The Line and Woza Albert! visit The Steve Biko Centre

THE STEVE BIKO FOUNDATION AND THE MARKET THEATRE PRESENT

The Line and Woza Albert!

at The Steve Biko Centre for limited shows only

The Steve Biko Foundation, in collaboration with the Market Theatre, brings the celebrated productions Woza Albert! and The Line to the Steve Biko Centre in Ginsberg, King William’s Town from 11 to 13 July 2013. These shows form part of the Market Theatre’s country-wide tour of regional venues.

The Line, Gina Shmukler’s verbatim play that explores the theme of xenophobia, and Woza Albert!, the South African classic (directed by Prince Lamla, 2013 Standard Bank Young Artist Award-Winner) will be taken by Market Theatre to communities that have historically been denied thought-provoking, socially-engaged professional theatre productions. One of the objectives of the tour—which is supported by the Department of Arts and Culture’s Mzansi’s Golden Economy fund—is to make a diversity of cultural and artistic offerings available in all South African provinces, particularly those that have been neglected in the past.

“I am delighted that the Department has made it possible for the Market Theatre to tour these two amazing productions. This is reminiscent of an era in which productions were staged in church halls, school halls and community centres and it allows communities to engage with theatre in their spaces,” said Annabell Lebethe, CEO of the Market Theatre Foundation.

The Steve Biko Centre—the host institution—is a national legacy project designed to channel interest in the life and work of Bantu Stephen Biko into a catalyst for social and economic development. Accordingly, the Centre boasts an active performing arts and culture programme which provides training to previously disadvantaged youth, stages original productions and facilitates a number of initiatives to make the arts available in grassroots communities. As noted by Steve Biko Foundation’s Artistic Director, Mandla Mbothwe, winner of a 2013 Fleur du Cap, “The Steve Biko Foundation is extremely pleased to host these critically acclaimed productions at the Centre and to expose a new generation of young South Africans to these landmark works.”

Recently, The Line received Naledi nominations for Best Production of a Play, Best New South African Script, Best Performance by an Actress in a Lead Role, Best Theatre Sound Design/Sound Effects and Best Theatre Set Design.

Woza Albert! – The classic play originally directed by the legendary Barney Simon – exemplify a physical style of storytelling that was to inspire and influence theatre companies in South Africa and abroad.

For ticket enquiries, please contact Jongi Hoza at the Steve Biko Centre on 043 605 6700 or email Mr. Hoza on jongi@sbf.org.za .

For media enquiries about SBF please contact Ms Dibuseng Kolisang on 011 403 0310 or email dibuseng@sbf.org.za

For media enquiries about the tour, please contact:

Robert Motseko
0118321641
0849830251

Remembering the students of 1976

By Siyabonga Sesanti

“Give people a poor education and the mind will find out. Revolt is then inevitable”
Es’kia Mphahlele – 1984

On June 16 in 1976, students from all over Soweto marched in protest against, not only the introduction of Afrikaans as the medium of teaching and learning but against inferior education for black people in the form of Bantu Education.

The Bantu Education Act of 1953 under the Apartheid government was introduced not only as a means of disempowering the black community but as means to further repress their development. Under this law, black people were doomed to an education that would not allow them to qualify for meaningful employment. This was a systematic approach of economically disabling black people by the Apartheid government.

Furthermore, this system attempted to cripple Black sense of self and pride, by dictating that they be taught in the language that was used as a tool of oppression.

“If you need to destroy a people you need to destroy their culture because that is the glue that holds them together. When you destroy their culture you destroy their language, you destroy their memory, you destroy their songs and they have no sense history. And a people who have no sense of history have no sense of the present and will most certainly have no sense of the future.” Dr. Simphiwe Sesanti – 2010

Much like all other tyrants, the Apartheid government had a need to seek and destroy all figures and means of revolt. It was for this reason that Professor Es’kia Mphahlele – among others – opposed Bantu Education and was banned from teaching in South Africa in 1952, prompting his exile into Afrika to continue teaching.

“The most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed”.
Bantu Biko – 1978

The Soweto Uprising of 1976 was direct evidence of the liberation of the young minds of black students refusing to be thought for, and choosing rather, to think for themselves.

“It is misleading to conceptualise June 16 as ideologically and historically independent of Biko’s life lessons.” Es’kia Mphahlele – 1998

Bantu Biko’s Black Consciousness Movement was undoubtedly one of the keystones of the 1976 student uprisings that began in Soweto on June 16, 1976, as well as many other significant events that played a major role in South Africa’s revolution. The Black Consciousness Movement taught among other many important lessons that black people were no less than whites. It was these teachings of Afrikan pride that drove young Afrikans to refuse to settle for less in their own land.

For me, as a young man of 19 years of age, the lesson of this day in our history further strengthens the value of Afrikans who refused to be enslaved but unite to initiate the change which they wanted to see.

“The eternal theme of a victim who hollers from the depths of a pit for the tyrant to lower a ladder for him just won’t do. We still have to make the transition in our minds, from the status of bleeding victims to that of the proactive initiator who knows what changes he wants”
Es’kia Mphahlele – 1993

As a youth in present-day South Africa, it is sad to note that first and foremost, many youth today have no real sense of this history beyond the little that is skimmed through in schools. The average young South African knows nothing more than what media soundbytes provide of this momentous event in our history; no more than vague details of the uprising.

The extent of their knowledge of June 16 goes no further than the sad fact of the death of Hector Pieterson. Although the iconic image by Sam Nzima of Hector, who laid lifeless in the arms of Mbuyisa Makhumo, has become a symbol of June 16, his death must be understood in the context of the hundreds of other youth who lost their lives in the widespread state violence that followed. Secondly, while the introduction of Afrikaans as medium of instruction was a major catalyst for the uprising, the main motivation of the uprising was arguably, a struggle against poor education and even poorer educational facilities.

It seems appropriate as we commemorate June 16 that we ask the questions:
-How has the quality of education in Black Schools changed since 1976?

-How many schools in Soweto and other townships have progressed towards the state of former white ‘model C’ schools?

-Why do black families in the townships still – after years of democracy – send their children long distances to attend schools in the suburbs, while those who cannot afford this luxury have to send their children to schools whose facilities have improved little, if at all, since 1994?

I remember wondering, as a 7 year old living in Soweto, why I had to be up so early in the morning to travel to Joburg to go to school when there were schools within walking distance. A year later my family and I moved to Birch Acres, a suburb in Kempton Park. I was told that we moved so I could walk to school. Today I understand why all this was necessary, which is what drives the question of, why Sibongile Primary does not have the same facilities as Birch Acres Primary? Is a good education only meant for those who can afford it?

It seems to me that the strategic plan of Bantu education still reigns. Nevertheless the challenge is for us not to be victims but be activists just like the youth of ’76. They fought and died so that we could find ourselves in a better position than theirs, it is now up to us to continue the struggle in order to ensure that the youth of tomorrow are better off than we are.

Always Affirm Afrika!!

June 16, 1976: A brave journey

Together with the personal memories on the wall, the reconstruction of the day's events comes mainly from eyewitness accounts of students who participated, journalists who were on the scene, as well as the police reports on the events.

07:00
Not all the children who were to participate in the march on June 16 knew about it on the morning of the 16th. For many it was an ordinary school day. But, by this time, students were feeling very frustrated and dissatisfied with the Bantu education system in general and the introduction of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction. It was exam time for the senior students and many were scared that they would fail the exams if they would have to write in Afrikaans.

Nonetheless the march that was planned by the Action Committee of the Soweto Students Representative Council (SSRC) was well organised and was to be conducted in a peaceful way. The leaders of the original march, mainly came from two high schools, Naledi High in Naledi and Morris Isaacson in Mofolo.

Sfiso Ndlovo argues, however, that the main centre of organisational activity was Phefeni Junior Secondary, close to Vilakazi Street in Orlando. Phefeni was certainly close to the railway station from which many students got off their trains to join the march. The plan was that students from Naledi High were to march from their direction and pick up students from the schools on their way.

The Morris Isaacson students were to march from their school doing the same until they met at a central point where they would proceed peacefully together to the Orlando Stadium. Other schools also were part of the original plan but it is not clear that the students at all those schools were fully aware of the march.

07:30
The first students to gather together were at Naledi High. The mood was high spirited and jovial. At assembly the principal gave support to the children and wished them good luck. The first chairperson of the Action Committee, Tepello Motopanyane addressed them and informed them that discipline and a peaceful march were to be the order of the day.
Meanwhile, at Morris Isaacson students also gathered. They were also addressed by one of the leaders of the Action Committee, Tsietsi Mashinini, and then set out. On the way they passed by other schools, where some were waiting and those who were not were recruited on the spot to join.

"We were singing and it was jovial, the mood, exciting and with the placards we started going." - Dan Moyane Morris Isaacson High School
"The first time we heard of it was during our short break. Our leaders informed the principal that students from Morris Isaacson were marching. We then joined one of the groups and marched." - Sam Khosa Ibhongo Secondary School.

In the end there were 11 columns of students marching to Orlando Stadium to meet at the central point of "Uncle Toms" Municipal hall. Before this point, there had been some minor skirmishes with police but it was here that police stopped them, barricading their path. Other schools had been stopped by the police earlier on and had dispersed but managed to join later. It is hard to determine how many students there were, estimates range from 1 000 to 10 000.

09:00
The march was halted and some people helped Tietsi Mashinini climb up onto a tractor so that everyone could see him when he addressed the crowd:
“Brothers and Sisters, I appeal to you-keep calm and cool. We have just received a report that the police are coming. Don't taunt them, don't do anything to them. Be cool and calm. We are not fighting."

It was a tense moment for both the police and the students. Police reports stated that the situation was explosive and they retreated to await further reinforcements.

09:30
The students carried on marching until they got to what is now Hector Petersen Square, close to Orlando High School. The march came to a halt again. Different reports of what actually started the shooting
have been put forward.

"Despite the tense atmosphere the students remained calm and well ordered. Suddenly a white policeman lobbed a teargas canister into the front of the crowd. People ran out of the smoke dazed and coughing. The crowd retreated slightly but remained facing the police, waving placards and singing. A white policeman drew his revolver. Black journalists standing by the police heard a shot: "Look at him. He's going to shoot at the kids".

A single shot ran out. There was a split seconds silence and pandemonium broke out.
Children screamed. More shots were fired. At least four students fell and others ran screaming in all directions."Brooks & Brickhill Whirlwind before the storm, 1980

12:00
After the first massacre, the students fled in different directions. Anger at the senseless killings inspired retaliatory action. West Rand Administrative Buildings (WRAB) vehicles and buildings were set alight and burned to the ground, a white WRAB official was pulled out of his car and beaten to death, bottlestores were burned and looted. Other encounters with the police occurred where more students were killed especially in the vicinity of the Regina Mhundi church in Orlando and the Esso garage in Chiawelo. As students were stopped by the police in one area they moved their protest action to others. By the end of the day most of Soweto, including Diepkloof, which was relatively quiet during the morning, had felt the impact of the protest. For the students at some schools, this was the first they heard or saw. Schools were closed early at about 12:00 and many students walked out of school to a township on fire.
"It was past twelve, past twelve to one. Sister Joseph allowed us to go home, because now it was chaos around. So when we went home we could see that now cars were burning, especially the company cars, those from town, those owned by whites".

As more students were let out of school they joined those protesters that were closest to them. Some accounts see the events of the afternoon to be chaos or a "free for all" especially on the basis that bottlestores and beerhalls were raided and looted. The apartheid press certainly tried to portray it that way. It was clear that the events of the afternoon were not organised and an atmosphere of panic and defiance existed. However, others argue that the students attacked targets for political reasons and were disciplined in who and what they attacked. A white university student who was sympathetic was actually taken to safety by the schoolchildren themselves. One black owned business was attacked, the shop of Richard Maponya but this was deliberate. Maponya was a wealthy businessman who was despised by many people because "he exploits us and is a sell out".

There probably was an element of free for all in the looting of bottlestores. Many students came home with booze and a lot of people enjoyed the results of the plunder. But people had long seen alcohol as a method used by the apartheid government to try and make black people apathetic. Most of the beerhalls were built by the municipality. People were shouting "less liquor, better education". There were probably different motivations at play in the raids of the bottlestores. In any political protest there are those that are more politically motivated and disciplined than others, to see it as one or the other is to misunderstand the nature of political mass action.

Fires continued blazing into the night. At 21:00 Armoured Police cars later known as Hippos started moving into Soweto. Official figures were that 23 people had been killed, but some reports estimated that it was at least 200. It is hard to know how many people had been killed because of police efforts to cover up
the number of people who died.


Article Retrieved from the June 16, 1976 Foundation website at http://www.june16.org.za/616_cx/616_theday.cfm

We Write What We Like: On Remembered and Unremembered Pasts

The Steve Biko Centre in Ginsberg, King William’s Town (eQonce) cordially invites you to a Public
Dialogue Session titled:

We Write What We Like: On Remembered and Unremembered Pasts

The session will explore how contemporary memory actively produces history. Featuring Andile M-Afrika
(Writer, Editor, Publisher and Rhodes University Masters Candidate in Creative Literature) and Professor
Daniel Magaziner (Department of History, Yale University, USA) this dialogue will focus on selective
appropriations of history, and what might be learnt by asking different questions of the past.

DATE: Monday, 24 June 2013
TIME: 16:00 for 16:30
VENUE: Auditorium at The Steve Biko Centre
Ginsberg, King William’s Town

RSVP: Essential before noon on 24 June.
Contact Jongi Hoza: Tel No.: 043 605 6726 Email: jongi@sbf.org.za

The FrankTalk Radio Dialogue: Remembering June 16, 1976

On June 25, 2013, the Steve Biko Foundation, in collaboration with YFM, will host the eighth session of the FrankTalk Radio Dialogues. Titled after the pseudonym under which Biko wrote, FrankTalk is designed to engage young people in discussion on salient issues impacting South Africa’s political, economic and social development.

On June 16, 1976, the youth of Soweto took to the streets against the oppressive apartheid government. The actions of this generation of young people contributed toward the liberation of South Africa. Featuring activists from this generation, the upcoming dialogue will reflect on June 16 and the role of the South African Students Movement.

Please join us as part of the Live Studio Audience.

DATE: Tuesday 25 June, 2013
VENUE: YFM studio, 4 Albury Road, Dunkeld Crescent,
South West Blocks, Dunkeld West, Ext 8, Sandton
TIME: 18:30 for 19:00

Limited Space!

Please RSVP to Dibuseng Kolisang via email: dibuseng@sbf.org.za or call on 011 403 0310 to indicate your attendance
You can also tune into the dialogue on DSTV Channel 159

A Big Thumbs Up to the Biko Legacy Classes

“This is to say, on behalf of my school, a very big THANK YOU for the warm welcome we received at the Steve Biko Center on Friday the 24th May. The Center to us at Elukhanyisweni High has become a classroom away from our own ordinary classroom at our humble school. The Presentation was well prepared (as usual), highly informative and of the highest standard. The Play on the Life and Times of Steve Biko took the whole cake!! - an out-of -this -world performance if you ask me!! Steve Biko cannot but smile wherever he is at what you guys are doing to ensure that his legacy will never die but that even future generations will know exactly how we got the Freedom we enjoy today. You are already Blessed for your contribution in inculcating a culture of Respect and Pride in our Heritage!!

LONG LIVE THE SPIRIT OF STEPHEN BANTU BIKO LONG LIVE!!!

Very Kind Regards
N.S.Maxengana “

This is an email that was sent to the Steve Biko Legacy Classes Facilitator Mr. Jongi Hoza after a visit from the Elukhanyeni High School.

Have you taken your learners to visit us for the Legacy Classes at the Steve Biko Centre?

For more information and bookings, please call Mr. Jongi Hoza on 043 605 6700 or email Jongi@sbf.org.za .

On this day 100 years Ago: The Native Land Act is Passed

Date: 19 June, 1913

The Natives Land Act (No. 27 of 1913) was passed to allocate only about 7% of arable land to Africans and leave the more fertile land for whites. This law incorporated territorial segregation into legislation for the first time since Union in 1910.

The law created reserves for Blacks and prohibited the sale of territory in white areas to Blacks and vice versa. An annexure designated the territory initially allocated to Blacks, with a provision that a commission was to investigate the matter further for a more realistic delimitation. In effect, over 80% went to White people, who made up less than 20% of the population. The Act stipulated that Black people could live outside the reserves only if they could prove that they were in employment. Although the law was applicable to the whole of South Africa, in practice it applied only to the Transvaal and Natal. In the Free State, such legislation was already in force since 1876, while a law forbidding Blacks to own property in the Cape would have been in conflict with the constitution of the Union of South Africa, as Cape property-ownership was one of the qualifications for Black franchise. Sharecropping on farms in the Transvaal and the Orange Free State was forbidden.

According to debates in Parliament, the Act was passed in order to limit friction between White and Black, but Blacks maintained that its aim was to meet demands from White farmers for more agricultural land and force Blacks to work as labourers.


References

Davenport, T.R.H. (1991). South Africa: A modern history, (4th ed), London: Macmillan.
Muller, C.F.J. (ed)(1981). Five Hundred years: a history of South Africa; 3rd rev. ed., Pretoria: Academica, p. 393-96.
Reader's Digest. (1988). Illustrated History of South Africa: the real story, New York: Reader's Digest Association, p. 291-2

Article Retrieved from the South African History Online at http://www.sahistory.org.za/dated-event/native-land-act-passed

Boipatong Massacre: 17 June 1992

On 17 June 1992 the Joe Slovo Informal settlement in Boipatong outside Vereeniging was attacked by a group of about 300 armed men from Kwa Madala Hostel in nearby Sebokeng Township. The armed men were affiliated to the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP) and observers suspected that the attack was aimed at undermining the delicate process of negotiations between the Nationalist Party (NP) government and the African National Congress (ANC). In response to the massacre the ANC withdrew from the negotiations, blaming the NP government for the attack.

The Boipatong massacre is one of the bloodiest and brutal moments of popular violence that engulfed South Africa in the decade between 1984 and 1993. Beginning in nearby Sebokeng and Sharpeville Townships, popular violence spread across South Africa, passing Boipatong by. Just when an end to popular violence appeared in sight, machete and spear-wielding “Zulu impis” struck, generating widespread condemnation for the IFP and Chief Mangosutho Buthelezi.

After the massacre, on 18 June 1992, Joe Slovo and Cyril Ramaphosa visited Boipatong. Ramaphosa accused De Klerk and the police of complicity in the massacre. Then on the 19 June, religious figures Bishop Desmond Tutu and afterwards Ray Macauley visited the grieving families in Boipatong.

Then on 20 June 1992 state President F.W De Klerk visited Boipatong under heavy police guard in an attempt to show “sympathy” for the victims. But, residents of the area were even more agitated by the visit and vented their anger chanting “To hell with de Klerk -- go away, go away”. His heavily guarded motorcade slowly drove down Bakoena Street which divides Boipatong bungalows from Slovo Park. The motorcade stopped in the middle of the where massacres had taken place. The angry crowd surged forward leading to confrontation with his security team. Consequently, he was compelled to stay in his vehicle. After a tense 15 minutes, De Klerk was forced to leave the area with people chasing his convoy.


Subsequent to his departure, armored vehicles moved into the area. One person was shot dead by the police resulting in a confrontation between the police and the residents as the latter attempted to identify the body. The police opened fire on the crowd forcing them to flee for cover across the veldt.

After the departure of De Klerk, Winnie Mandela visited Boipatong and addressed residents. Lastly, on 21 June 1992 with Nelson Mandela, Cryril Ramaphosa and other leading members of the ANC visited Boipatong. In addressing people on the field where the police had fired on a crowd of protestors after the hasty departure of De Klerk, Mandela expressed his anger, ‘I am convinced we are no longer dealing with human beings but animals...We will not forget what Mr de Klerk, the National Party and the Inkatha Freedom Party have done to our people. I have never seen such cruelty.” He then proceeded to Sebokeng where he addressed a rally. On 23 June the ANC NEC convened a meeting and resolved to suspend negotiations with the government citing its complicity in the massacre as the reason.

The Goldstone Commission appointed to investigate political violence during the transition period tasked British criminologist Dr. Peter A.J. Waddington to investigate the attack. He noted that the police investigating the massacre did not collect fingerprints, blood samples and other evidence which could assist in identifying the perpetrators and securing a successful conviction. Despite this, his report stated that there was no evidence of police complicity or involvement in the massacre. He concluded that the South African Police (SAP) lacked proper investigative procedures in dealing with even sensitive cases such as the massacre. In 1993 members of the IFP were arrested and convicted for their involvement in the massacre. About 100 Boipatong residents and five State witnesses testified in their trial.

Rather than derailing the negotiation process, the Boipatong massacre seems to have strengthened the resolve of those seeking to reach a peaceful settlement. While it may have heralded the end of the first Congress for a Democratic South Africa (CODESA I), but it paved the way for the emergence of CODESA II, which prepared South Africa for the first democratic elections held less than two years later.

After the transition from Apartheid to democratic rule, sixteen members of the IFP applied for amnesty and appeared before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) held at the Sebokeng College of Education in July 1998. By their own admission they carried out the attacks as members of the IFP. In his testimony to the TRC one of the men, Vincent Khanyile claimed that the reason for the attack was revenge. He claimed that a week earlier, three members of the IFP were shot and killed by members of the Self Defense Units (SDU) in Boipatong.

Self Defense Units were organized and usually armed groups of youth formed to protect residents from hostel inmates in townships across the country. It is believed that just as the security agencies of the apartheid state were responsible for arming vigilante groups like the IFP, SDUs were armed by 7 underground Umkhonto we Sizwe (MK) operatives.

Most accounts of the Boipatong massacre continue to explain the attack as the apartheid government’s attempt to undermine the ANC ahead of the envisaged democratic elections. The IFP was an instrument used to achieve this objective. It is generally assumed that because the attackers were inmates of Kwa Madala Hostel, they had not fully integrated into local communities, they could kill with impunity. When mass action campaigns were planned, some argue, hostel inmates were not part of decision-making processes.

Police open fire on ANC supporters after they attempt to claim a body of a person shot by the police on 20 June 1992, Photographer: Greg Marinovich, Permission: Africamediaonline.
This explanation overlooks significant developments in relations between hostel inmates and township residents in the period 1978 to 1983. In townships across South Africa interactions between hostel inmates and township residents were typically neighbourly, with both sets of communities living almost cheek by jowl with each other. Residents of Sebokeng remember that before the hostilities broke out, they used to walk across the hostel on their way to bus and taxi ranks along Golden Highway. More importantly though, there were “Spaza shops” inside the hostel that residents patronized. Residents had unrestricted access to the hostel.

Similarly, hostel inmates were regular patrons in township shebeens. These regular visits often led to growing relations between hostel inmates and young women in the townships. In a few cases these relations produced children. The existence of such bonds between hostel inmates and township residents makes the brutality shown in the Boipatong massacre illogical.

The rage displayed by hostel inmates has been the subject of heated debates in townships and academic discourses. Township legends often invoke the use of the potion known as “intelezi” administered by traditional doctors before the “Zulu warriors” set out to attack. It is believed the potion numbs the warriors of any feeling of compassion for the victims. This is often used to explain why one of the attackers drove a spear through the body of a two year old toddler in the arms of his mother. Other attacks, described in the TRC are even more gruesome.

Throughout the Witwatersrand (present day Gauteng), where popular violence involving the IFP was widespread and intense, the brutality of the “Zulu warriors” have become legendary. The attack on students at the University of Zululand in 1983 was carried out with the same degree of ferocity shown to residents of the Joe Slovo Informal Settlement in Boipatong. It was believed that in this case, the majority of students were from outside KZN and therefore unlikely to be spared by the “warriors”.

Few, if any of the accounts of popular violence involving the IFP offer a detailed explanation of the roots of animosity the “warriors” seemed to have for township residents. Sources suggest that the IFP was manipulated by the NP government to undermine and weaken the ANC in the months leading to the first democratic elections in April 1994. Considering the history of cordial and sometimes warm interactions between hostel inmates and township residents, this explanation appears wanting.

It is not only the social and historical background of the “warriors” that needs to be unravelled in these violent encounters. Township residents were themselves not a homogenous group. The majority of residents of the Joe Slovo Informal Settlement came from Boipatong Township established in the 1950s. With the apartheid government not providing new houses in black townships in the 1960s and 1970s, overcrowding became inevitable. Residents erected backyard shacks as families increased numerically in the 1970s and 1980s before others moved out to establish homes in the burgeoning informal settlements.

But not all residents of the Joe Slovo Informal Settlement came from Boipatong. During the 1980s and early in the 1990s thousands of families were forced off the land on white commercial farms on either side of the Vaal River. As agricultural operations became mechanized, farmers’ demand for labour decreased substantially, forcing those not gainfully employed to migrate to the towns. The remainder of residents at the settlement came from the white farms and small holdings on both sides of the river. This in itself is a factor in explaining the ferocity of the violence that swept through the Vaal townships in the 1980s and 1990s.

Conclusion

This article calls for a more systematic and detailed analysis of communities that were embroiled in the popular violence of the 1980s and 1990s. The suggestion that supporters of the IFP were duped by the apartheid government into attacking township residents across the Witwatersrand overlooks some critical factors in the relationship between the two groups.

References

Keller, B, (1992), De Klerk's Visit to Massacre Site Brings New Eruption of Violence, from the New York Times, 21 June, [online], Available at www.nytimes.com [Accessed 04 July 2012]

Eddings, J ( 1992), De Klerk flees angry crowd in township S. African police fire on protesters, killing at least 1, from the Baltimore Sun, 21 June, [online], Available at articles.baltimoresun.com [Accessed 04 July 2012]

Kraft, S, (1992), South African Police Called Out of Control: Arrests: Nation's leading pathologist contends officers are killing at least one black suspect a week, from the Los Angeles Times, 27 July, [online], Available at articles.latimes.com [Accessed 04 July 2012]
(1998), TRC STATEMENT ON KILLING OF BOIPATONG RESIDENTS, from the South African Government Information, 2 July, [online], Available at www.info.gov.za[Accessed 04 July 2012]

Daily News Wire Services, (1992), Anc Weighs Fate Of Talks 5 Suspects Are Arrested In Boipatong Massacre, from the Daily News Wire Services, 2 July, [online], Available at articles.philly.com [Accessed 04 July 2012]

Article Retrieved from the South African History Online at
http://www.sahistory.org.za/topic/boipatong-massacre-17-june-1992

Even Today, The Race Question Remains Shoved Under the Rug

By Mpho Mabala

Are we equally integrated or are we assimilated? A stark black and white reality in the new South Africa.

Why are some white people still finding it difficult and well-nigh impossible to pronounce and recall our names?

On the other hand we recall their names even in our sound solid sleep. We are proficient in pronouncing and enunciating their names names, with a clear articulation of syllables found in their names.

Why are we keen to laugh when a white man cracks a joke? Even when it is not worth laughing. We laugh before he even finishes it.

Why are whites showing such a sheer lackadaisical and lukewarm approach towards a black man's life?

On the other hand we unshamedly mimick theirs and even bring it to our black households.
Why are black people always appeasing white people in the work places by speaking ill of their own kind? Is that how they want to climb the rungs up to the white world?

I dream of a South Africa where a black colour will contain nothing, other than the colour itself, other than melanin, other than all the pure black cultural elements, with ubuntu being the conspicuous one. A South Africa where negative connotations of black colour will be effaced. Black colour has been defiled many times that it is normal to subject it to mockery, violence, poverty and all the bad things. Today we still have those black people who believe that their skin colour puts them further from the Creator God. Today we still have black people who wish they were born white, and that is because white is associated with all good things you can think of. And I say this was all engineered, for what I do not know, but I believe it was for economic, subjugation and hierarchy reasons.

We claim to be integrated with whites, but that phony integration is only seen in the work places and schools, the primary reasons being to work and learn respectively. Apart from work, and school a black man is on his own in the township, and a white man is on his own in the leafy suburb. Whites still occupy the oases of S.A, and they still continue to detach themselves from us to be as far afield as they can (And we run after them), they continue to detach themselves from us in more ways than one. The movement of black people from rural areas and townships to white towns is still happening, and that’s understandable because money happens to be in town. But if they really want to integrate with us, so why do we have no white teachers coming to teach in rural areas or whites nurses coming to work in black community clinics?

Why do we have virtually no white people staying in townships and rural areas? The inescapable and undisputed reason is that a white child cannot afford to grow in such ghastly poor conditions, white parent cannot afford to reside in such a rustic village or a sprawling township. Today our aspiration as blacks is to get educated, venture in business so we can join white people in leafy suburbs. And if we do that, what do we say about our townships and rural areas? Are we not supposed to be developing them so they can be on a par with leafy suburbs?

Today even the steadfast proponents of African culture are found in the belly of suburbs. They take their children to white schools where indigenous languages are not taught. Paradoxically they continue to teach African culture and encourage us to teach our children their mother tongues, which is right I guess. But why don't they practise what they preach? Thus because they know that with white comes good things and bright future. It is astonishing that in a country that is comprised of approximately 70% blacks and 30% whites, 70% scurries to the small circle of 30%, not to change it, but merely to undergo colour metamorphosis, to grovel to be part of the circle and expand it.

We always talk of diversity holding us together, and I say that concept is superficial as Zulus are still and largely found in KZN, the Xhosas in EC, the Tswanas in NW,the Pedis in LP and the coloureds in CT. Are we not supposed to be cosmopolitan? So Verwoerd's Balkanisation Mechanism is still afoot. Am I wrong?

If the Pedis still refer to Ma-Tsonga as Makwapa, If the Zulus still think Mapedi are anaemic, If the coloureds still look down on the blacks thinking that they are more related to whites than they are to blacks, if white people do not cooperate with black people, if they still harbour that wanton loathing towards a black man then a DREAM OF A RAINBOW NATION WILL FOREVER BE GRANDIOSE AND REMAIN HOLLOW. Let’s work together South Africans and pulverise the wall of race.

To Our Absent Fathers

By: Nompumelelo Zinhle Manzini

To our fathers who are not aware of how much pain they are causing us- us these young girls who have become bitter towards any male species. To our daddies who are not aware how much pain they are causing us – we these young boys who are constantly seeking father figures in dark and dingy allies. To our fathers who are not aware of the amount of pain that they have caused us – us the mothers who have to mother and father these children whose hearts are full of pain. To our daddies who are not aware of the amount of pain they have caused us – us the community who have to recurrently father these children even today, when their fathers are not fighting any repressive system that used to be. Instead they are refusing to take responsibility. To our fathers who are not aware of the amount of pain that they are causing us – us the present fathers, husbands and boyfriends who are blamed for their fathers absence.


To us the youth who have to deal with our peers- whom lack father figures. To us the children without these fathers – it’s time that we realise that we may be our father’s sons and daughters however, we are not their choices. Let us stop making excuses for them and let us start acknowledge that we too are persons in our rights and in as much as it may pain us, we have every single right to move forward without barring any guilt. Let us recognise that their absence is not our fault! So, to this is to all of us, all of us who are going to become fathers one day – let us promise ourselves that we will be there for our children. Let us promise one another that we will be there for each other. Only because we are a conscious youth – one that is self-reliant and will develop in unity!

As we celebrate Father’s day this Sunday on the 16th of June, which happens to fall on Youth Day. Let us not be bitter towards any of our fathers, but rather let us show them that as the Youth we will father each other. This is my plea to each and every young person out there to take responsibility of their lives and not drown it in any bottle, under the false impression that Uncle Jack’s whiskey will father you. This is my plea to you, to not judge that girl who just left campus with a man who’s old enough to be her father – but that you should understand that she is just seeking a father figure!

Even though our fathers are not there, let us show them that we are here! In the words of Daniel Beaty in his poem Knock Knock, as young people we should be on familiar terms that “despite [our daddies] absence we are still here, still alive, still breathing with the power to change the world one little boy and girl at a time”.

Tsietsi Mashinini, How Can We Forget?

Mr Tsietsi Mashinini was born on 27 January 1957 in the Western Jabavu, Soweto. Clad in his famous school uniform with a lean tie on, Mr Tsietsi Mashinini’s image immaculately hid the fiery revolutionary who led and agitated students across Orlando township on that fateful yet defining student uprising day in 1976.

The events of 16 June 1976 were to catapult him into a radical young man, leading masses in the Student Uprising. He was already active in his local Methodist parish and chairperson of the Methodist Wesley Youth Guild at the age of 16. A student at the famous Morris Isaacson High School where it all began, he chaired the school’s Debating Society.

Mr Mashinini joined the branch of the South African Students Movement as a member, a student body established to assist students with the transition from Matric to university. He was elected president of the Soweto Student Representative Council (SSRC) at the time of the uprisings.

It is now related that at a meeting of students from various schools in Soweto on Sunday, 13 June 1976, Mr Mashinini delivered a moving and remarkable speech, calling for a mass demonstration the following Wednesday, 16 June, against the use of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in all black schools.

A well-read student and a gifted public speaker, he used both these qualities to maximum effect, mobilising students into action. When an action committee was set up to prepare for the June 16 event, later renamed the SSRC, he emerged as an undisputed leader of the student uprisings that soon spread to the rest of the country.

On that fateful and historic morning of 16 June, at Morris Isaacson High School during assembly, Mr Mashinini climbed onto the podium and led students into song, and out of the school grounds towards their assembly point for the planned student demonstration.

They were then joined by students from other schools in Soweto. It is estimated that about 20 000 uniformed students joined the mass demonstration that day. As they marched down in a throng, they came across a police barricade on their way to the mass demonstration assembly point. He stood on a makeshift podium to make an impromptu yet spirited address, telling students to march peacefully, orderly and not to provoke the police.

The horrific events of that day, which saw the South African police shoot live bullets at peacefully protesting students, turned him into an instant hero and an activist of national importance. Not surprisingly after 16 June, he became the most wanted man in the country by the apartheid police. He nonetheless continued to promote the message of student resistance against Bantu education, particularly the use of Afrikaans as a medium of education in black schools.

Against harassment by the State and imminent police arrest, he stood firm and steadfast by issuing press statements, calling for students to boycott classes, and wrote critically of the police’s actions on 16 June that saw innocent students massacred. He became a sworn enemy of the apartheid Government with police continuously searching for him, a situation that compelled him to flee the country. The police even offered a reward for information that could lead to his arrest and he was declared the most wanted person in South Africa at the time.

It is generally agreed that the events of 16 June 1976 assisted in the biggest recruitment drive that saw large numbers of youth joining the ranks of the African National Congress (ANC) and its military wing Umkhonto we Sizwe, eventually leading to more vigorous mass action, international boycotts against apartheid and finally, the forced political fortunes in South Africa.

He eventually left the country for a brief stay in Botswana. Mr Mashinini later visited the United Kingdom and the United States where he addressed the United Nations on the brutalities of the apartheid regime. By many accounts, however, Mr. Mashinini did not join any of the established liberation movements in exile, the ANC or the Pan Africanist Congress preferring to call for their unity.

He died mysteriously in Guinea Conakry in 1990, on the eve of our political emancipation. In the end, Mr Tsietsi Mashinini paid the ultimate price for fostering a revolution against the oppressive Bantu education system and apartheid in general. He will always be remembered as a fearless fighter and student leader whose name would forever be etched in memory as one of the outstanding leaders of the South African revolution, and for the sacrifices that he made for his country to be liberated.

Biography retrieved from the South African History Online at http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/teboho-tsietsi-macdonald-mashinini

Kgotso Seatlholo. Your Selflessness Made Our Today a Reality

Khotso Seatlholo was born on 5 November 1958. He was a student at Naledi High School in Soweto when the 1976 Student riots ensued. Seatlholo, together with Tsietsi Mashinini, was part of the Soweto Students Representative Council (SSRC), with Mashinini as President and Seatlholo as Deputy. Seatlholo took over the Presidency of the SSRC when Mashinini went into exile following a witch hunt against him by then Prime Minister John Vorster’s Security Police.

Khotso survived being shot at in December 1976 and in 1978, he was forced into exile in Botswana where he joined Mashinini.

Seatlholo would secretly come in and out of the country, from time to time, during the years that followed his exile.

In 1981, during one of his secret visits to South Africa, the Security Police arrested Seatlholo and charged him under the Terrorism Act.

He had come in to the country to recruit and garner support for the South African Youth Revolutionary Council (SAYCRO, the military wing of the SSRC. He was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Seatlholo was released in 1990, when South Africa was in the midst of a political transition.)

After his release from prison, Seatlholo was unemployed, and forgotten and became a loner. He died at his home after complaining of a stomach ache in 2004. He was buried at the Avalon Cemetery.

SALUTE!!!


This article was retreived from S.A History Online at http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/khotso-seatlholo

Remember these Names, Remember them well

There were many deaths in police custody thought to be police cover ups. We want every name on this list to be remembered and celebrated. Regardless of political affiliation or anything else, the lives of these, our people, paved a way for our reality.

Since the government legalized imprisonment without trial in 1962, the following are the official explanations for all known deaths in detention:

L Ngudle ...... "Suicide by hanging"
B Merhope ... "No official Explanation"
J Tyitya ..... "Suicide By Hanging"
S Saloojie .. "Fell Seven Floors"
N Gaga ....... "Natural Causes"
P Hoye ....... "Natural Causes"
J Hamakwayo "Suicide by Hanging"
H Shonyeka .. "Suicide"
L Leong Pin .. "Suicide By Hanging"
A Ah yan ...... "Suicide by Hanging"
A Madiba ...... "Suicide by Hanging"
J Tubakwe ... "Suicide by Hanging"
N Kgoathe .... "Slipped in Shower"
S Modipane .. "Slipped in Shower"
J Lenkoe ...... "Suicide by Hanging"
C Mayekiso .. "Suicide"
J Monakgotla "Thrombosis"
A Haron ...... "Fell down the Stairs"
M Cuthsela . "Natural Causes"
A Timol ....... "Fell Ten Floors"
J Mdluli ...... "Fell Against Chair"
M Mohapi .... "Suicide by Hanging"
L Mazwembe "Suicide by Hanging"
D Mbatha ..... "Suicide by Hanging"
E Mzolo ....... "No official Explanation"
W Ishwane .. "No official Explanation"
E Mamsaila ... "No official Explanation"
T Mosala ...... "No official Explanation"
W Tshazibane "No official Explanation"
G Botha ....... "Fell Down Stairwell"
N Ntshuntsha "No Explanation"
L Ndzaga ....... "No official Explanation"
E Malel .......... "No official Explanation"
M Mabelane .... "No official Explanation"
T Joyi ............ "No official Explanation"
S Malinga ....... "Natural Causes"
R Khoza ......... "Suicide by Hanging"
J Mashabane .. "Suicied"
P Mabija ......... "Fell six Floors"
E Loza ............ "No official Explanation"
H Hafejee ....... "No official Explanation"
B Emzizi .......... "No official Explanation"
F Mogatusi ..... "Epilepsy"
S Biko ..........."Hunger Strike"
B Malaza ......... "Suicide by Hanging"
M James ........ "Shot while escaping"
M Nobahadula . "Natural Causes"
L Tabalaza ...... "Fell five Floors"
E Mzolo .......... "No official Explanation"
S Ndzumo ...... "Natural Causes"
S Matalasi ...... "Self-Strangulation"
M Mgqweto ..... "No official Explanation"
T Muofhe ....... "Died of Injuries"
N Aggett ........ "Suicide by Hanging"
E Diplale ........ "Suicide by Hanging"
T Mindawe ..... "Suicide by Hanging"
P Malatji ....... "Suicide"
S Tshikhudo .. "Natural Causes"
M Sipele ......... "Natural Causes"
E Mthethwa .... "Suicide by Hanging"
T Korotsoane .. "No official explanation"
B Mvulane ........ "Natural Causes"
S Mutsi .......... "Epilepsy"
A Raditsela ..... "Fell from Police Car"
M Razak ........... "Suicide"
J Spogter ........ "Head Injuries"
M Muggels ....... "Gunshot Wounds"
S Mokoena ....... "Suicide by Hanging"
L Bako .............. "Killed by Cellmate”
M Kutumela ...... "No official Explanation"
P Nchabaleng ..... "Heart Attack"
E Ngomane ......... "Shot while Escaping"
A Silika ............. "Shot while Escaping"
M Boltini .......... "Epilepsy"
J Mahlangu ....... "Shot while Escaping"
M Songelwa ...... "Asthma Attack"
X Jacobs .......... "suicide by Hanging"
B Olifani ........... "Shot while Escaping"
S Marule ........... "Epilepsy"
B Mashoke ........ "Suicide by Hanging"


Since the re-imposition of emergency regulations on the 11 of June 1987 no further information regarding political detainees has been forth coming.

Remember these Names, Remember Africa!

http://undergradscryfreedom.blogspot.com/p/controversy-of-steves-death.html

Mapetla Mohapi, We Honour You

Mapetla F. Mohapi was counted the third martyr of BCM leaders. In July, 1976 police detained Mapetla F. Mohapi under the Terrorism Act. Mohapi’s arrest occurred concurrent to the trial of nine South African Student Organization (SASO) and BPC leaders in what one newspaper called the ‘Trial of Black Consciousness’ (SAIRR, 1976: 131).

On 5 August 1976, Mohapi was found dead in his cell, hanging by a pair of jeans; police found a note in his cell, addressed to Captain Schoeman of the security police: ‘This is just to say goodbye to you. You can carry on interrogating my dead body. Perhaps you will get what you want from it. Your friend, Mapetla.’ However, a number of factors cast doubt onto the official story that Mohapi committed suicide. A handwriting expert deemed the note a ‘clumsy imitation’ of Mapetla’s hand and the letters he smuggled to his wife written in the days before his death did not, she claimed, carry ‘any desperation or frustration;’ in a later, unrelated, incident a member of the same security police-force, while torturing a South African journalist, placed a wet towel around her neck and stated: ‘Now you know how Mapetla died.’ (Herbstein, 1979: 172; Harrison, 1981: 222-4).

Mapetla Mohapi was born in the rural village of Jozanashoek, Sterkspruit in the former Transkei (now Eastern Province) on 2 September 1947. He studied at the University of the North (Turfloop), where he graduated with a degree in Social Work in the early 1970s.

While studying at Turfloop, he was drawn to the philosophy of Black Consciousness, and became active in the South African Students Organisation (SASO). After students at several Black universities held pro-Frelimo rallies in October 1974 to celebrate the independence of Mozambique, Mohapi, together with several other leaders of SASO and the Black People's Convention, was detained. He was released in April 1975 without charge.

In 1973 he married Nohle. Then in 1974, whilst Nohle was expecting their daughter, Mohapi was detained for eight months.

Three months after he was elected the permanent Secretary of SASO and while serving as an administrator of a trust that took care of ex-political prisoners and their families, he was banned under the Suppression of Communism Act and confined to the areas of King William's Town and Zwelitsha. A month after the start of the 1976 Soweto uprising, in a swoop of Black Consciousness activists, Mapetla was again detained without charge on 16 July. Twenty days later, on 5 August 1976, Mohapi died in police custody.

Upon his death, police produced a "suicide note", claiming he had committed suicide in his cell. An inquest held later did not make a finding on the suicide claim - the note was confirmed by a leading British handwriting expert as a forgery but found that no one could be held responsible for Mohapi's death.

In her keynote address, at the unveiling of the Mapetla Mohapi memorial, at Jozanashoek, Sterkspruit, on 20 April 2002, former Housing Minister, Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele, said that then Deputy Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, Bridget Mabandla told her that she and her husband, Lindelwa, were recruited into the ANC by Mohapi. He helped people leave the country to join the African National Congress (ANC).

On 16 June 2004, the South African Government conferred The Order of Luthuli in Silver to Mapetla Mohapi for dedicating his life to the struggle for a democratic, free and non-racial South Africa.

References

Anon, Mapetla Mohapi (1947– 1976), from The Presidency, [online], Available at www.thepresidency.gov.za. [Accessed on 7 July 2011]
Mthembi-Mahanyele, S (2002), Keynote address by Housing Minister, Sankie Mthembi-Mahanyele, at the unveiling of Mapetla Mohapi memorial, Jozana, 20 April 2002, [online]Available at www.info.gov.za. [Accessed on 7 July 2011]
Anon (1996), Truth And Reconciliation Commission [online] Availableat www.justice.gov.za [Accessed on 8 July 2011]


Bio retrieved from the South African History Online at http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/mapetla-mohapi

Mthuli ka Shezi We Salute You

In December 1972 apartheid showed its dirty face when Mthuli ka Shezi became the first martyr of the Black Consciousness Movement. He had been elected Vice Precident of the Black People's Convention in July 1972. Mthuli met his death at Germiston railway station. Before he died he related events that had preceded his 'accident'. What was his 'accident'?

Shezi stated that several days before the accident he had quarrelled with some white railway employees, after objecting and coming to the defence of a black woman being drenched with water by a white employee at a railway station. Days after his quarrel with the railway employees, he went through Germiston station. It was on the 12th of December 1972. He was apparently spotted by one of the European railway employees with whom he had previously quarrelled. This man chased Shezi, caught and overpowered him. He then pushed him onto the rails in front of the on-coming train. After being knocked down and dragged by the train, Mthuli sustained a fractured pelvis, dislocated hip and a ruptured bladder. Five days later. Mthuli died in hospital. The police said they 'suspected no foul play'.

Shezi was a South African playwright and political activist. He was a student activist when he attended the University of Zululand. His writing reflected the struggle of recovering African identity in colonial and post-colonial societies, a topic which reflects his involvement in the Black Consciousness Movement as well as the influence of Frantz Fanon.

He posthumously received the Order of Luthuli for his "political leadership, outstanding contribution to the performing arts, and activism against apartheid". He became a symbol for the struggle of black South Africans against the apartheid regime.

Our Freedom Fighters died for a Cause! ALUTA!

A Speech That Led to Onkgopotse Tiro's Expulsion

Delivered at a Graduation Ceremony at the University of the North , 29 April 1972

Mr. Chancellor, Mr. Vice Chancellor and gentlemen, allow me to start off by borrowing language from our Prime Minister, Mr. Vorster. Addressing the A. S. B [ Afrikaanse Studenteond ] Congress in June last year, Mr Vorster said, "No Black man has landed in trouble for fighting for what is legally his." Although I don't know how far true this is, I make this statement my launch pad.

R. D Briensmead, an American lay preacher says, "He who withholds the truth or debars men from motives of its expediency, is either a coward, a criminal or both." Therefore Mr. Chancellor I will try as much as possible to say nothing else but the truth. And to me "truth" means "practical reality." Addressing us on the occasion of the formal of the formal opening of this university Mr. [Cedric] Phatudi, a Lebowa territorial authority officer, said that in as much as there is American Education, there had to be Bantu Education. Ladies and gentlemen, I am conscientiously bound to differ with him. In America there is nothing like Negro Education, Red Indian Education, and White American Education. They have American Education common to all Americans. But in South Africa, we have Bantu Education, Indian Education, Coloured Education and European Education. We do not have a system of education common to all South Africans. What is there in European Education which is not good for the African? We want a system of education which is common to all South Africans.

In theory Bantu Education gives our parents a say in our education but in practice the opposite is true. At this University, U. E D [University Education Diploma] students are forced to study Philosophy of Education through the medium of Afrikaans. When we want to know why, we are told that the senate has decided so. Apparently this senate is our parents. Time and again I ask myself: How do Black lecturers contribute to the administration of this University? For if you look at all the committees, they are predominantly White if not completely White. Here and there one finds two or three Africans who, in the opinion of students are White Black men. We have a Students' Dean without duties. We feel that if it is in any way necessary to have Students' Dean, we must elect our own Dean. We know people who can represent us.

