im gonna try and show you guys a lot of new stuff happening in africa.. but while in capetown walking around i see theses city posters of biko saying “our streets , our history”.. and I cant get that ATCQ song out of my head.. (the urbaniak sample was a killer! bob power i love you)
(it happened 20 years ago)
—Biko was born in King Williams Town, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. He was a student at the University of Natal Medical School. He was initially involved with the multiracial National Union of South African Students, but after he became convinced that Black, Indian and Coloured students needed an organization of their own, he helped found the South African Students’ Organization (SASO) in 1968, and was elected its first president. The SASO evolved into the influential Black Consciousness Movement (BCM).
In 1972 Biko became honorary president of the Black People’s Convention. He was banned during the height of apartheid in March 1973, meaning that he was not allowed to speak to more than one person at a time, was restricted to certain areas, and could not make speeches in public. It was also forbidden to quote anything he said, including speeches or simple conversations. In spite of the repression of the apartheid government, Biko and the BCM played a significant role in organizing the protests which culminated in the Soweto Uprising of 16 June 1976. In the aftermath of the uprising, which was crushed by heavily-armed police shooting down dozens of protesters, the authorities began to target Biko further.
On 18 August 1977, Biko was arrested at a police roadblock under the Terrorism Act No 83 of 1967. He suffered a major head injury while in police custody, and was chained to a window grille for a full day. On 11 September 1977 police loaded him into the back of a car and began the 740-mile drive to Pretoria. He died shortly after arrival at the
Pretoria prison. The police claimed his death was the result of an extended hunger strike. He was found to have massive injuries to the head, which many saw as strong evidence that he had been brutally
clubbed by his captors.—-
also check the peter gabriel track “biko” -(”You can blow out a candle / But you can’t blow out a fire / Once the flames begin to catch / The wind will blow it higher”)
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