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182-516: The Soweto uprising , also known as the Soweto riots , was a series of demonstrations and protests led by black school children in South Africa during apartheid that began on the morning of 16 June 1976. Students from various schools began to protest in the streets of the Soweto township in response to the introduction of Afrikaans , considered by many blacks as the "language of the oppressor", as

364-423: A virginity test before they are allowed to participate in a royal dance, they wear a traditional attire, including beadwork, and izigege, izinculuba and imintsha, with anklets, bracelets, necklaces, and colourful sashes. Each sash has appendages of a different colour, which denote whether or not the girl is betrothed . These young women then participate in a traditional dance bare-breasted, while each maiden carries

546-738: A buffer zone between the Cape Colony and Xhosa territory, empty of the Boers, the British to the west and the Xhosa to the east. In 1811 the fourth war began when the Xhosa took back the rest of their territory of Zuurveld, conflicts with the settlers followed. Forces under Colonel John Graham drove the Xhosa back beyond the Fish River. The fifth war , the war of Nxele, started after the Battle of Amalinde. This happened after

728-459: A central tenet of their movement While this philosophy at first generated disagreement amongst black anti-apartheid activists within South Africa, it was soon adopted by most as a positive development. As a result, there emerged a greater cohesiveness and solidarity amongst black groups in general, which in turn brought black consciousness to the forefront of the anti-apartheid struggle within South Africa. The BCM's policy of perpetually challenging

910-466: A chieftain was, the less the influence of his people. Although the leader had much power, he was not above the law. He could be criticized both by advisors as well as by his people, and compensation could be demanded. The people were divided into different clans or tribes which had their own functions, laws, and language. Xhosa people historically and traditionally based their agricultural time on reliable star systems. When these traditions are aligned with

1092-729: A civil war broke out within the Xhosa Nation when the British-allied chief Ngqika of the Right Hand House allegedly tried to overthrow the Government and become the king of the Xhosas but was defeated. Then Ngqika appealed to the British who seized 23,000 head of cattle from a Xhosa chief. The Xhosa prophet, Nxele (Makhanda) emerged, under the command of Mdushane , Ndlambe's son, led 6,000 Xhosa force attack on 22 April 1819 to Grahamstown , which

1274-483: A collaboration between political activists & religious leaders for the improvement of communities through a multitude of projects. The Trust Fund was officially established in 1975 by Steve Biko on order to fund these projects. The capital for many of these projects came from fundraising done by Father Aelred Stubbs through churches in Europe.The first funding opportunity was to assist newly released political prisoners and

1456-459: A deep understanding of agriculture and the natural world was essential for their survival. Sesotho speaking people generally recognise only two seasons called Dihla . However, names do exist aligned to all four of the traditional Western seasons. The Sotho year begins approximately in August or September, a time when their crops were planted. A ceremony of giving the first fruits in a harvest to God, or

1638-404: A defending shield. The objective is for two opposing warriors to fight each other to establish which of them is the strongest or the "Bull" (Inkunzi). An "induna" or War Captain becomes a referee for each group of warriors, keeps his crew in check and keeps order between fighters. Warriors of similar affiliation did this when engaging in combat with one another. In modern times this usually occurs as

1820-601: A discriminatory vote by only white, minority people in South Africa, that formed a racist, well resourced and a police state of an illegitimate government for nearly 50 years. In the 1930s, this irrational oppression/discrimination was already well supported by propaganda, e.g. the Carnegie Commission of Investigation on the Poor White Question in South Africa , it served as the blueprint of Apartheid. A non-racial system franchise known as Cape Qualified Franchise

2002-646: A discussion of the ANC's ability to channel and direct the popular anger.") The Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum opened in Soweto in 2002, not far from the spot that the 12-year-old Hector was shot on the 16 June 1976. The UN Security Council passed Resolution 392 , which strongly condemned the incident and the apartheid government. A week after the uprising began, US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger met South African State President Vorster in West Germany to discuss

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2184-636: A distinct black identity. In black townships during the 1980s, rivalry between black-consciousness adherents belonging to Azapo and the UDF led to violence. This deadly violence was most pronounced in Soweto. [2] [3] A balanced analysis of the results and legacy of the Black Consciousness Movement would no doubt find a variety of perspectives. A list of research resources is listed at the end of this section including Columbia University's Project on Black Consciousness and Biko's Legacy. Criticisms of

2366-499: A friendly symbolic practice part of the wedding ceremony, where warriors (participants) from the bridegroom's household welcome warriors from the bride's household. Other groups of participants may also be welcomed to join in. A traditional, bare-knuckle, combat sport of Venda people. It resembles bare-knuckle boxing . It is well documented in the Apartheid legislation , that the white minority, government regime – recreated and used

2548-795: A larger Xhosa territory between the Great Fish River and the Sundays River , the Gqunukhwebe clans of the Xhosa started to penetrate back into the Zuurveld and colonists under Barend Lindeque, allied themselves with Ndlambe, a regent of the Western Xhosas, to repel the Gqunukhwebe. The second war concluded when farms were abandoned due to panic in 1793. In 1799 the third war began with the Xhosa rebellion – discontented Khoekhoe revolted and joined with

2730-518: A long reed – the girls take care to choose only the longest and strongest reeds – and then carry them towering above their heads in a slow procession up the hill to the royal Enyokeni Palace. The procession is led by the chief Zulu princess. Food acquisition was primarily limited to types of subsistence agriculture ( slash and burn and Intensive subsistence farming), pastoral farming and engaging in hunting . Generally women were responsible for Crop agriculture and men went to herd and hunt except for

2912-458: A man ." An important theme of Black Consciousness literature was the rediscovery of the ordinary , which can be used to describe the work of Njabulo Ndebele . However, it was in poetry that the Black Consciousness Movement first found its voice. In a sense, this was a modern update of an old tradition, since several of South Africa's African languages had long traditions of performed poetry. Sipho Sempala , Mongane Serote , and Mafika Gwala led

3094-459: A mass funeral for a number of the victims, swept through Soweto and broke up other services being held, including one at Regina Mundi Roman Catholic, where tear gas canisters were thrown into a bus containing mourners. A service at Avalon Cemetery at which thousands were reported to have gathered was also dispersed with tear gas and armored vehicles. Tear gas was also reported to have been dropped from helicopters on processions and crowds. Images of

3276-553: A meeting on 13 June 1976 to discuss what should be done. Students formed an Action Committee, later known as the Soweto Students' Representative Council, which organised a mass rally for 16 June to make themselves heard. On the morning of 16 June 1976, between 3,000 and 20,000 black students walked from their schools to Orlando Stadium for a rally to protest having to learn in Afrikaans in school. Many students who later participated in

3458-488: A meeting which later on led to the foundation of the University Christian Movement (UCM). This was to become the vehicle for Black Consciousness. The BCM attacked what they saw as traditional white values, especially the "condescending" values of white liberals. They refused to engage white liberal opinion on the pros and cons of black consciousness, and emphasised the rejection of white monopoly on truth as

3640-412: A new sense of pride about being black as the movement helped to expose and critique the inferiority complex felt by many blacks at the time. The group formed Formation Schools to provide leadership seminars, and placed a great importance on decentralisation and autonomy, with no person serving as president for more than one year (although Biko was clearly the primary leader of the movement). Early leaders of

3822-408: A non-violent demonstration before police responded violently. The protest devolved into a riot. 176 people died mostly killed by the security forces [needs verification]. The government's efforts to suppress the growing movement led to the imprisonment of Steve Biko, who became a symbol of the struggle. Biko died in police custody on 12 September 1977. Steve Biko was a non-violent activist, even though

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4004-543: A peace treaty at Botshabelo. This led to the British annexation of the South African Republic (ZAR) on 12 April 1877 by Sir Theophilus Shepstone , a secretary for native affairs of Natal at that time. The Second of Sekhukhune Wars commenced in 1878 and 1879 with three British attacks that were successfully repelled but Sekhukhune was defeated in November 1879 by Sir Garnet Wolseley 's army of twelve thousand, made up of

4186-443: A race group in South Africa. These groups (blacks, whites , Coloureds and Indians) still tend to have a strong racial identities, and to classify themselves, and others, as members of these race groups and the classification continues to persist in government policy, to an extent, as a result of attempts at redress such as Black Economic Empowerment and Employment Equity . African – ethnic or racial reference in South Africa

4368-402: A resident telephoned a reporter to say, "The police are shooting left and right. They just shot an old man. They are shooting at everyone, everything". The UDF leader Frank Chikane described the police actions "as if entering enemy territory, with guns blazing." Minister of Information Louis Nel later came under fire for stating at a press conference, "Let there be no misunderstanding regarding

4550-403: A rich black outline and a vivid colour inside. There are five main colours represented: red and dark red, yellow to gold, a sky blue, green, and sometimes pink, white is always used as the background because it makes the bright patterns stand out more. The geometric patterns and shape are first drawn with the black outline and later filled in with colour. The patterns are grouped together throughout

4732-649: A series of measures that reshaped the South African society such that Europeans would take themselves as the demographic majority while being a minority group. The creation of false homelands or Bantustans (based on dividing South African Bantu language speaking peoples by ethnicity ) was a central element of this strategy, the Bantustans were eventually made nominally independent, in order to limit South African Bantu language speaking peoples citizenship to those Bantustans. The Bantustans were meant to reflect an analogy of

4914-586: A surge of recruits joined. Many white South Africans were outraged at the government's actions in Soweto. The day after the massacre, about 400 white students from the University of the Witwatersrand marched through Johannesburg's city centre in protest of the killing of children. Black workers went on strike as well and joined them as the campaign progressed. Riots also broke out in the black townships of other cities in South Africa. Student organisations directed

5096-492: A white government. What could not be achieved by men with guns was accomplished by teenagers throwing stones. While much of this later phase of the struggle was not undertaken under the formal direction of Black Consciousness groups per se, it was certainly fuelled by the spirit of Black Consciousness. Even after the end of apartheid, Black Consciousness politics live on in community development projects and " acts of dissent " staged both to bring about change and to further develop

