Editing Steve Biko (section)

== Ideology ==
The ideas of the Black Consciousness Movement were not developed solely by Biko, but through lengthy discussions with other black students who were rejecting white liberalism.{{sfn|Mngxitama|Alexander|Gibson|2008|p=2}} Biko was influenced by his reading of authors like [[Frantz Fanon]], [[Malcolm X]], [[Léopold Sédar Senghor]], [[James Cone]], and [[Paulo Freire]].{{sfn|Mngxitama|Alexander|Gibson|2008|p=2}} The Martinique-born Fanon, in particular, has been cited as a profound influence over Biko's ideas about liberation.{{sfn|Ahluwalia|Zegeye|2001|p=459}} Biko's biographer Xolela Mangcu cautioned that it would be wrong to reduce Biko's thought to an interpretation of Fanon, and that the impact of "the political and intellectual history of the Eastern Cape" had to be appreciated too.{{sfn|Mangcu|2014|p=14}} Additional influences on Black Consciousness were the United States–based [[Black Power movement]],{{sfn|Denis|2010|p=166}} and forms of Christianity like the activist-oriented [[black theology]].{{sfn|Denis|2010|pp=164, 166}}

===Black Consciousness and empowerment===
Biko rejected the apartheid government's division of South Africa's population into "whites" and "non-whites", a distinction that was marked on signs and buildings throughout the country.{{sfn|Epstein|2018|p=100}} Building on Fanon's work, Biko regarded "non-white" as a negative category, defining people in terms of an absence of whiteness. In response, Biko replaced "non-white" with the category "black", which he regarded as being neither derivative nor negative.{{sfn|Epstein|2018|p=108}} He defined blackness as a "mental attitude" rather than a "matter of pigmentation", referring to "blacks" as "those who are by law or tradition politically, economically and socially discriminated against as a group in the South African society" and who identify "themselves as a unit in the struggle towards the realization of their aspirations".{{sfn|Kamola|2015|p=66}} In this way, he and the Black Consciousness Movement used "black" in reference not only to Bantu-speaking Africans but also to Coloureds and Indians,{{sfn|Mangcu|2014|pp=43–44}} who together made up almost 90% of South Africa's population in the 1970s.{{sfn|Hill|2015|p=xviii}} Biko was not a Marxist and believed that it was oppression based on race, rather than class, which would be the main political motivation for change in South Africa.{{sfn|Wilson|2012|p=16}} He argued that those on the "white left" often promoted a class-based analysis as a "defence mechanism... primarily because they want to detach us from anything relating to race. In case it has a rebound effect on them because they are white".{{sfn|Macqueen|2014|pp=515–516}}

{{Quote box
| quote = Black Consciousness directs itself to the black man and to his situation, and the black man is subjected to two forces in this country. He is first of all oppressed by an external world through institutionalised machinery and through laws that restrict him from doing certain things, through heavy work conditions, through poor pay, through difficult living conditions, through poor education, these are all external to him. Secondly, and this we regard as the most important, the black man in himself has developed a certain state of alienation, he rejects himself precisely because he attaches the meaning white to all that is good, in other words he equates good with white. This arises out of his living and it arises out of his development from childhood.
| source=Steve Biko{{sfn|Woods|1978|p=124}}
| align = left
| width = 25em
}}

Biko saw white racism in South Africa as the totality of the white power structure.{{sfn|Mangcu|2014|p=278}} He argued that under apartheid, white people not only participated in the oppression of black people but were also the main voices in opposition to that oppression.{{sfn|Ahluwalia|Zegeye|2001|p=460}} He thus argued that in dominating both the apartheid system and the anti-apartheid movement, white people totally controlled the political arena, leaving black people marginalised.{{sfn|Ahluwalia|Zegeye|2001|p=460}} He believed white people were able to dominate the anti-apartheid movement because of their access to resources, education, and privilege. He nevertheless thought that white South Africans were poorly suited to this role because they had not personally experienced the oppression that their black counterparts faced.{{sfn|Kamola|2015|p=64}}

Biko and his comrades regarded multi-racial anti-apartheid groups as unwittingly replicating the structure of apartheid because they contained whites in dominant positions of control.{{sfn|Kamola|2015|p=66}} For this reason, Biko and the others did not participate in these multi-racial organisations.{{sfn|Ahluwalia|Zegeye|2001|p=460}} Instead, they called for an anti-apartheid programme that was controlled by black people.{{sfn|Ahluwalia|Zegeye|2001|p=460}} Although he called on sympathetic whites to reject any concept that they themselves could be spokespeople for the black majority, Biko nevertheless believed that they had a place in the anti-apartheid struggle, asking them to focus their efforts on convincing the wider white community on the inevitability of apartheid's fall.{{sfn|Kamola|2015|p=65}} Biko clarified his position to Woods: "I don't reject liberalism as such or white liberals as such. I reject only the concept that black liberation can be achieved through the leadership of white liberals."{{sfn|Woods|1978|p=54}} He added that "the [white] liberal is no enemy, he's a friend&nbsp;– but for the moment he holds us back, offering a formula too gentle, too inadequate for our struggle".{{sfn|Woods|1978|p=55}}

