American people are collectively of the diaspora striving to love themselves and assert their own identity in front of the world without interference. This assertion I am counted as one of them and respectfully take pride in it as others before me without any exceptions. It is infinitely reasonable for a person of his or her race to have a healthy respect for themselves and their cultural origins. As a Black American I am that much more influenced to love my own ethnic group and appreciate their sacrifices for such love, but also to appreciate the efforts in sustaining that level of humanity even though most of them have died for it. This part of me I will never apologize for because it will be as if I have denied my own self and the race I belong to. Pride and self-dignity is natural to everyone within humanity. We need more of that displayed within the Black Community in the suburbs, urban ghetto, rural, and international parts of our overall society. You should never have to explain who you are before the world, but because our faces and our appearances don't have subtitlez, we are faced with the necessity of having to explain ourselves. If you wanted a description of who I am, look at Tupac Shakur, Malcolm X, Stephen Biko, and any great Black men that existed in history and you will see that I am them and they are me. We all make an attempt to convey our messages to the world and it is amusing that the people we weren't speaking to are the main ones trying to run deliberate interference with our messages. My review of this book is the reality we must accept, that there are people and literary pieces of history that will re-ignite the spirit dormant within you. For me, Biko's book was another one of them. Although it is reported that Biko died in police custody, I don't think he would mind me suggesting that he went out swinging and fought to the very end. Long live the fists of Stephen Bantu Biko RIP ✊🏾
March 22, 2025
Encontrei este livro fininho e inesperado na aMOS+R – mostra de edições independentes, em Vila do Conde.
Ler política não é uma tendência pessoal. Ler política racial menos. Mas o livro é giro, e a vontade ler além da fronteira habitual tem sido uma forte tendência, pelo que este “Consciência Negra” desceu o país na minha mochila e encontrou lugar na minha mesa de cabeceira em pouco tempo.
Os textos que aqui encontrei são potentes. Muito bem escritos, absolutamente lógicos e irrefutáveis (como qualquer retórica política bem construída é) e intensos na denúncia que os caracteriza.
Foi a intensidade que tornou a velocidade de leitura difícil. Entrar num discurso tão fora da minha realidade exigiu um espaço mental que nem sempre esteve disponível.
No entanto, terminei o livro feliz. E grata.
O que tive oportunidade de ler expandiu. Ainda que possa ser difícil sentir-me alvo dos discursos que aqui podem ser lidos (não sou esse público, mas nem de uma perspetiva de leitora o consegui sentir completamente).
Steve Biko terá sido um homem imenso, intenso, e é generoso que o seu legado seja oferecido tão além das fronteiras que o assassinaram. Estou feliz pela oportunidade de ter lido as suas palavras.
Ler política não é uma tendência pessoal. Ler política racial menos. Mas o livro é giro, e a vontade ler além da fronteira habitual tem sido uma forte tendência, pelo que este “Consciência Negra” desceu o país na minha mochila e encontrou lugar na minha mesa de cabeceira em pouco tempo.
Os textos que aqui encontrei são potentes. Muito bem escritos, absolutamente lógicos e irrefutáveis (como qualquer retórica política bem construída é) e intensos na denúncia que os caracteriza.
Foi a intensidade que tornou a velocidade de leitura difícil. Entrar num discurso tão fora da minha realidade exigiu um espaço mental que nem sempre esteve disponível.
No entanto, terminei o livro feliz. E grata.
O que tive oportunidade de ler expandiu. Ainda que possa ser difícil sentir-me alvo dos discursos que aqui podem ser lidos (não sou esse público, mas nem de uma perspetiva de leitora o consegui sentir completamente).
Steve Biko terá sido um homem imenso, intenso, e é generoso que o seu legado seja oferecido tão além das fronteiras que o assassinaram. Estou feliz pela oportunidade de ter lido as suas palavras.
June 8, 2020
He was a great leader. He stood up for his race
April 20, 2025
Powerful.
October 4, 2025
it is hard to read what whites did to africaans. also, if ypu change black to women, whites to men,same story. i liked the book, Steve's point of view is really open minded.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews