2b.

3
BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS + SOWETO
UPRISING:
STUDENT BIKO AND THE SOUTH AFRICAN
STUDENTS’ ORGANISATION [SASO]:
AFRICAN HIGHER EDUCATION IN 19603S + BLACK
CONSCIOUSNESS
 Late 1960s – new momentum developed within opposition circles, starting in
universities after the Extension of University Education Act in 1959 when
National Party decided to segregate H.E. completely.
 Bantu Education criticised as it cutdown African elite’s aspirations to join a
common society

Segregated Advantages/disadvantages
university
factors
‘Bantu  Cut down African elite’s aspirations to try and join a common
Education’ society
heavily  Extended H.E. for black people
criticised.  Nationalists’ realised whites couldn’t provide all skills needed
for economic development within SA.
National Party  Recognised that new homelands would need officials and
introduced the professionals to effectively function as self-governing
Extension of territories.
University  Tried to create ethnically specific universities that encouraged
Education Act use of African language
in 1959  H.E. provision for black students in homelands expanded
quickly in these years.
 Africans seeking uni education from Johannesburg, Pretoria
and Witwatersrand townships went to Uni of North called
Turfloop.
University of  Became a melting pot linguistically, ethnically and politically
the North aka  By late 1960s, students at uni became increasingly politicised
Turfloop and encountering radical Christian and black American ideas.
Activists Black universities like Turfloop + Fort Hare produced activists
that then became central in SA protests and politics:
 Apartheid universities gave black people this opportunity
 Didn’t have to interact daily with white students
 No competition for political space on campuses usually
dominated by white
 White students tried to maintain contact with SASO
Turfloop student leaders organised rally of 1,200:
 Police arrived to break it up but confronted by youth shouting
‘Freedom’ and other phrases
 700 gathered on the sports field and sand the ANC anthem
(God Bless Africa)


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Northern American civil rights success –
 MLK and slogans drifted back to students through newspapers, books and talks
 Bobby Kennedy (brother of assassinated US president JFK) visisted SA in 1966
when invited by National Union of South African Students (NUSAS)
 He gave well-publicised speeches at white campuses and even staged a
publicised meeting with the ageing and banned Albert Luthuli.

STEVE BIKO AND SASO:

 Biko – segregated medical student at University of Natal
 Attended NUSAS and University Christian Movement Congress
 NUSAS prided itself as a non-racial movement but was dominated by white
students
 Biko led black delegation during the 1967 NUSAS Congress at Rhodes University
 University refused to let black students stay in residenes on campus or use
other facilities equally during the conference
 Black students asked for the meeting to be suspended or moved to the
township but white delegation accepted the situation.
 Growing group felt they needed their own political vehicle and the incident
triggered the formation of a separate black student movement during 1968 – 69
called South African Students’ Organisation (SASO) in July 1969 with Biko as
first president especially since University Christian Movement had been banned
on some campuses.
f
 New phase of South African resistance was born expressing ideas by the ANC
Youth League and the PAC – elements of black and liberation theology (idea that
religion must take a leading role in struggles against social and political
oppression) were added.
 Biko argued that black people should lead themselves and not be led by whites
no matter how sympathetic they were.
 Said whites were ‘claiming a monopoly on intelligence and moral judgement’
and trying to set the realisation of black man’s aspirations which black people
should do with their own minds.

BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS + SASO

 An attitude of mind that aimed to ensure that black people ‘self defined’ rather
than being defined by others trough negative words like ‘non white’ that was
common in everyday language and signs on benches and beaches.
 Some SASO leaders detained early 1970s yet SASO maintained a strong
presence on black campuses by influencing/controlling Student Representative
Councils
 SASO used opportunity of the end of direct Portuguese colonial rule in
Mozambique, where FRELIMO had been fighting an armed struggle since 1964
 Staged a march and rally at a public stadium ignoring a government ban 
leadership of SASO moved from ideological mobilisation to direct confrontation.

 1927 - Black Consciousness Movement and Black People’s Convention

launched, drawing on African heritage especially from the PAC but activists
were careful not to have direct connections with banned organisations
 PAC made up largely of migrant workers while black consciousness was of
youths and students
 Black consciousness focused less on inspiration and support from the rest of
Africa but directly attacked the idea of homelands.