Biko's approach to activism focused on psychological empowerment,{{sfn|Mangcu|2014|p=272}} and both he and the BCM saw their main purpose as combating the feeling of inferiority that most black South Africans experienced.{{sfn|Ahluwalia|Zegeye|2001|p=460}} Biko expressed dismay at how "the black man has become a shell, a shadow of man&nbsp;... bearing the yoke of oppression with sheepish timidity",{{sfn|Wilson|2012|p=14}} and stated that "the most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed".{{sfn|Wilson|2012|p=14}} He believed that blacks needed to affirm their own humanity by overcoming their fears and believing themselves worthy of freedom and its attendant responsibilities.{{sfn|Mangcu|2014|p=278}} He defined Black Consciousness as "an inward-looking process" that would "infuse people with pride and dignity".{{sfn|Wilson|2012|p=14}} To promote this, the BCM adopted the slogan "Black is Beautiful".{{sfn|Hill|2015|p=xviii}}

One of the ways that Biko and the BCM sought to achieve psychological empowerment was through community development.{{sfn|Hadfield|2010|p=80}} Community projects were seen not only as a way to alleviate poverty in black communities but also as a means of transforming society psychologically, culturally, and economically.{{sfn|Hadfield|2010|p=81}} They would also help students to learn about the "daily struggles" of ordinary black people and to spread Black Consciousness ideas among the population.{{sfn|Hadfield|2010|p=81}} Among the projects that SASO set its members to conduct in the holidays were repairs to schools, house-building, and instructions on financial management and agricultural techniques.{{sfn|Hadfield|2010|p=82}} Healthcare was also a priority, with SASO members focusing on primary and preventative care.{{sfn|Hadfield|2010|p=83}}

===Foreign and domestic relations===
{{Quote box
| quote = It becomes more necessary to see the truth as it is if you realise that the only vehicle for change are these people who have lost their personality. The first step therefore is to make the black man come to himself; to pump back life into his empty shell; to infuse him with pride and dignity, to remind him of his complicity in the crime of allowing himself to be mis-used and therefore letting evil reign supreme in the land of his birth. That is what we mean by an inward-looking process. This is the definition of Black Consciousness.
| source=Steve Biko{{sfn|Mangcu|2014|p=279}}
| align = right
| width = 25em
}}

Biko opposed any collaboration with the apartheid government, such as the agreements that the Coloured and Indian communities made with the regime.{{sfn|Ahluwalia|Zegeye|2001|p=462}} In his view, the [[Bantustan]] system was "the greatest single fraud ever invented by white politicians", stating that it was designed to divide the Bantu-speaking African population along tribal lines.{{sfn|Mangcu|2014|p=244}} He openly criticised the Zulu leader [[Mangosuthu Buthelezi]], stating that the latter's co-operation with the South African government "[diluted] the cause" of black liberation.{{sfn|Woods|1978|p=98}} He believed that those fighting apartheid in South Africa should link with anti-colonial struggles elsewhere in the world and with activists in the global African diaspora combating racial prejudice and discrimination.{{sfn|Ahluwalia|Zegeye|2001|p=463}} He also hoped that foreign countries would boycott South Africa's economy.{{sfn|Mangcu|2014|p=250}}

Biko believed that while apartheid and white-minority rule continued, "sporadic outbursts" of violence against the white minority were inevitable.{{sfn|Woods|1978|p=104}} He wanted to avoid violence, stating that "if at all possible, we want the revolution to be peaceful and reconciliatory".{{sfn|Woods|1978|p=71}} He noted that views on violence differed widely within the BCM{{snd}}which contained both [[pacifism|pacifists]] and believers in violent revolution{{snd}}although the group had agreed to operate peacefully, and unlike the PAC and ANC, had no armed wing.{{sfnm|1a1=Woods|1y=1978|1p=104|2a1=Mangcu|2y=2014|2p=198}}

