The Biko Route

By Kevin Boswell

http://kevinboswell.wordpress.com/
2010 Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to South Africa
University of Cape Town, M. Phil. Justice and Transformation


I had just finished the compilation of Biko’s writings, I Write What I Like. I was struck by what a precise and logical thinker he was. Even his contemplation of issues that could only have been of secondary importance for him were incredibly sharp. For example, the book contains clips of correpsondence he had with a local priest over theological issues, and with some chagrin, I noted his grasp and explanation of theological issues was probably superior to my own, even after three years of intense study.

Of course, his primary historical importance concerned his ideas on the nature of the black struggle against apartheid. He is considered the father of the Black Consciousness Movement, which asserted that in order to be free, blacks in South Africa need to free themselves from an ingrained inferiority complex (thanks to colonialism and apartheid).

His eludication of issues has caused me to reflect on my own country’s racial history. For example, Biko argued for a black solution to apartheid, i.e., an exclusively black organization fighting for an inclusive future. He likened the liberal white insistence on a multiracial solution to “expecting the slave to work together with the slave-master’s son to remove all the conditions leading he former’s enslavement.” In the United States, you will often hear people lambasting something like the Black Entertainment Network with the line, “If there was a White Entertainment Network, somebody would get sued.” Biko disavowed me of these notions...
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Steve Biko Honoured with Posthumous Literary Award

On December 8, 2010 Bantu Stephen Biko was awarded the Posthumous Literary Award by the South African Literary Awards ,for his seminal work "I Write What I Like."   These awards pay tribute to South African writers who have distinguished themselves as innovative producers and creators of literature, while celebrating literary excellence in the depiction and sharing of South Africa’s histories, value systems, philosophies and art. 

 I Write What I Like was originally published in 1978 after Biko's death and has been republished and reprinted several times since then. The book contains a collection of Biko's works  dating from 1969 to 1972. 

Previous recipients of the Posthumous Literary  Award include Sol Plaatjie, Bessie Head and Dora Taylor. The South African Literary Awards were founded by the wRite associates in partnership with the National Department of Arts and Culture, Sowetan and Nutrend Publishers.  

Click here to purchase a copy.

Development: What’s Culture Got to do With it?

By Y.Obenewa Amponsah  

Often, in developmental circles, there is an implied or explicitly stated view that African culture is inherently patriarchal.  Patriarchy is problematic in that it hinders growth and development by denying women equal opportunities while perpetuating negative social attitudes that fuel social injustice.  This view is not only espoused by people outside of the continent’s boarders but by Africans as well.  Yet the perspective that culture is inimical to development robs society of a powerful tool with which to bring about the desired change.  If the developmental community is to advance a culture of human rights in which women and men are able to jointly reach their full potential, then every instrument possible, including culture, must be utilized to realize that objective.

THE STEVE BIKO BIRTHDAY INVITATIONAL TOURNAMENT 2010

"Black Man You Are On Your Own"

 

On the 10th of November the Steve Biko Foundation will launch Dr Saleem Badat's Black Man, You Are On Your Own in association with the University of Witswatersrand's  Faculty of Humanities and STE Publishers. This event will take place at the PDH Building , East Campus, Entrance 1, Wits University, Empire Road(Off Jan Smuts Ave& Empire Road intersection). The programme will run from 18h30 to 20h00. 

Please RSVP to Bruce Waters on 011.403.0310 or bruce@sbf.org.za by Friday 5th of November if you are interested in attending this event.

Last week Tuesday the Steve Biko Foundation hosted the Inaugural FrankTalk dialogue at Museum Africa in Newtown.The topic was "The Role,Rights and Responsibility of the Media in Contemporary South Africa." The panel was made up of Mr Joe Thloloe ( Press Ombudsman), Mr Eusebius McKaiser and Professor Pumla Gqola. We look forward to the next dialogue which will be on the 17th of  November at Museum Africa. 

Here are some images from the Inaugural FrankTalk dialogue

The Panel: Mr Joe Thloloe,Mr Eusebius McKaiser, Professor Pumla Gqola

Inaugural FrankTalk Dialogue

 

Please click on our events page to find out more about our Inaugural FrankTalk Dialogue taking place on the 19th of  October.

School Visits to the Steve Biko Foundation.

Throughout the year hundreds of students visit the Steve Biko Foundation's Eastern Cape offices to learn more about Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement. Upon their arrival they are requested to fill out a questionnaire that allows us to gauge how much they know about Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement. After that they are taken through the Life Stations of Bantu Stephen Biko photographic exhibition which is up at the SBF’s Eastern Cape Offices. They are then taken on the Biko Heritage Trail which is made up of six Biko related sites, which include his home and the Steve Biko Garden of Remembrance where he is buried. At the end of their visit the students are once again asked to fill out a questionnaire to see how much they have learnt about Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement.

Here are some pictures from recent visits:

Students from Upper Chulunca Secondary School at Bantu Stephen Biko's graveside.

SBF-BRUTE FORCE Poetry & Hip-Hop Sessions

SBF-BRUTE FORCE Poetry and Hip Hop Sessions take place every Thursdays at Talamanca lounge at the Esplanade Beach Front in East London. Artists who perform during these sessions are emerging artists from around the Eastern Cape.

During the sessions the audience is requested to listen attentively since at the end of the session the  audience get to vote for the headline artist next Thursday. During every session a guest artist is invited to share the stage. Ntsiki Mazwayi was the guest artist on the 2nd of September along with  Sipokazi “Sposh” Petshwa who had just returned from Idols SA's top 14. The SBF-BRUTE FORCE Poetry & Hip-Hop Sessions fall under the Steve Biko Foundation's Arts, Culture and Identity Programme, which empowers youth to actively shape and express a positive sense of self through the arts.