 1972 – student president Abraham Tiro was allowed to make a graduation

speech at ceremony – was influenced by black consciousness and made an

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attack on university authority for poor facilities and discrimination against
African staff and inequalities in SA society in general.
 Was the most radical speech delivered by a black consciousness student leader
but context was explosive as he spoke in front of white university authority,
black stagg and parents and students.
 University expelled Tiro after a protest on the campus but he found a teaching
job at Morris Isaacson High School in Soweto where some students had formed
a branch of the South African Students’ Movement (SASM) – the common black
consciousness organisation in schools
 Tiro was a SASO representative and a teacher – one of his students, Mashinini
later became a key leader of the 1976 student’s rebellion/revolt.

 Black consciousness groups were largely focused in educational institutions like

highs schools and universities but there were also self help groups launched by
community organisations.
 Newspapers like The World in Soweto not only promoted black consciousness,
but also increased coverage of emerging politics
 Growing literacy and education among African youth gave an important vehicle
for political ideas.
 March 1973 – government decided SASO was becoming too dangerous and
banning orders were issued against leaders like Steve Biko and Tiro, who was
dismissed and fired from his teaching position.
 This was after years of tolerance of SASO in earlier years as government initially
thought black consciousness idea could have potential to reinforce apartheid
instead.
 1975 – trial where SASO leaders were charged under Terrorism Act and the
‘SASO 9’ – leaders secured a high profile for their ideas
 SASO wasn’t an illegal organisation and media was free to quote them – many
sand freedom songs and raised clenched fists in the courtroom especially when
Biko gave evidence in his defence and outlined the philosophy of black
consciousness.

WHITE STUDENT PROTESTS

 1985 – US and Europe students staged major protests against Vietnam War
 University of Cape Town (UCT) appointed Archie Mafjee as Anthropology
Lecturer – was a direct challenge since university wanted to be white and the
lecturer was a black radical
 UCT threatened by government to have funding taken away unless lecturer
demoted
 White radical students organised mass meeting and sit in supported by NUSAS
 Withdrawal of black students into SASO was a setback but NUSAS leadership
still tried to incorporate radical ideas and still reach beyond the campuses
 1972 – mass gatherings on steps of Anglican cathedral in Central Cape Town
but broken up by police.

MOBILISATION OF SCHOOL CHILDREN

 1975 – momentum of protests shifted to schools and students as high schools
were expanding quickly at the time
 Between 1950 – 1975  number of African children at school increased from
around 1 million to over 3.5 million with 280,000 at high school
 Soweto – high school numbers increased from 12,6000 to 34,000 between 1972
– 76, putting huge pressure on building and on teaching staff as schools often
had classes of 60+
 ‘Bantu’ education failed and schools instead became places of deprivation,
expectation but also huge political potential.

3
2b.3
 Students in Soweto’s best high schools like Morris Isaacson were highly open
and receptive to black consciousness as it was a new and fashionable idea -
united youth

 Students were still a minority at their age in SA

 Soweto – had to go through gang-dominated streets where gangs like Hazels,
the Dirty Dozen and Bandidos called tsotsis who were violent and often hostile
to high school kids
 Historian Clive Glaser in Soweto interviews said Soweto youth gang members
would around schools and shops and threaten school students and even
demand sex w/girls
 Students faced danger of violence including stabbings if they faced gangs so
school kids fought against the gangs and the government

 1976 – students had formed self-defence units and prepared to use violence to
defend themselves against the gangs.