5278-569: Is a public holiday in South Africa, named Youth Day. Internationally, 16 June is known as The Day of the African Child (DAC) . Black South African high school students in Soweto protested against the Afrikaans Medium Decree of 1974, which forced all black schools to use Afrikaans and English in equal terms as languages of instruction. The association of Afrikaans with apartheid prompted black South Africans to prefer English. Even

5460-459: Is a deprecated reference to the Khoisan people of Western Cape , South Africa, while Caffria stemming from Kafir/ Kaffir which is now an offensive racial slur to South African Bantu language speaking peoples ). Other than Portuguese cartographers calling present-day South Africa's coast Cafreria in the 16th century, another Cafraria dub directly related to the present-day South African region covered

5642-639: Is a synonym to Black South Africans . It is also used to refer to expatriate Black people from other African countries who are in South Africa. South Africa's Bantu language speaking communities are roughly classified into four main groups: Nguni , Sotho–Tswana , Vhavenda and Shangana–Tsonga , with the Nguni and Basotho-Tswana being the largest groups, as follows: Black people in South Africa were group-related and their conception of borders based on sufficient land and natural features such as rivers or mountains, which were not by any means fixed. Common among

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5824-483: Is an annual event that originates from Eswatini in the 1940s from the rule of King Sobhuza II , it is an adaptation of a much older ceremony of Umchwasho . In South Africa it was introduced by the Zulu King Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu in 1991 to be later known as Umkhosi womHlanga , as a means to encourage young Zulu girls to delay sexual activity until marriage. All girls are required to undergo

6006-416: Is armed with two long, hard sticks, one of which is used for defense and the other for offense with little or no armor used. Although Xhosa styles of fighting may use only two sticks, variations of Nguni stick-fighting throughout Southern Africa incorporate shields as part of the stick-fighting weaponry. Zulu stick-fighting uses an isikhwili , an attacking stick, and ubhoko , a defending stick or an ihawu ,

6188-611: Is no longer accepted by most historians, and the idea itself of Mfecane / Difaqane has been thoroughly disputed by many scholars, notably by Julian Cobbing . The Pedi polity under King Thulare (c. 1780–1820) was made up of land that stretched from present-day Rustenburg to the lowveld in the west and as far south as the Vaal River . Pedi power was undermined during the Mfecane , by the Ndwandwe . A period of dislocation followed, after which

6370-441: The " white minority rule " with their Apartheid system. However, Bantu is used without pejorative connotations in other parts of Africa and is still used in South Africa as the group term for the language family. Archaeological evidence suggests that Homo sapiens inhabited the region for over 100,000 years, with sedentary agriculture occurring since at least 100 CE. In the early 16th century, explorer Leo Africanus described

6552-506: The ANC had committed to an armed struggle through its military wing Umkhonto we Sizwe , but this small guerrilla army was neither able to seize and hold territory in South Africa nor to win significant concessions through its efforts. The ANC had been banned by apartheid leaders, and although the famed Freedom Charter remained in circulation in spite of attempts to censor it, for many students,

6734-581: The BBC Sound Archive that charted the long struggle against apartheid from the Sharpeville massacre of 1960 to the riots of 1976 and the murder of Steve Biko until Mandela's release from prison in 1990 and the future president's speech in which he acknowledged the debt owed by all black South Africans to the students who had given their lives in Soweto on 16 June 1976. Bantu peoples of South Africa South African Bantu-speaking peoples represent

6916-479: The Bantustan regimes chose English and an indigenous African language as official languages. In addition, English was gaining prominence as the language most often used in commerce and industry. The 1974 decree was intended to force the reverse of the decline of Afrikaans among black Africans. The Afrikaner -dominated government used the clause of the 1909 Union of South Africa Act that recognised only English and Dutch,

7098-622: The Battle of Mhlatuze River and broken up the Ndwandwe alliance, some of whom in turn began a murderous campaign against other Nguni communities, resulting in a mass migration of communities fleeing those who are regarded now as Zulu people too. Historians have postulated this as the cause of the Mfecane, a period of mass migration and war in the Southern African interior in the 19th, however this hypothesis

7280-659: The Black Review , Black Voice , Black Perspective , and Creativity in Development . On top of building schools and day cares and taking part in other social projects, the BCM through the BCP was involved in the staging of the large-scale protests and workers' strikes that gripped the nation in 1972 and 1973, especially in Durban . Indeed, in 1973 the government of South Africa began to clamp down on

7462-665: The Cafri ( Kafir 's variant) as negroes , and one of five principal population groups in Africa. He identified their geographical heartland as being located in remote Southern Africa, an area which he designated as Cafraria . European cartographers in their 16th and 17th centuries versions of southern African maps, likewise called the southern African region Cafreria. In the late 16th century, Richard Hakluyt , an English writer, in his words describes Cafars and Gawars, translate to infidels and illiterates (not to be confused with slaves called Cafari,

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7644-707: The Ginsberg Education Fund. The trust fund assisted people regardless of political affiliation. In comparison with the Black Power movement in the United States, the Black Consciousness movement felt little need to reconstruct any sort of golden cultural heritage. African linguistic and cultural traditions were alive and well in the country. Short stories published predominantly in Drum magazine had led to