Coming to See You Since I was Five: An American Poet's Connection to the South African Soul.

The 11th Annual Steve Biko Memorial Lecture

September 9, 2010

The University of Cape Town

Cape Town, South Africa
Copyright ©2010 by Alice Walker

I have spent most of the early morning thinking of what I want to say to you: there is so much.  First of all I want to say that I am in your country, have been drawn to your country, the beautiful South Africa, which for some years in our own struggle we referred to as Azania, because of a deep love of you, of your heroines and heroes, of your long, long struggle toward positive humanity for yourselves and for all oppressed people on the planet.  You have been a great inspiration to all people on earth who are interested in and devoted to Justice, Peace and Happiness.

I was asked to provide a title for my talk and this is what came to me:  Coming to See You Since I was Five Years Old: a Poet's Connection to the South African Soul.  The reason I have been coming your way for over sixty years is because when I was five years old my eldest sister Mamie Lee Walker, all of seventeen years old herself, came home from college her freshman year and taught my eleven year old sister and myself your National Anthem, Nkosi Sikeleli'Afrika. (Sung). We were the only children of any color who were taught this song in our tiny, totally segregated town in the deep South of the United States, in Georgia; the somber, intense passion and dignity of the melody entered my heart.  It has lodged there for the last sixty years.

Rewriting the Spirit of Steve Biko for the Twitter Generation

Mr Nkosinathi Biko, CEO of the Steve Biko Foundation.

The Daily Maverick’s SIPHO HLONGWANE spoke to the son of the iconic embodiment of Black Consciousness in South Africa, mostly about the apparent apathy of today’s youth toward political involvement.

Nkosinathi Biko sees a great need for quality leadership in South Africa. And he is not the only one. Why, he asks, would the ANC be speaking of forming a political school, if the issue of quality political leadership did not concern them?
The eldest son of Steve Biko is involved in quite a few non-profit organisations these days and is a director in several other business enterprises. He is also the CEO of the Steve Biko Foundation, the organisation that “bothers itself about the things that were important to Steve Biko”, as he puts it.

Only civil society can reinvigorate the country's culture of activism

Throughout the World Cup games, which began June 11th, representatives from Mott-funded organizations in South Africa shared  personal reflections on the nation’s past, present and future by writing brief essays from many of the communities where the matches were played. Here is the Steve Biko Foundation's contribution written by Y. Obenewa Amponsah.

"Only civil society can reinvigorate the country's culture of activism."

Sixteen years after the establishment of a full democracy, South Africa has much to be proud of. It is a nation whose constitution is the envy of many human rights activists around the world; a democracy which has demonstrated a maturity far beyond its years in weathering political storms; and which has seen the creation of 3.5 million jobs in the past decade and a half.

Yet, South Africa is also a nation that struggles to overcome inequality on a daily basis, both the disparities that are a legacy of apartheid and those that have been fostered in the present. These inequalities are evidenced by the fact that as of 2008 only 36 percent of third graders could read and count at grade level; that life expectancy has fallen to age 50; and that 40 percent of households are extremely poor.

In the early, exhilarating days of post-apartheid South Africa, government – in concert with a variety of stakeholders – worked to create policies that embodied the hopes and dreams of South Africans from every walk of life. Yet, today, as the nation approaches the third decade of its democracy, the struggle has shifted from the creation of equitable policies to their implementation. This is a fight that civil society is well-positioned to champion. Not by promoting a passive culture of service delivery and entitlement, which unfortunately has come to frame so much of the developmental discourse, but by reinvigorating the culture of activism that marked the years leading up to the realization of South Africa’s freedom.

It is only through partnering with those at the periphery of South Africa’s democratic spaces to equip the marginalized with the skills, information, and, most importantly, a sense of ownership, that the nation will achieve its true potential. Only in recognizing the inexorable link between biography and history, between consciousness of self and national ideals, will South Africa attain the vision articulated by Steve Biko: In time we shall be in the position to bestow upon South Africa the greatest gift possible: a more human face.”

Black Leadership in the 21st Century

On the 3rd of June 2010,Mr. Nkosinathi Biko delivered an address on Black Leadership in the 21st Century at the Zanele Kunene-Mbeje Memorial Symposium on Black Leadership. What is contained here is a excerpt of the address titled "Black Leadership through the African Perspective."

Frank Talk, an Innovative Initiative for Young Professionals

In September 2010 the Steve Biko Foundation will launch Frank Talk , an innovative dialogue series for young professionals.Titled after the pseudonym under which Steve Biko wrote, this forum is designed to bring together young people from various sectors for discussion around salient issues impacting South Africa's political, economic and social development.

Although it may not be immediately evident, as South African society is known for its consultative nature, an initiative such as Frank Talk is a timely and needed endeavor. While there are a number of forums in which individuals can engage one another around relevant topics, there are a few that are cross cutting. To date, dialogue tends to happen within silos based on private or public sector affiliation, gender, student status or organizational membership ; but rarely between various constituencies.

Even less common , are discussions around social issues or policy reform for those who are not public sector or development professionals. This is particularly true for Frank Talk's target audience, those aged 25-40. For this generation, many of whom may not have histories of engagement with struggle organizations or current affiliations with socially relevant institutions , an initiative such as Frank Talk would fill a much needed void, creating a space for young people to engage one another around salient issues and refine their thinking.

Frank Talk will be comprised of the following elements:
. A monthly dialogue series ;
. A quarterly current events publication featuring contributions by topical experts and lay people ;
. A dynamic internet platform that will enable regular engagement with relevant topics as well as interaction among participants.

This blog will serve as a vehicle through which program participants can interact with one another on a continuous basis. We will also feature original articles and sourced materials that are of relevance to South African development. We encourage all participants to register their input and to submit any questions or any ideas for future articles and discussions.