The Advisory Council is said to be representing our parents. How can it represent them when they have not elected it? These people must of necessity please the man who appointed them. This Council consists of Chiefs who have never been to University. How can they know the needs of students when they have not subjected to the same conditions. Those who have been to University have never studied Bantu Education. What authentic opinion can they express when they don't know how painful it is to study under a repugnant system of education? I wonder if this Advisory knows that a Black man has been most unceremoniously kicked out of the bookshop. Apparently, this is reserved for Whites. According to this policy, Van Schaiks has no right to run a bookshop here. A White member of the Administration has been given the meat contract to supply the University - a Black University. Those who amorphously support the policy may say that there are no Black people to supply it. My answer to them is: why are they not able to supply the University? What is the cause? Is it not conveniently done that they are not in a position to supply these commodities?

White students are given vacation jobs at this university when there are students who could not get their results due to outstanding fees. Why does the Administration not give these jobs to these students? These White students have 11 universities where they can get vacation jobs. Does the Administration expect me to get a vacation job at the University of Pretoria? Right now, our parents have come all the way from their homes only to be locked outside. We are told that the hall is full. I do not accept the argument that there is no accommodation for them. In 1970, when the Administration wanted to accommodate everybody, a tent was put up and close-circuit television was installed. Front seats are given to people who cannot even cheer us. My father is seated there at the back. My dear people, shall we ever get a fair deal in this land? The land of our fathers. The system is failing. It is failing because even those recommended it strongly, as the only solution to racial problems in South Africa, fail to adhere to the letter and the spirit of the policy. According to the policy we expected Dr. Eiselen to decline Chancellorship in favour of a Black man. My dear parents, these are injustices no normal student can tolerate-no matter who he is and where he comes from.

In the light of what has been said above, the challenge to every Black graduate in this country lies in the fact that the guilt of all wrongful actions in South Africa, restriction without trial, repugnant legislation, expulsions from schools, rests on all those who do not actively dissociate themselves from and work for the eradication of the system breeding such evils. To those who wholeheartedly support the policy of apartheid I say: Do you think that the White minority can willingly commit political suicide by creating numerous states which might turn out to be hostile in the future? We Black graduates, by virtue of our age and academic standing are being called upon to bear greater responsibilities in the liberation of our people. Our so-called leaders have become the bolts of the same machine which is crushing us as a nation. We have to go back to them and educate them. Times are changing and we should change with them. The magic story of human achievement gives irrefutable proof that as soon as nationalism is awakened among the intelligentsia, it becomes the vanguard in the struggle against alien rule. Of what use will be your education if it is not linked with the entire continent of Africa. It is meaningless. Remember that Mrs. Suzman said, "There is one thing which the minister cannot do: He cannot ban ideas from men's minds."

In conclusion Mr. Chancellor I say: Let the Lord be praised, for the day shall come, when all shall be free to breathe the air of freedom which is theirs to breathe and when the day shall have come, no man, no matter how many tanks he has, will reverse the course of events.

God Bless you all.

Speech retrieved from the South African History Online at
http://www.sahistory.org.za/archive/graduation-speech-onkgopotse-tiro-university-north-29-april-1972

We Remember Onkgopotse Abram Tiro

There was an exodus of Black Consciousness Movement leadership into exile in 1973. In February 1974, Onkgopotse Abram Tiro, a leader of the South African Students' Organisation (SASO), was killed by a parcel bomb near Gaborone, Botswana. Tiro was completing an application form to continue his studies through the University of South Africa (Unisa) when a student known only as Lawrence handed him a parcel supposedly forwarded by the international University Exchange Programme. As he was opening it, the bomb exploded, killing him instantly. The killer agent was never uncovered but it was clear to the black masses that the Apartheid government was involved in Tiro's death. The South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) failed to conduct an in-depth formal investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death.

OUR FREEDOM FIGHTERS DIED FOR A CAUSE!!!


Activist Abram Onkgopotse Tiro grew up in Dinokana, a small village near Zeerust. He attended primary school at Dinokana and Motswedi, and matriculated at Barolong High School in Mafikeng. Tiro had two brothers and one sister. His mother was a domestic at Emmarentia in Johannesburg. Little is known about his father and it appears his mother had a profound influence on his upbringing.

After completing grade 12 (Standard 10 in those days), he enrolled at the University of the North for a degree in Humanities. He was elected president of the Student Representative Council (SRC) in his final year. At the university’s graduation ceremony in 1972, Tiro delivered a speech that sharply criticised the Bantu Education Act of 1953. This later became known as the “Turfloop Testimony”. Authorities at the university were angered by Tiro′s outspokenness and the speech precipitated his expulsion. Despite demonstrations by students under the new SRC, Tiro was not readmitted.

Tiro’s expulsion from Turfloop had far-reaching consequences that the university’s management could not have anticipated. In May 1972 there were a number of strikes on black campuses across the country in support of Tiro. By the beginning of June all major black campuses endorsed a solidarity strike in his support. On 2 June 1972 students at the University of Cape Town (UCT) demonstrated in support of Tiro.

In 1973, Tiro became involved in the activities of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM), a movement set up and developed primarily by Black students after 1968 to encourage Black people to liberate themselves psychologically from the effects of institutionalised racism and white liberalism. It is not clear what Tiro’s involvement in the formation of the South African Students Organisation (SASO) was in 1969. In fact, evidence suggests that the initiative for the formation of SASO came from Natal University’s Black Campus, where Steve Biko was clearly in the forefront. However, it is at Turfloop that the first major outbreak of dissent occurred in 1972. Tiro not only precipitated this outbreak but was also at the centre of it. And in 1973 he became SASO’s chief organiser.

Following his expulsion from Turfloop, he was offered a post as a history teacher by Lekgau Mathabathe, the Headmaster at Morris Isaacson High School in Soweto. It is here that he introduced his pupils to BCM’s philosophy and started a campaign to encourage students to question the validity and content of the history books prescribed by the Department of Bantu Education.

There is no doubting the link between Tiro’s expulsion and the emergence of the South African Students Movement (SASM) in April 1972. Indications are that while Biko proved to be resourceful in organizing students in institutions of higher learning, he did not have any interactions with those in high schools. It was left to Tiro and other adherents of BCM to mobilize students at high schools. And as Tiro’s presence at Morris Isaacson became apparent, the authorities were alarmed.

Morris Isaacson High School became known as the “cradle of resistance” and produced the likes of Tsietsi Mashinini, one of the student leaders who spearheaded the 1976 Soweto uprisings. Tiro was therefore instrumental in establishing SASM. SASM and SASO were affiliates of BCM and their aim was to influence the direction of Southern African student politics. In 1972 he was elected the Honorary President of the movement at a congress in Lesotho. However, it was not long before the government started putting pressure on school principals to dismiss those students they had offered employment to after they were expelled from universities. After six months at Morris Isaacson, Tiro was expelled.

After Tiro lost his teaching post, the apartheid government used its powers to silence or restrict SASO’s leadership. Those affected, becoming famously known as the SASO Nine, included Steve Biko, (who had become SASO’s leader at its inception), Bokwe Mafuna, Barney Pityana, Saths Cooper, Strini Moodley, Harry Nengwekhulu, Drake Koka and Jerry Modisane.

Nengwekhulu had just returned to South Africa after spending nearly two decades in exile in Botswana. Biko had broken away from the white dominated student body NUSAS to form the black-led SASO.

Travelling to all parts of Southern Africa, including Lesotho, Swaziland and Botswana, Tiro won more support for the Black Consciousness philosophy. However, towards the end of 1973 he found out that the police were planning to arrest him and he fled to Botswana, where he played a leading role in the activities of SASM, SASO and the Black People′s Convention (BPC). While living a simple life at the Roman Catholic Mission at Khale, a village about 20km from Gaberone, he was instrumental in forging links with militant revolutionary groups such as the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) in 1973.

Throughout his life he showed a commitment to working for the well-being of the underprivileged. He believed that “the primary source of income for blacks is land, and we need to restore land to the dispossessed”. Perhaps the fact that he had spent his childhood in the rural village of Dinokana had sharpened his appreciation of the importance of land.

On 1 February 1974, while still in Botswana, Tiro was completing an application form to continue his studies through Unisa when a student known only as Lawrence handed him a parcel supposedly forwarded by the International University Exchange Fund (IUEF). As he opened it, the parcel bomb exploded, killing him instantly. Tiro was buried in Botswana.

In 1998 Tiro's remains were exhumed by the Azanian People’s Organisation (AZAPO) and his family and returned to Dinokana for reburial. Unfortunately the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) failed to conduct an in-depth investigation into the circumstances surrounding his death. In a tribute to Tiro the president of (AZAPO), Mosibudi Mangena, described him as “a man of strong convictions who refused to compromise his principles, a person of simple tastes who could not accept the way black people had been dehumanised by the apartheid policy, a man who lived by the motto that it is better to die for the an idea that will live than to live for an idea that will die”.

The assassination of Tiro in Botswana in 1974 was part of a series of attacks on BCM activists considered instrumental in spreading dissent in South Africa. This followed the death of Mthuli Shezi in December 1972, one of Tiro’s close associates, at the Germiston Railway Station. Shezi was pushed under a moving train, supposedly by a white station cleaner. Mapetla Mohapi was another activist and a close associate of Tiro, Biko and Shezi who fell victim to brutality leveled against BCM activists. He died in detention in August 1976 in what the police claimed was suicide. They said he hanged himself.

Another was Wellington Tshazibane, who, it was claimed, hanged himself while in police detention in December 1976. Tshazibane was known to have masterminded the aborted bomb attack on a restaurant at the Carlton Centre in Johannesburg for which Isaac Seko was convicted and jailed for 12 years. The killings of BCM activists continued into 1977, with several others being targets. These included Jacki Mashabane, who also died in detention for his association with Tshazibane. Matthews Mabelane, a student at Madibane High School also died in detention early in 1977, with police claiming that he fell from the 10th floor in an attempt to escape.