SOWETO UPRISING, ITS SIGNIFICANCE, ITS SUPPRESSION

 1974 – Transvaal Bantu Education Department decided to expand teaching in
Afrikaans at African schools so that Afrikaans and English were compulsory at
high school level for white and black students
 Government wanted African students to learn other subjects like maths too
but the emphasis on Africans learning Afrikaans was disliked by Soweto high
school students
 Afrikaans was the language of the oppressor used by the government and
apartheid agents and by the white policemen who harassed their parents
 Afrikaans was the language of racism whereas English was the language of
advancement at a global level and therefore the language of black American
people + black consciousness
 African students would have to master 2 languages in addition to African as
their first language
 Deputy minister Treurnicht enforced the language policy

 May 1976 SASM was based in schools – trying to organise boycotts and protests
 Action committee announced a protest on 16 June where 2000 students from
different schools joined and marched to an Orlando stadium  confronted by 50
police at Orlando West School and stones hurled and dogs released with open
fire  some died, others wounded
 Students attacked government building and killed 2 officials
 Anything related to the ‘system’ was fair game – word used for
government related
 Government responded and killed over 138 over first few days of protest
–
 Treurnicht stubborn and inflexible on Afrikaans as an additional language,
denying any problems with it
 Students boycotted schools and tried to destroy government buildings
and pushed and asked for the community as a whole in doing so

 June 17 – 300 Wits University students marched in sympathy and Turfloop

students tried to burn down Afrikaans department on their capuses
 June 18 – official building, shops, liquor stores in Alexandra townships,
Johannesburg attacked
 Attacks spread through country
 Soweto Students’ Representative Council formed in August after meeting led by
Mashinini from Morris Isaacson School who soon went into exile

4
2b.3
 Over next months, scholars tried to trigger worker stayaways but had little
success but targeted liquor stores and white-owned shops
 Winnie Mandela + Dr Nthatho Motlana formed Black Parents’ Association to
organise funerals which then became politicised occasions
 Government commission of inquiry estimated that 575 people died in Soweto
uprolt
 April 1977 – local administration announced; rise in rent due to the loss of
money from buildings that had been burned down, closing of beer halls:
 Soweto Student Council – mass demonstration and burnt down offices of
Urban Bantu Council
 Secured rescheduling of rent rises
 Forced council to eventually resign
 To avoid arrest:
 4000 youths fled country 1976 – 77
 ANC was the only external organisation then based in Zambia
 Some who fled were less educated street youths, not students, and so
made good soldiers when recruited and trained by MK as were not afraid
to die
 Some student leaders imprisoned on Robben Island with other political
prisoners like Mandela and Sisulu
 In the debates at the Island, most black consciousness activists like
Lekota moved over to ANC

IMPACT OF STEVE BIKO’S DEATH IN 1977

 1973 – government banned Steve Biko
 Sent to live in Kingwilliamstown, Eastern Cape and his movements and
organisations restricted - not allowed to attend any political meetings
 He couldn’t be involved in any wide national anti-apartheid movements but
remained actively involved in local/regional black consciousness activities
 Still had a strong profile with his writing as some of it was published – even
more when his ideas were taken up by Donald Woods, a white East London
editor
 August 1977 – Biko left Kingwilliamstown – broke his banning order so arrested,
interrogated and severely beaten
 Weeks later – close to death so rushed 1000km by road to a prison hospital on
Pretoria where he died on 12 September
 Police claimed his death was due to his hunger strike but Woods challenged this
cover-up and accused police brutality –
o Gave convincing evidence including photos taken at the morgue
o Death provoked international disapproval especially in Western countries
which still had relations with SA
o Over 10,000 people attended Biko’s funeral including foreign
ambassadors to show support to him and his ideals

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HOW DID ANC STRENGTHEN ITS
POSITION AFTER THE 1970s?
IN EXILE
Advantages Disadvantages
 ANC established offices abroad and Wankie was one of 2 attempts of major
London remained an important centre military attack in Zambia – 1967:
for the movement  50 trained MK guerrillas including Chris
 ANC activities largely based in Hani
Tanzania + Zambia.  Crossed Zambezi + tried to create
route through Zimbabwe to SA
 Several conflicts during way until one
group completely destroyed by
Rhodesian gov. force
Others forced to retreat to Botswana
Many exiles settled in Lusaka + Zambia Zambian government:
while Tambo became acting president  Concerned about its role as a based for
after Luthuli died + was based there armed struggle + potential SA
from 1967 too. retaliation
 Good to work at an African country  1969 – Lusaka Manifesto adopted by
close to SA African states that reiterated their hate
 Kenneth Kaunda (Zambia president) against apartheid
sympathetic to their cause  Kaunda demanded Tambo find new
 Cheaper + easier to provide for base for MK
growing exile political community in
African country
 Wankie and Sipolilo campaigns in
1967 + 68 – Sipolilo campaign lasted
longer than Wankie
Hani kept Wankie campaign going with
other MK members:
 All criticised ANC leadership of
‘careerism’
 Critical of Modise (commander-in-chief
of MK) for being undemocratic
 Said they’d ‘lost all confidence in the
ANC’
Tambo strongly believed in idea of non- Difficult for Tambo to hold together an
racialism – working with exiles from all exiled movement especially with some
SA communities and recognised against MK and others not.
importance of a multi-racial AAM –
understood the value of reinserting ANC
into politics in SA whereas PAC didn’t.