7826-774: The Gregorian calendar system the Xhosa year begins in June and ends in May when the Canopus star (in Xhosa : UCanzibe ) becomes visible in the Southern hemisphere , this signaled their time for harvesting. Sesotho months (in Sotho : Likhoeli ) indicate special natural and agricultural events of Southern Africa. Traditionally and historically, being cattle breeders who lived in the semi-arid regions of Southern Africa,

8008-684: The Kingdom of Mthwakazi , the Northern Ndebele Kingdom . Sekwati was also engaged in struggles over land and labour with the invading colonialists. These disputes over land started in 1845 after the arrival of Boers and their declaring of Ohrigstad in King Sekwati's domain, in 1857 the town was incorporated into the Transvaal Republic and the Republic of Lydenburg was formed, an agreement

8190-609: The Malagasy people called Cafres and certain inhabitants of Ethiopia known as Cafars), as Bantu-speaking peoples of southern Africa in his work. Historically past names of South Africa in records largely relied upon how European explorers to Africa referred to the indigenous people, in the 16th century the whole coastal region was known in Portuguese cartography as Cafreria, and in French cartography as Coste Des Caffres , which translates to

8372-534: The Natives Land Act, 1913 , limited Black South Africans to 7% of the land in the country. In 1936, through the Native Trust and Land Act, 1936 , Union of South Africa's government planned to raise this to 13.6% but subsequently would not. The National Party (South Africa) government, the Apartheid government became the profundity action from the pre-1948 Union of South Africa's government rule, it introduced

8554-616: The black consciousness movement , aimed at assisting people towards becoming self-sufficient. They presented this to the authorities as a project run by Thenjiwe Mtintso and the Border Council of Churches. The director of the fund was South African Students Organisation (SASO) leader Mapetla Mohapi. The fund succeeded with a brick making scheme in Dimbaza close to King William's Town . Other self-reliance projects included Zanempilo Community Health Care Centre , Njwaxa Leather-Works Project and

8736-560: The hut tax imposed on black people by the South African Republic (ZAR) in the area. Mampuru II has been described as one of South Africa's first liberation icons. Potgieter Street in Pretoria and the prison where he was killed was renamed in his honour, in February 2018 a statue of Mampuru was proposed to be erected in Church Square, Pretoria where it will stand opposite one of Paul Kruger who

8918-417: The "1830s concept of Mfecane ", trying to hide and ignore the intrusion of Europeans on Bantu lands, by implying that the territory they colonized was devoid of human habitation (as a result of the Mfecane ). Modern research has disputed this historiographical narrative. By the 1860s, when Holden was propagating his theory, this turbulent period had resulted in large swathes of South African land falling under

9100-998: The "traditional" Chiefdom-ships system to be the National Party 's power reach, and even increased the Chiefdom-ships' powers over the Bantu-speaking peoples of South Africa for the Apartheid government's interests. This was after colonial regimes and subsequent South African governments before formal Apartheid , had initiated the taking of most of South African land from the indigenous peoples. Most of South African land began being made an exclusive possession of only white minority Europeans in South Africa legislatively by 1913 . Until very recently, South African Bantu-speaking communities were often divided into different clans , not around national federations, but independent groups from some hundreds to thousands of individuals. The smallest unit of

9282-639: The 1770s, Trekboers from the Cape encountered more Bantu language speakers towards the Great Fish River and frictions eventually arose between the two groups. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, there were two major areas of frictional contact between the white colonialists and the Bantu language speakers in Southern Africa. Firstly, as the Boers moved north inland from the Cape they encountered Xhosa, Basotho, and Tswana peoples. Secondly attempts at coastal settlement

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9464-481: The 1950s being called the Drum decade , and future Nobel Prize winner Nadine Gordimer was beginning to become active. The fallout from the Sharpeville massacre led to many of those artists entering exile, but the political oppression of the resistance itself led to a new growth of black South African Literature. In the 1970s, Staffrider magazine became the dominant forum for the publication of BC literature, mostly in

9646-539: The 1998 Media Awards of the One World International Broadcasting Trust and was highly commended at the 1998 Prix Italia radio awards. In May 1999, it was rebroadcast by BBC Radio 4 as The Death of Apartheid with a fresh introduction that provided added historical context for a British audience by Anthony Sampson , a former editor of Drum magazine and the author of the authorised biography (1999) of Nelson Mandela. Sampson linked extracts from

9828-514: The 2,000 British, Boers and 10,000 Swazis, Swazis joined the war in support of Mampuru II 's claim to the Bopedi (Pedi Kingdom) throne. This brought about the Pretoria Convention of 3 August 1881, which stipulated Sekhukhune's release on reasons that his capital was already burned to the ground. Sekhukhune I was murdered by assassination on alleged orders from his half brother Mampuru II due to

10010-428: The 8th frontier war was the most bitter and brutal in the series of Xhosa wars. It lasted over two years and ended in subjugation of the Ciskei Xhosa. The cattle-killing movement that began in 1856 to 1858, led Xhosa people to destroy their own means of subsistence in the belief that it would bring about salvation from colonialism through supernatural spirits. First declared by a prophetess Nongqawuse no one believed in