A staunch [[anti-imperialism|anti-imperialist]],{{sfn|Mngxitama|Alexander|Gibson|2008|p=3}} Biko saw the South African situation as a "microcosm" of the broader "black–white power struggle" which manifests as "the global confrontation between the [[Third World]] and the rich white nations of the world".{{sfn|Kamola|2015|p=66}} He was suspicious of the [[Soviet Union]]'s motives in supporting African liberation movements, relating that "Russia is as imperialistic as America", although he acknowledged that "in the eyes of the Third World they have a cleaner slate".{{sfn|Woods|1978|p=100}} He also acknowledged that the material assistance provided by the Soviets was "more valuable" to the anti-apartheid cause than the "speeches and wrist-slapping" provided by Western governments.{{sfn|Woods|1978|p=107}} He was cautious of the possibility of a post-apartheid South Africa getting caught up in the imperialist [[Cold War]] rivalries of the United States and the Soviet Union.{{sfn|Mngxitama|Alexander|Gibson|2008|p=3}}

===On a post-apartheid society===
Biko hoped that a future socialist South Africa could become a completely non-racial society, with people of all ethnic backgrounds living peacefully together in a "joint culture" that combined the best of all communities.{{sfnm|1a1=Ahluwalia|1a2=Zegeye|1y=2001|1p=462|2a1=Mangcu|2y=2014|2pp=280–281}} He did not support guarantees of minority rights, believing that doing so would continue to recognise divisions along racial lines.{{sfnm|1a1=Ahluwalia|1a2=Zegeye|1y=2001|1p=462|2a1=Mangcu|2y=2014|2p=282}} Instead he supported a [[one person, one vote]] system.{{sfnm|1a1=Woods|1y=1978|1p=102|2a1=Ahluwalia|2a2=Zegeye|2y=2001|2p=462|3a1=Mangcu|3y=2014|3p=282}} Initially arguing that [[one-party state]]s were appropriate for Africa, he developed a more positive view of [[multi-party system]]s after conversations with Woods.{{sfn|Woods|1978|p=108}} He saw individual [[liberty]] as desirable, but regarded it as a lesser priority than access to food, employment, and social security.{{sfn|Woods|1978|p=107}}

{{Quote box|width=25em|align=left|quote=Black, said Biko, is not a colour; Black is an experience. If you are oppressed, you are Black. In the South African context, this was truly revolutionary. Biko's subsidiary message was that the unity of the oppressed could not be achieved through clandestine armed struggle; it had to be achieved in the open, through a peaceful but militant struggle.|source=[[Mahmood Mamdani]]{{sfn|Mamdani|2012|p=78}} }}

Biko was neither a [[communism|communist]] nor [[capitalism|capitalist]].{{sfn|Mngxitama|Alexander|Gibson|2008|p=3}} Described as a proponent of [[African socialism]],{{sfn|Wilson|2012|p=16}} he called for "a socialist solution that is an authentic expression of black communalism".{{sfn|Woods|1978|p=100}} This idea was derided by some of his Marxist contemporaries, but later found parallels in the ideas of the Mexican [[Zapatista Army of National Liberation|Zapatistas]].{{sfn|Mngxitama|Alexander|Gibson|2008|p=3}} Noting that there was significant inequality in the distribution of wealth in South Africa, Biko believed that a [[socialism|socialist society]] was necessary to ensure social justice.{{sfn|Ahluwalia|Zegeye|2001|pp=461–462}} In his view, this required a move towards a [[mixed economy]] that allowed [[private enterprise]] but in which all land was owned by the state and in which state industries played a significant part in forestry, mining, and commerce.{{sfn|Ahluwalia|Zegeye|2001|p=462}} He believed that, if post-apartheid South Africa remained capitalist, some black people would join the [[bourgeoisie]] but inequality and poverty would remain.{{sfn|Ahluwalia|Zegeye|2001|pp=461–462}} As he put it, if South Africa transitioned to proportional democracy without socialist economic reforms, then "it would not change the position of ''economic'' oppression of the blacks".{{sfn|Woods|1978|p=102}}

In conversation with Woods, Biko insisted that the BCM would not degenerate into anti-white hatred "because it isn't a negative, hating thing. It's a positive black self-confidence thing involving no hatred of anyone".{{sfn|Woods|1978|p=55}} He acknowledged that a "fringe element" may retain "anti-white bitterness"; he added: "we'll do what we can to restrain that, but frankly it's not one of our top priorities or one of our major concerns. Our main concern is the liberation of the blacks."{{sfn|Woods|1978|p=55}} Elsewhere, Biko argued that it was the responsibility of a vanguard movement to ensure that, in a post-apartheid society, the black majority would not seek vengeance upon the white minority.{{sfn|Ahluwalia|Zegeye|2001|p=462}} He stated that this would require an education of the black population in order to teach them how to live in a non-racial society.{{sfn|Ahluwalia|Zegeye|2001|p=462}}