ANC / TAMBO’S ACTIONS/ACTIONS RESULTS

AGAINST ANC
 Tambo faced major crisis within the  Youthful rebels called to a tribunal
ANC (meeting) and expelled from ANC
 Tambo took personal responsibility for
military failings and tried to find a way
to make a decision involving the whole
group

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2b.3
Tambo called a conference in Morogoro,  Gave him a strong part in decision
Tanzania in 1969 where he resigned as making including deciding to admit
acting presidents, however, he was re- people of all ‘races’ to ANC instead of
elected immediately without opposition. their being 4 separate congresses that,
in other words, mimicked apartheid
racial definitions.
ANC adopted a ‘strategy and tactics’  Hani and rebels reinstated to ANC
document to confirm the importance of  Not until 1980s that mass protests
armed struggle, political education and were renewed in SA
political unity.  Another small military contingent was
 Stop sending big armed detachments destroyed while trying to enter
by long, difficult routes into SA Namibia  attempts at armed
 Infiltrate individuals/small groups who incursions stopped.
could resurrect the movement on
ground
Group within ANC were against Morogoro Makiwane wrote up detailed
decision – wanted ANC to stay African so memorandum condemning the decision
publicly shared their views and were as authoritarian:
expelled.  Accused ANC of failing to reorganise in
 Tennyson Makiwane was among SA
expelled – worked in ANC external  Started rival ANC group – attacked
affairs department Tambo + CP
 Movement dissolved soon – some
members joined ANC
 Makiwane returned to birthplace +
worked for Mantazima’s homeland
government in Transkei until
assassination in 1980

Global anti apartheid movement actions Global anti apartheid movement results
Stop the Seventy Tour campaign  Tour disrupted and called off
created after the D’Oliveira race issue:  1970 cricket tour by white SA team to
 Aimed to stop the SA rugby tour of England cancelled
Britain and Ireland  SA expelled from international test
 Peter Hain (later a UK Labour Minister) cricket in 1970 too
organised mass protests, hotel tourist
pickets + pitch invasions
 Gordon Brown participated in
Edinburgh
New Zealand along with SA was also a  SA allowed a NZ rugby tour to SA in
top rugby nation 1970 including Maori players
 Many players came from Maori  Halt All Racist Tours movement
backgrounds considered ‘coloured’ in successfully cancelled the SA tour to
SA NZ
 New Zealand wanted to tour SA  1981 – widespread protest triggered
 1973 – whites only SA team planned after SA allowed to tour NZ  protests
tour in NZ deeply upset white SA.
 1977 – Commonwealth countries
signed a Gleneagles Agreement
discouraging signatories from including
SA in sporting events

1970 – Conservative government under

Edward Heath elected in UK:
 Withdrew Britain from UN arms boycott

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(64)
 Economically disadvantageous for
British + International companies with
business interests in the country
 Britain was SA most important trading
partner
Constructive engagement strategy  That overseas investors should
adopted in 170s – improve own employment practices
 Strong support from bodies like and try influence SA to improve
Conservative Party and Confederation wages/conditions for black workers
of British Industry  Economic growth would be beneficial
for both sides as it’d reveal apartheid
weaknesses = end
 Demand for workers would grow from
urbanisation  realise skilled black
workers are needed and government
would have to relax education, race
and job laws
AAM and allies advocated + encouraged  1972 – World Council of Churches sold
disinvestment + boycotts in SA: its shares in companies that had
 Continued economic engagement interests in SA
would just help SA + let foreign
companies make large profits from
cheap black workers
 Protests and sanctions could help bring
change
 Worked with British trade unions to
inform them about SA conditions of
black workers to get support for
radical action