10192-522: The ANC did, but also from psychological transformation in the minds of black people themselves. This analysis suggested that to take power, black people had to believe in the value of their blackness. That is, if black people believed in democracy, but did not believe in their own value, they would not truly be committed to gaining power. Along these lines, Biko saw the struggle to build African consciousness as having two stages: "Psychological liberation" and "Physical liberation". While at times Biko embraced

10374-476: The ANC had disappeared. The term Black Consciousness stems from American academic W. E. B. DuBois 's evaluation of the double consciousness of black Americans, analyzing the internal conflict that black, or subordinated, people experience living in an oppressive society. Du Bois echoed Civil War era black nationalist Martin Delany 's insistence that black people take pride in their blackness as an important step in their personal liberation. This line of thought

10556-580: The ANC viewed white participation in its struggle as part of enacting the non-racial future for which it was fighting, the Black Consciousness view was that even well-intentioned white people often re-enacted the paternalism of the society in which they lived. This view held that in a profoundly racialised society, black people had to first liberate themselves and gain psychological, physical and political power for themselves before "non-racial" organisations could truly be non-racial. Biko's BCM had much in common with other left-wing African nationalist movements of

10738-513: The ANC's formal armed wing Umkhonto We Sizwe struggled to make gains, this new fearlessness became the basis of a new battle in the streets, in which larger and larger groups of ordinary and often unarmed people confronted the police and the army more and more aggressively. If the ANC could not defeat the white government's massive army with small bands of professional guerrilla fighters, it was able to eventually win power through ordinary black peoples' determination to make South Africa ungovernable by

10920-404: The Afrikaans Medium Decree. English would be the medium of instruction for general science and practical subjects (homecraft, needlework, woodwork, metalwork, art, agricultural science). Indigenous languages would be used only for religious instruction, music, and physical culture. The decree was resented deeply by the black population. Desmond Tutu , the bishop of Lesotho , stated that Afrikaans

11102-400: The Black Consciousness Media Workers Association joined the United Democratic Front (UDF). Many groups published important newsletters and journals, such as the Kwasala of the Black Consciousness Media Workers and the London-based BCMA journal Solidarity . And beyond these groups and media outlets, the Black Consciousness Movement had an extremely broad legacy, even as the movement itself

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11284-428: The Black Consciousness Movement is as an intellectual movement. The weakness of theory in and of itself to mobilise constituencies can be seen in AZAPO 's inability to win significant electoral support in modern-day South Africa. But the strength of the ideas can be seen in the diffusion of Black Consciousness language and strategy into nearly every corner of black South African politics. In fact, these ideas helped make

11466-416: The Black Consciousness Movement itself was the development of black culture, and thus black literature. The cleavages in South African society were real, and the poets and writers of the BCM saw themselves as spokespersons for blacks in the country. They refused to be beholden to proper grammar and style, searching for black aesthetics and black literary values. The attempt to awaken a black cultural identity

11648-464: The Black Consciousness Movement provided a space for the "unity of South Africa's oppressed" in a way that the students defined for themselves. The movement stirred many blacks to confront not only the legal but also the cultural and psychological realities of Apartheid, seeking "not black visibility but real black participation" in society and in political struggles. The gains this movement made were widespread across South Africa. Many black people felt

11830-432: The Black Consciousness Movement to be illegal. Following this, many members joined more concretely political and tightly structured parties such as the ANC, which used underground cells to maintain their organisational integrity despite banning by the government. And it seemed to some that the key goals of Black Consciousness had been attained, in that black identity and psychological liberation were growing. Nonetheless, in

12012-572: The Black Consciousness Movement. And as the influence of the Black Consciousness Movement itself waned, the ANC was returning to its role as the clearly leading force in the resistance to white rule. Still more former members of the Black Consciousness Movement continued to join the ANC, including Thozamile Botha from PEBCO. Others formed new groups. For instance, in 1980, Pityana formed the Black Consciousness Movement of Azania (BCMA), an avowedly Marxist group which used AZAPO as its political voice. Curtis Nkondo from AZAPO and many members of AZASO and

12194-423: The Coast of Caffres of the south Limpopo River in 1688, "Cafres or Caffres" being a word derived from an Arabic word "Kafir" (meaning "non-believer"). It was also known as the Bantu-speaking peoples' Kingdom of Mutapa (1430–1760) at its peak. During the establishment and the time throughout the 18th century Cape Colony , South Africa was referred to as The Country of the Hottentots and Caffria , ( Hottentot

12376-508: The Kat River region. The war became known as "Mlanjeni's War", the eighth war , after the prophet Mlanjeni who arose among the homeless Xhosa and preached mobilization, large numbers of Xhosa began leaving the colony's towns and mobilizing in the tribal areas. In February 1852, the British Government decided that Sir Harry Smith's inept rule had been responsible for much of the violence, and ordered him replaced by George Cathcart , who took charge in March. In February 1853 Xhosa chiefs surrendered,

12558-430: The Keiskamma by Governor Harry Smith , and these refugees supplemented the original inhabitants there, causing overpopulation and hardship. Those Xhosa who remained in the colony were moved to towns and encouraged to adopt European lifestyles. In June 1850 there followed an unusually cold winter, together with an extreme drought. It was at this time that Smith ordered the displacement of large numbers of Xhosa squatters from

