Today is another anniversay. It is 29 years since Steve Biko died in police detention in South Africa. Steve Biko was a leader who focused on helping black people in South Africa to gain self esteem. He founded the Black Consciousness movement, and talked about Black is Beautiful. Of all the lives lost during apartheid, for me personally, his is the most tragic. I really wish I could have met him. By all accounts he was a brilliant human being.
One of my favourite “memories” of him came through a re-enactment of one of his trials in the movie, “Cry Freedom“. Asked by a white judge, “Why do you call yourself black, when your skin is brown?”. He replied with, “Why do you call yourself white, when you are actually pink?”. Cheeky, self-assured, witty and correct.
But someone told me recently of another famous Biko saying, and it is in this that Biko showed his prescient genius. He apparently believed that Africa’s gift to the world would be our ability as Africans to put the humanity back into business, government and organisations. He couldn’t have been more right.
Read Aiden’s memories of Biko previously posted at this blog.

TomorrowToday Global