The 34th anniversary of the death of Steve Biko at the hands of the brutal apartheid regime was marked on 11 September 2011. No one has been held responsible for his death, but the circumstances surrounding it brought international outrage, highlighting the cruelty of the apartheid state and the fact that dozens of blacks had died in South African prisons under similar circumstances. Biko preached black solidarity to break the chains of oppression. His messages, which were spoken loudly and proudly, are as relevant today as they were in the 1970s.
He said:
So, as a prelude whites must be made to realise that they are only human, not superior. Same with blacks. They must be made to realise that they are also human, not inferior. His belief that South Africa will one day have a human face may have materialised. However, the remnants of apartheid still linger; the wealth of this country still resides in the hands of a few.
We have traversed a long path towards reconciliation, but we need to acknowledge that much still needs to be done. In her 1978 book, entitled No 46 - Steve Biko, Hilda Bernstein wrote:
Through him and his fate, a whole spectrum of South African reality is exposed ... What was confusing is clarified. What was obscure is revealed. In the fate of Steve Biko is encapsulated the truth about South Africa today ...
Aluta continua!