NATIONAL PARTY’S PROBLEMS

OPPOSITION

TRADE UNIONS
 Black workers made up majority of coal, gold and uranium miners – SA’s most
valuable exports in 1970s
 Most white homes had black domestic servants living in back rooms of the
premises
 1.5 million Africans worked on farms – 3x more than in mines
 1976 – number of people working in manufacturing factories/workshops reached
1.6 million – even more than farms

 Black workers had few rights but could threaten and disrupt heart of the economy
+ white wealth
 Organising black workers produced important trade unions and some merged in
SACTU (South African Congress of Trade Unions)  movement reached around

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50,000 members but died from repression in 1960s but other important unions
committed to multi-racial organisations like Food and Canning Workers, Eastern
Cape survived.
 Trade unions – important issue for government during 70s and 80s
 Black workers at PUTCO – a huge transport company that ran hundreds buses from
townships to workplaces went on strike in 1972
 1973 – Zulu speaking migrant workers living in compounds at a brick
factory near Durban quit jobs
 Strike spread to another 150 factories in area including an Indian women
workers in textile industry
 Former white students activists and unionists started to build new trade unions in
Durban, Johannesburg + Cape Town
 Independent from ANC-linked SACTU and other white-controlled unions
 Had an uncertain legal status = not immediately banned by government
 Focused only on wage issues, working conditions rather than other
political aims
 Tried developing democratic control by workers
 Generally avoided dramatic protests and confrontations but still, they
were targeted by the state mid 70s such as 1974 Natal textile strikes
 Majority group of black farmers was unorganised – place tor new unions
 SA – major sugar producer – coastal slopes of KwaZulu-Natal covered for miles
in green sugar cane
 Sugar mills, chocolate makers, bakeries etc.
 Sweet, Food and Allied Workers Union set up in the sector
 African Metal and Allied Workers Union (MAWU) spread in Durban +
Witwatersrand
 Cape Town – Food and Canning Workers expanded under leadership of a
former law student – Jan Theron after 1976.

 1979 – food workers at small factory owned by SA family of Italian descent

(Fattis and Monis) struck for higher wages:
 Strike was remarkable in uniting Coloured women workers and African
migrant men
 Food and Canning Union won wide support from students and community
groups
 Produced wheat products like bread and pasta
 Activists went into supermarket and loaded trolleys with Fattis and Monis’
pasta  dumped them at checkouts
 Strike + boycott  support from all racial groups, political fluidity, groups
divided by race began to work together instead
 1979 – some new independent unions felt confident enough to merge in a
Federation of SA Trade Unions – FOSATU  main support from Johannesburg +
Durban = established strong non-racial identity as a union

RETURN OF ANC
 Black consciousness influenced Soweto 1976 protests but over next few years,
idea of non-racialism ANC was becoming increasingly dominant
 Those wedded to ANC politicians like Winnie Mandela and those off Robben
Island wanted to influence mind of new generation
 Congress of South African Students, COSAS (1979) – coordinated national
school protests + drew on both ideas – first leader Mogale was underground
supporter of ANC, pushing it towards that direction
 1980 – Sunday Frost launched nationwide Release Mandela campaign and
won wide support
 COSAS committed to Freedom Charter – those supporting Freedom Charter +
ANC called Charterist – not publicly as it was dangerous to declare

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 1980 – wave of new school protests against racially unequal education + closed
many black schools – started in Coloured schools (Cape Town) and spread
nationally
 Late 70s+80s –civic CForganisations founded in townships + rural communities
 against local councils, rent increased and organised for equal education and
services
o Rural areas – they challenged forced removals
o East London sweets factory strike (Wilson Rowntree) organised by SA
Allied Workers Union – SAAWU which openly declared Charterism
 Secretly recruited youths to join MK in exile
 Helped mobilise opposition in city and revive support for ANC

LIBERAL OPPOSITION IN SOUTH AFRICA

10