12740-405: The Movement sometimes mirror similar observations of the Black Consciousness Movement in the United States. On one side, it was argued that the Movement would stagnate into black racialism, aggravate racial tensions and attract repression by the apartheid regime. Further, the objective of the Movement was to perpetuate a racial divide – apartheid for the Blacks, equivalent to that which existed under

12922-459: The National Party rule. Other detractors thought the Movement-based heavily on student idealism, but with little grassroots support among the masses, and few consistent links to the mass trade-union movement. Assessments of the movement note that it failed to achieve several of its key objectives. It did not bring down the apartheid regime, nor did its appeal to other non-white groups as "people of color" gain much traction. Its focus on blackness as

13104-474: The National Union of South African Students organization which, although it was multiracial, was still "dominated" by white students. Even as the nation's leading opposition groups like the ANC proclaimed a commitment to armed struggle, their leaders had failed to organise a credible military effort. If their commitment to revolution had inspired many, the success of the white regime in squashing it had dampened

13286-591: The Sotho–Tswana often settled in towns. The majority of Bantu languages spoken in South Africa are classified as belonging to one of two groups. The Nguni languages (such as Xhosa , Zulu , Ndebele , and Swazi ), whose speakers historically occupied mainly the eastern coastal plains, and the Sotho–Tswana languages (such as the Southern Sotho , Tswana , Northern Sotho ) and whose speakers historically lived on

13468-461: The Southern Ndebele are often the tradition carriers and the main developer of the wall art of their home. The tradition and style of house painting is passed down in the families from generation to generation by the mothers. A well-painted home shows the female of the household is a good wife and mother. She is responsible for the painting of the outside gates, front walls, side walls, and usually

13650-474: The Southern Ndebele's homes. Every generation passes it down and little changes become apparent. The most popular sporting code in South Africa and among Black South Africans is Association football with the most notable event having been hosted being the 2010 FIFA World Cup , but before such advent there are historical sports that were popular to the indigenous. It is a martial art historically practiced by teenage Nguni herdboys in South Africa. Each combatant

13832-524: The Tsonga (and partially the Mpondo). Fishing was relatively of little importance. All Bantu-speaking communities commonly had clear separation between women's and men's tasks. Essentially they consumed meat (primarily from Nguni cattle , Nguni sheep ( Zulu sheep , Pedi sheep , Swazi sheep), pigs/boars and wild game hunts), vegetables, fruits, cattle and sheep milk, water, and grain beer on occasion. They began to eat

14014-480: The Ulwazi Educational Radio Project of Johannesburg compiled an hour-long radio documentary 20 years after the uprising portraying the events of 16 June entirely from the perspective of people living in Soweto at the time. Many of the students who planned or joined the uprising, as well as other witnesses, took part, including the photographer Peter Magubane , the reporter Sophie Tema and Tim Wilson,

14196-442: The Xhosa in the Zuurveld, and started retaking land through farms occupied by colonialist, reaching Oudtshoorn by July 1799. The colonial officials made peace with the Xhosa and Khoe in Zuurveld. In 1801, Graaff-Reinet rebellion started forcing more Khoekhoe desertions and farm abandonment. The commandos could not achieve any result, so in February 1803 a peace was arranged with the Xhosas and Khoekhoes. (1811–1819): Zuurveld became

14378-575: The Xhosa, most Xhosa chiefs surrendered but the primary leadership Maqoma and Tyali retreated, a treaty was imposed and hostilities finally died down on 17 September 1836. Aftermath the sixth war , a chief believed to be actually the paramount chief or the King of the Gcaleka Xhosa by the Cape Colony , Chief Hintsa ka Khawuta , was shot and killed by George Southey, brother of Richard Southey . The era also saw

14560-477: The abuses that had been inflicted upon them. Far from crushing the movement, this led to its wider support among black and white South Africans. The Black Consciousness Movement heavily supported the protests against the policies of the apartheid regime which led to the Soweto uprising in June 1976. The protests began when it was decreed that black students be forced to learn Afrikaans , and that many secondary school classes were to be taught in that language. This

14742-477: The back door.... This poem by an unknown author has a rather confrontational look: Kaffer man, Kaffer nation Arise, arise from the kaffer Prepare yourself for war! We are about to start Steve Biko the hero of Mandlenkosi Langa 's poem: "Banned for Blackness" also calls for black resistance: Look up, black man, quit stuttering and shuffling Look up, black man, quit whining and stooping ...raise up your black fist in anger and vengeance. A main tenet of

14924-451: The black majority. Therefore, Biko's non-violence may be seen more as a tactic than a personal conviction. However, along with political action, a major component of the Black Consciousness Movement was its Black Community Programs, which included the organisation of community medical clinics, aiding entrepreneurs, and holding "consciousness" classes and adult education literacy classes. Another important component of psychological liberation

15106-491: The black person as a human being, dignified and proud of his blackness, in spite of the oppression of colonialism. The aim of this global movement of black thinkers was to build black consciousness and African consciousness, which they felt had been suppressed under colonialism . Part of the insight of the Black Consciousness Movement was in understanding that, black liberation would not only come from imagining and fighting for structural political changes, as older movements like