But the most outrageous death in detention was that of Steve Biko in September 1977. All these were deaths of people who, in one way or another, were linked to Tiro. For a while after Biko’s death in 1977 deaths in detention tapered off. From 1978 a series of terror trials followed, related to attacks carried out mainly by Umkhonto we Sizwe cadres. And as part of PW Botha’s response to what he perceived as a “Total Onslaught” mounted by the ANC, these trials ended with the accused being convicted and sentenced to death. The first of these and one that caught the attention of international media was that of Solomon Mahlangu during 1978/9.

Early in the 1980s cross-border attacks on activists, similar to the attack on Tiro, resumed. Targets included well known personalities like Chris Hani (several assassination attempts on him in Lesotho failed), Ruth First (killed by a parcel bomb in Mozambique), Albie Sachs (his arm was blown away by a parcel bomb), to name but a few. These attacks were not restricted to countries across South Africa’s borders. An attempt on Dulcie September’s life was carried out in Paris, France.

Other methods of political assassination included cross-border abductions of activists. South Africa’s security police raided the headquarters of liberation movements in neighbouring countries and kidnapped activists who would never be found. But it does appear that Tiro was the first cross-border victim of the security police’s campaign of eliminating state opponents through the use of parcel bombs.

References

Mdhlela, Joe (1999). The new dictionary of South Africa biography, volume 2, Pretoria: Vista University
(1998). ‘Remains of murdered activist Abram Tiro to be reburied in SA’. South African Press Association [online] Available at: doj.gov.za [accessed on 13 February 2009]
Mashabela, H (1987) A people on the boil (Johannesburg), p106. Available online at: http://books.google.co.za/IsaacSeko [Accessed on 16 February 2011]

Biography retrieved from the South African History Online http://www.sahistory.org.za/people/abram-onkgopotse-tiro

The Business Incubator Collaborates with FNB on a Business Banking Workshop

The Business Incubator, an initiative of the Steve Biko Centre, invites you to a workshop on FNB Business Banking to be held in Ginsberg.

Facilitator: Representative from FNB
Date: June 24, 2013
Time: 10:00 – 12:00
Venue: The Steve Biko Centre, One Zotshie Street, Ginsberg, King William's Town, Eastern Cape
Cost: Free

NB: Clients are urged to book in advance for the Micro MBA Workshop.

Managing Time Effectively: A Workshop by The Business Incubator

The Business Incubator, an initiative of the Steve Biko Centre, invites you to a workshop on managing time effectively.

Facilitator: Mr. Lungile Sululu
Date: June 20, 2013
Time: 10:00 – 12:00
Venue: The Steve Biko Centre, One Zotshie Street, Ginsberg, Eastern Cape
Cost: R20

NB: Clients are urged to book in advance for the MICRO-MBA Workshop.

For more information contact Mr. Sululu on 043 605 6700 or via email at lungiles@sbf.org.za

Are You an Entrepreneur?

The Business Incubator, an initiative of the Steve Biko Centre, invites you to a workshop on principles of entrepreneurship.

Facilitator: The Steve Biko Foundation’s Lungile Sululu
Date: June 13, 2013
Time: 10:00 – 12:00
Venue: The Steve Biko Centre, One Zotshie Street, Ginsberg, Eastern Cape
Cost: R20


For more information contact Mr. Sululu on 043 605 6700 or via email at lungiles@sbf.org.za

Awethu Kraal of Dreams

The Steve Biko Centre, in association with Artscape presents:
Awethu Kraal of Dreams - Directed by Mandla Mbothwe



Featuring:
Bulelwa Basse
Zanne Stapelberg
Melanie Scholtz
Steve Biko Centre’s Abelusi Performance Corps
Community PloughBack Cultural Ensemble
Vadhini Arts Dance Academy
Bongani Sotshononda's Indigenous Orchestra


Date: 07th & 08th June 2013
Venue: Artscape Theatre
Time: 20:00
Tickets: R80

Book at Computicket or Artscape Dial-A-Seat: 021 421 7695

Beauty in African Poverty

By: Luckystar Miyandazi



One of the major definitions of poverty is: the state or condition of having little or no money, goods, or means of support; condition of being poor. Additionally, four Africa countries make up the top five most poor in the world in-terms of their population percentage. Thus to many its a contradiction to say that there is something beautiful about poverty-as it does not ignite any desirable qualities in its definitions. However, in Africa, 'poverty' has been a source of happiness for many years and has put us in the global sphere as a sort of peculiar people who find joy in being poor. The poorer the country in Africa, the more delight its people deprive from appreciation of the little things that life has to offer and the closer people are in a societal and communal setting. Let's take an example of most of our grandparents and elders, they still live in mud huts and wear traditional clothing, hold communal meetings and take care of their cows and farms, being extremely happy with what they have. With the spread of new and diverse developmental ideas in the world, African countries have been referred to as backward and underdeveloped, by most standards that have been set this view of underdevelopment holds ground. What is wrong though is the assumption that without money and material possessions African people are sad and destitute.

EVOLUTION AND THE CRADLE OF MANKIND

Evolution theories and evidence through archaeological research has led to the consideration of Africa as the cradle of mankind. From Egypt to Ethiopia, Kenya to Tanzania and Uganda, Botswana to Burundi, and Zimbabwe to Cameroon, Africans have influenced regions beyond the continent's borders, through providing the most information about early man; the stages of evolution and way of life. In this way, Africa has managed to give the world the special gift of change in human life. Early man learned to use basic materials around him to meet his needs in-terms of food, shelter and clothing. This is an indication of why African people deprive a lot of happiness from the use of readily available materials to deal with everyday life, like the use of fire wood to heat food, hunting and gathering for food, building their houses from mud clay and using simple material for body cover clothing. The opportunity to specialize in 'simple' has put Africa on the map as a place for all to come and seek this type of life to clear their mind and be reminded that life is all about the simple things.

AFRICAN SOCIETAL ORGANIZATION

In most Africa societal settings the smallest social unit was the family and political unit was the clan. Through this, societies were well organized units that looked after their own political, social and economic needs. For instance in most traditional settings, the different clans lived in fortified villages and were identified through their ancestral origin. The elders administered the villages and were sort of like the final decision makers regarding any vital issue in the villages. They dissolved disputes, settled cases and sometimes presided over religious functions. Due to the needs of various societal groups, migration was common in Africa and thus the spread of different cultures and way of life. Where in today's world, we find that some ethnic languages can be spoken across various countries and some shared traditions. Economic activities like trading and hunting also created a lot of interactions across clans and groups. Through hardships and in times of conflicts and wars, the practice of good neighborliness was always seen. Communities called upon their allies to help fight wars and for help during famines and diseases. This promoted friendliness towards neighbors and encouraged peace. Intermarriages between people from different communities also brought people together.

Every African individual until today is known as a child from somewhere- through their ancestry and by their clan name. This is a unique thing that Africans offer to the world, the value of identity, family and origin. Children are regarded as having special value. A child is considered a gift to society and is brought up as such thus no burden to the parents or the society. In many societies, communal ownership was stressed more than individual ownership, respect in the society was not so much given according to a persons riches but from the wisdom used in distributing and sharing with the society. The impact of opening Africa up to the world, has been the spread of these values and demand from others across the globe to know about their beliefs and cultures.

BASIC AFRICAN RELIGIOUS BELIEFS

Religions teaches us to maintain peace, law, order and to be united. In traditional African communities, God is considered as the supreme being. He is the creator of the universe and has effective control of his creation. Africans like many people with questions about the world and their environment were led to believe in a high being and power. Religion and beliefs are at the core of African societies, where God is described by many characteristics and attributes. Thanksgiving is usually given to God through the ancestors for good will and also to request for something. The worship of God is real where communities identified holy places like mountains, tress, rivers and lakes to worship and praise God and believed that at this special places, God manifested himself. Belief in the existence of spirits and divinities also linked traditional African people to the spiritual world. Many of such spirits were associated with nature and the environment and were often in control of various happenings. African religion is thus notorious as almost everything is seen as religious, part of our heritage which is considered as culture, practices and the origin of Africans. Today, Africa offers this to the world a very religious people who are devoted to their religion and prayer.

AFRICA's GIFT TO THE WORLD

The gift of equality - In Africa, the most important thing is the implication that we are all gifted and unique but at the same time equal people. No individual or group is permitted to exert unsolicited and harmful influence on others. The organization of the continent into states is for the sole reason of using them as tools to cater for the interests and needs of its people. Africans are motivated by a sense of self service to others that is not driven by greed and desire for personal gains.

Friendliness and Hospitality – Africa and its people are generally known for their great hospitality to others especially visitors to the continent. Due to such friendliness, the continent is known to attract tourists and visitors through and through. Africa stands firm in its call for the world to see the continent as an example of a happy, relaxing place. African countries due to this also host a lot of international meetings, events and conferences.

Exchanges- African countries are the best in-terms of exchanging ideas with other countries from outside the continent. In the promotion of understanding between states, enhancing peaceful co-existence and facilitating development, African goes above and beyond the thresh hold to widen and share global experiences and world views.

CONCLUSION

Africa is the motherland, the source of the beginning of the world and its people. The continent's unparalleled beauty is apparent to all who live in it. A lot of judgment has been passed of the continent but few understand that Africans are willing and open to share and give a lot to the world. We appreciate our environment, take care of our people and endeavor to stay peaceful always. Poverty has never been a hindrance to African culture, belief and heritage. We take pride in our poverty as it’s a way to show that Africa has a lot of good in it and its people are not blinded by the idea of being poor.