15288-537: The bloodshed had abated by the end of 1976, when the death toll had stood at more than 600. The continued clashes in Soweto caused economic instability. The South African rand devalued fast, and the government was plunged into a crisis. The African National Congress printed and distributed leaflets with the slogan "Free Mandela, Hang Vorster". It immediately linked the language issue to its revolutionary heritage and programme and helped to establish its leading role. (See Baruch Hirson 's "Year of Fire, Year of Ash", for

15470-518: The brutality of the Sharpeville massacre of 21 March 1960 caused many black people to embrace the idea of violent resistance to apartheid. However, although the ANC's armed wing started its campaign in 1962, no victory was in sight by the time that Steve Biko was a medical student in the late 1960s. This is because the organization was banned in 1960, preventing it from having a strong influence in South African politics for approximately two decades. During this same time, students of colour "marched out" of

15652-503: The cattle killings, this forced the remainder of the Xhosa nation to seek relief from colonialists. In 1877 the ninth of the Cape frontier war happened, known as the "Fengu-Gcaleka War", and also the "Ngcayechibi's War" — the name stemming from a headman whose feast was where the initial fight occurred that traces from the conflicts of this war. Before the early 19th century the indigenous population composition in KwaZulu-Natal region

15834-447: The colonization in the 19th century. These wall paintings done by the women was their secret code to their people, disguised to anyone but the Southern Ndebele. The vibrant symbols and expressions portray communications of personal prayers, self-identification, values, emotions, and marriage, sometimes the male initiation but the ritual was not expressed. Religions have never been a part of the Southern Ndebele's house paintings. The women of

16016-426: The complexity of the South African black political world, which can be so daunting to the newcomer or the casual observer, into a strength. As the government tried to act against this organisation or that one, people in many organisations shared the general ideas of the Black Consciousness Movement, and these ideas helped to organise action beyond any specific organisational agenda. If the leader of this group or that one

16198-690: The control of either the Boer Republics or British colonials, there was denaturalization accompanied with forced displacement and population transfer of these indigenous peoples from their land, the myth being used as the justification for the capture and settlement of Bantu-speaking peoples's land. The Union of South Africa established rural reserves in 1913 and 1936, by legislating the reduction and voiding of South African Bantu-speaking peoples's land heritage holistically , thereby land relating to Bantu-speaking peoples of South Africa legislatively became reduced into being those reserves. In this context,

16380-473: The country. Although it successfully implemented a system of comprehensive local committees to facilitate organised resistance, the BCM itself was decimated by security action taken against its leaders and social programs. By 19 June 1976, 123 key members had been banned and assigned to internal exile in remote rural districts. In 1977, all BCM related organisations were banned, many of its leaders arrested, and their social programs dismantled under provisions of

16562-429: The dialectic of apartheid South Africa as a means of transforming Black thought into rejecting prevailing opinion or mythology to attain a larger comprehension brought it into direct conflict with the full force of the security apparatus of the apartheid regime. "Black man, you are on your own" became the rallying cry as mushrooming activity committees implemented what was to become a relentless campaign of challenge to what

16744-460: The dismantlement of Stockenstrom's treaty system. This began when Governor Maitland imposed a new system of treaties on the chiefs without consulting them, while a severe drought forced desperate Xhosa to engage in cattle raids across the frontier to survive. In addition, politician Robert Godlonton continued to use his newspaper the Graham's Town Journal to agitate for 1820 Settlers to annex and settle

16926-469: The doctors refused to create the list. The Doctors recorded bullet wounds as abscesses . 1,500 armed police officers were deployed to Soweto on 17 June carrying weapons, including automatic rifles, stun guns, and carbines. They drove around in armoured vehicles with helicopters monitoring the area from above. The South African Army was also ordered on standby as a tactical measure to show military force. Crowd control methods used by South African police at

17108-430: The earliest intact evidence of this art stretches back from the c. 1400s. Southern Ndebele prior and during the 18th century primarily used their expressive symbols for communication, it is believed that these paintings are a synthesis of historical Nguni design traditions and Northern Sotho ditema or litema tradition(s). They also began to stand for their continuity and cultural resistance to their circumstances during

17290-525: The early Portuguese sailors Vasco Da Gama and Bartholomew Dias reached the Cape of Good Hope in the late 15th century  CE , a number of Khoe language speakers were found living there and the indigenous population around the Cape primarily consisted of Khoisan groups. Following the establishment of the Dutch Cape Colony , European settlers began arriving in Southern Africa in substantial numbers. Around

17472-501: The early years of the struggle. This is seen through the non-racial values that were successfully propagated by the political ancestors of the African National Congress , and that came to reside at the centre of South Africa's post-Apartheid Constitution . The year 1994 saw the first democratic election in South Africa , the majority of the population, Black South Africans, participating in political national elections for

17654-733: The energy and anger of the youth toward political resistance. Students in Thembisa organised a successful and nonviolent solidarity march, but a similar protest held in Kagiso led to police stopping a group of participants, forcing them to retreat, and killing at least five people while reinforcements were awaited. The violence died down only on 18 June. The University of Zululand 's records and administration buildings were set ablaze, and 33 people died in incidents in Port Elizabeth in August. In Cape Town , 92 people died between August and September. Most of