REFERENCES

1. Elleh,N. (1997) African Architecture: Evolution and Transformation. Michigan: McGraw-Hill.
2. Davidson, B. (1974) Africa in History: Themes and Outlines. Revised edition. Macmillan,New York.
3. Diop, C. A. (1986) Great African Thinkers: Cheikh Anta Diop. Transaction Publishers.
4. Gilbert, E. Reynolds ,J.T. (2004) Africa in world history: from prehistory to the present. Michigan: Pearson Educational.
5. John S. MBITI, Bible and Theology in African Christianity. Nairobi (Oxford University Press) 1994.
6. Religion in Africa and the Diaspora- Available at: http://www.africanbelief.com/ Accessed on: 14-04-2013

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The Biko Legacy Classes Visit Cape Town

A critical component of Steve Biko Foundation’s social development interventions is in the area of education. Currently, Steve Biko is a part of the school curriculum for grades 4, 9, 11 and 12. Biko also frequently appears on the matric exam. These factors make hosting students an integral part of the Foundation’s educational program.

To facilitate these visits, SBF has developed the Biko Legacy Classes, which teachers book to bring their classes to in advance. During these lectures, an SBF program officer details relevant aspects of Biko’s life and the Black Consciousness Movement according to the requirements of the class. Students are also provided with worksheets that are then discussed in order to create an interactive environment.

Due to numerous requests for this intervention in Cape Town, SBF partnered with the Baxter Theatre to facilitate Biko Legacy Classes for previously disadvantaged students from kwa Langa.

Event Details:
Date: Wednesday June 5, 2013
Venue: Guga Sthebe Cultural Centre, Kwa Langa
Time: 9:30 for 10:00

SBF is further exploring the possibility of regularly hosting such sessions in other provinces given the demand for the subject matter and the resource constraints that prevent many schools from visiting the Center.

Below are images from previous sessions of the Legacy Classes.

The Biko Centre hosts a Basic Financial Management Workshop

The Business Incubator, an initiative of the Steve Biko Centre, in collaboration with Old Mutual, invites you to a Workshop on Basic Financial Management.

Facilitator: Representative from Old Mutual
Date: June 12 and 19, 2013
Time: 10:00 – 12:00
Venue: The Steve Biko Centre, One Zotshie Street, Ginsberg, Eastern Cape
Cost: Free

For more information contact Mr. Lungile Sululu on 043 605 6700 or email lungiles@sbf.org.za

NB: Clients are urged to book in advance for the Micro MBA Workshop

FNB Business Banking Workshop at the Biko Centre

The Business Incubator, an initiative of the Steve Biko Centre, invites you to a workshop on FNB Business Banking to be held in Ginsberg.

Facilitator: Representative from FNB

Date: June 10, 2013

Time: 10:00 – 12:00

Venue: The Steve Biko Centre, One Zotshie Street, Ginsberg, King William's Town, Eastern Cape

Cost: Free


NB: Clients are urged to book in advance for the Micro MBA Workshop.

Tendering Workshop at the Biko Centre

The Business Incubator, an initiative of the Steve Biko Centre, invites you to a Tendering Workshop in Ginsberg.

Facilitator: Lungile Sululu from the Steve Biko Foundation

Date: June 6, 2013

Time: 10:00 – 12:00

Venue: The Steve Biko Centre, One Zotshie Street, Ginsberg, Eastern Cape

Cost: R20

For more information please contact Mr. Sululu on 043 642 1177 or email lungiles@sbf.org.za

Opening of the Library and Archive at the Steve Biko Centre

“A culture is essentially the society’s composite answer to the varied problems of life. We are experiencing new problems every day, and whatever we do adds to the richness of our cultural heritage. ”
― Steve Biko

This is an intimation for the public that from 1st June 2013 the Library and Archive at the Steve Biko Centre , at One Zotshie Street, Ginsberg, King William’s Town, Eastern Cape will open its doors to welcome them to use its holdings for their interest and education.

The Steve Biko Centre in Ginsberg, King William’s Town, is a project of the Steve Biko Foundation (SBF), a community development organization inspired by the legacy of Steve Biko. The vision of the Steve Biko Foundation, which was established in 1998, is to promote, with independence and best practice, the values that Steve Biko lived and died for, in striving to restore people to their true humanity.

In furtherance of this goal the Steve Biko Centre in Ginsberg comprises a museum, a commemorative garden honoring human rights activists, training rooms, conference facilities, cultural performance and production spaces, arts and culture section, community sports development section, community tourism section, business incubator section, a community media centre, and retail spaces.

To empower the community we serve in Ginsberg and the surrounding areas – including but not limited to Alice, Bisho, Dimbaza, East London (eMonti), King William’s Town (EQonce), Komga, Mdantsane, Peddie, Zinyoka, Zwelitsha – the Steve Biko Centre runs a Public Library and an Archive, as well as a Children’s Library.

We are very pleased that the Children's Library is the first section to be fully operational. While patrons may visit other sections as well, there remains much work in progress, such as the delivery of books, the sorting of primary source collections and cataloguing.


Knowledge is Power: a sure path to the “the envisioned self” that Steve Biko advocated

The ethos of the Library and Archive at the Steve Biko Centre embraces the quest for the liberating power that knowledge brings. Indeed, the essential objective of these departments is to serve everyone in our community and beyond with efficiency and dedication: from children still learning the pleasures of reading, to intellectually curious members of the public, to seasoned scholars seeking research material for academic papers. We strive to meet every such need with excellent service. We do all this to address some of the concerns that preoccupied Biko, and with which he wrestled in his writings: poverty of ideas, poor educational systems and distorted or neglected histories – for the liberation of the self comes through an empowered mind.

The Library

The main library is open to the public and boasts a wonderful range of fiction and non-fiction books, which library-users may borrow or use on site. Providing knowledge and information in various formats, other resources that can be found at the library include audio CDs, DVDs, e-books and virtual library items, microform media, photographs, academic journals, periodicals, maps and pamphlets. The library’s holdings include subject-matter from a wide range of genres and topics, including: biography, literature, philosophy, history, politics, news and current events, culture, religion, music, sport and the arts. The holdings include material in the medium of English as well as in several other South African languages.

A well-informed librarian is always on hand to assist with any queries. Patrons also have access to computer terminals where they can find information about the library’s resources, or undertake internet research. There is also a photocopier for everyone’s use. A special reading room is available for researchers.

In addition to providing valuable reading material, the library offers various programmes and facilities for the interest and benefit of the community: the oral history project, the book club, opportunities for book launches, seminars, writing workshops, essay competitions. There is the Frank Talk Debating Society; there are educational programmes for schools, film festivals, book festivals and movie screenings, including commercial films on circuit and educational films on history, politics, business, religion, music, theatre, sport and culture.

Library Opening times:

During School Terms: Mondays to Fridays - 9am – 8pm
During School Vacations: Mondays to Fridays - 9am – 5pm
Saturdays and Public Holidays: 9am – 5pm

The library is closed on Sundays.


The Children’s Library


“Books may not change our suffering, books may not protect us from evil, books may not tell us what is good or what is beautiful, and they will certainly not shield us from the common fate of the grave. But books grant us myriad possibilities: the possibility of change, the possibility of illumination.”
― Alberto Manguel

Enriching young minds from the earliest possible stage: that is a primary commitment of the Steve Biko Centre Library and Archive. That is why in the Children’s Library you will find books that enchant, entertain and, most importantly, educate. This is part of our commitment to develop future generations of confidently clear-thinking young people. Furthermore, we run programmes catering for children of various age groups, including story telling sessions. There are also special holiday programmes to help children use their leisure time constructively.

Children’s Library Opening times:
Mondays to Fridays: 9am to 5pm
Saturdays: 9am to 4pm.

For more information on our library programmes and services, please e-mail us at: librarian@sbf.org.za or phone: 043 605 6736.


The Archive

In the Archive section researchers can access rare books, manuscripts, old scrap books, old and rare newspapers, Africana books, oral history interviews (sound recordings and transcripts), photograph collections, old video footage and old sound recordings.

The Archive aims to become the premier centre for research holdings on Steve Biko and the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa. Of particular interest to local and international scholars, the collection includes primary source material regarding Steve Biko, Black Consciousness, Black community programs of the 1970s, and many of Biko’s contemporaries. Some of the important papers are: The Steve Biko Family Collection, The Bruce Haigh Special Collection, Inquest Documents Pertaining to the Death of Steve Biko, Documents Pertaining to the TRC Amnesty Application by the killers of Steve Biko, and Press clippings from the Daily Dispatch 1972 to 2003. Indeed the holdings include a wide range of archival resources, and the collection is constantly expanding with the acquisition of further items.

In our mission to serve as a repository for local history, we invite members of the public to donate any material they might have about Eastern Cape history. Some examples of appropriate donations for the manuscripts and archives collections include: letters, minutes of meetings, photographs, videos and general memorabilia.

As mentioned above, the Archive is continually expanding, with new acquisitions added to the holdings every year. Particular care is taken to obtain materials that add to the strength of our Eastern Cape collections, with a special focus on King William’s Town (eQonce) and the surrounding areas, including but not limited to Alice, Bisho, Dimbaza, East London (eMonti), Ginsberg, Komga, Mdantsane, Peddie, Zinyoka, Zwelitsha. Due to their fragile condition, works in the Archive collection cannot leave the library’s premises, but researchers are welcome to study them at the library. Researchers are requested to make prior arrangements with the archivist when planning to view the Centre’s extensive collections, so that relevant research material can be retrieved in advance.

Opening times:

Mondays to Fridays: 9am to 5pm
Saturdays: 9am to 4pm.


We look forward to meeting you at the Steve Biko Centre