17836-501: The existence of the Saan (hunter-gatherers) and the Khoikhoi (pastoralists) in southern Africans, who roamed much of the southwestern region of Africa for millenniums before the invasions, colonialism of Europeans. Particularly right-wing nationalists of European descent maintain that the theory still holds true, despite there being even more historical and archaeological evidence contrary to

18018-439: The existing dispute to the throne, as Mampuru II had been ousted by Sekhukhune before being reinstalled as King of Bopedi by the British after the British invasion of Bopedi. King Mampuru II was then arrested and executed by the treaty restored Boer South African Republic (ZAR) on charges of public violence, revolt and the murder of his half brother. The arrest was also well claimed by others to be because of Mampuru's opposition to

18200-432: The figure to 12. The South African Information Bureau claimed that police opened fire on two occasions, one after a grenade had been tossed at police and wounded four policemen. Residents said that the fighting started when local officials sought to evict tenants who had been refusing to pay their rents for two months as part of a mass boycott. Security forces were said to have initially used tear gas to disperse crowds. Later,

18382-446: The first time in what ceremonially ended the Apartheid era and also being the first time a political party in South Africa getting legitimately elected as government. The day was ideally hailed as Freedom day and the beginning of progress to the conclusion of Black South Africans existential struggle that began with European colonization in the South African region. As a consequence of Apartheid policies, black Africans are regarded as

18564-473: The form of cattle, to the Maroteng house. The Apartheid government retained and continued on from 1948 with even more officiation and policing on racial oppression of Bantu-speaking peoples of South Africa for 48 years. Decades before the inception of Apartheid there was a Rand Rebellion uprising in 1922 which eventually became an open rebellion against the state, it was against mining companies whose efforts at

18746-434: The form of poetry and short stories. Book clubs, youth associations, and clandestine street-to-street exchange became popular. Various authors explored the Soweto riots in novels, including Miriam Tlali , Mothobi Mutloatse and Mbulelo Mzamane . But the most compelling force in Black Consciousness prose was the short story, now adapted to teach political morals. Mtutuzeli Matshoba famously wrote, " Do not say to me that I am

18928-675: The formation of AZAPO in 1978, its chairman, Ishmael Mkhabela , and secretary, Lybon Mabasa were detained under the Terrorism Act. In the following years, other groups sharing Black Consciousness principles formed, including the Congress of South African Students (COSAS), Azanian Student Organisation (AZASO) and the Port Elizabeth Black Civic Organisation (PEBCO). While many of these organisations still exist in some form, some evolved and could no longer be called parts of

19110-424: The gods who are believed to be responsible for the abundance of food in Southern Africa. Traditionally it marked a time of prosperity, in the good harvests experienced after the seasonal agricultural period. It also brought people together, unifying them at a time of merry making and quashing fears of famine. In South Africa the tradition is practiced by Zulu people of KwaZulu-Natal as Umkhosi Wokweshwama . Umhlanga

19292-434: The interior of her home. One thing that has changed since the beginning of the paintings and the present-day wall art is their styles. In the late 1960s, the new style was evident, what was once a finger-painted creation was now created using bundled twigs with feathers as brushes. The walls are still originally whitewashed, but the outlines and colours have significantly changed. The patterns and symbols can be seen today with

19474-480: The interior plateau. The two language groups differ in certain key aspects (especially in the sound systems), with the rest of South African Bantu languages ( Venda and Tsonga ) showing even more unique aspects. Significant number of Black South Africans are native multilingual , speaking two or more languages as their first language , mainly from languages of South Africa. A constructed script of featural writing system and syllabary , whose developments in 2010

19656-545: The land that had been returned to the Xhosa after the previous war. The war concluded after the announcement of the annexation of the country between the Keiskamma and the Kei rivers to the British crown by order of Lord Glenelg. It was not, however, incorporated with the Cape Colony, but made a crown dependency under the name of British Kaffraria Colony with King William's Town as its capital. Large numbers of Xhosa were displaced across

19838-478: The landscape as presented by a Dutch cartographer Willem Blaeu 's work, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (1635). The later derivative Kaffraria (obsolete name) became a reference to only the present day Eastern Cape . Based on prehistorical archaeological evidence of pastoralism and farming in southern Africa, settlements forming part of countless ancient settlements remains related to Bantu language speaking peoples of Africa, specifically those from sites located in

20020-406: The last brother died. Next was the eldest son of the original chieftain; then the oldest one of the brothers as the leader. The chief was surrounded with a number of trusted friends or advisors, usually relatives like uncles and brothers, rather than influential headmen or personal friends. The degree of the democracy depended on the strength of the chieftain . The more powerful and more influential

20202-534: The latter being replaced by Afrikaans in 1925, as official languages as its pretext. All schools had to provide instruction in both Afrikaans and English as languages, but white South African students learned other subjects in their home language . The Regional Director of Bantu Education (Northern Transvaal Region), J.G. Erasmus, told Circuit Inspectors and Principals of Schools that from 1 January 1975, Afrikaans had to be used for mathematics, arithmetic, and social studies from standard five (7th grade), according to

20384-408: The major organising principle was very much downplayed by Nelson Mandela and his successors who to the contrary emphasised the multi-racial balance needed for the post-apartheid nation. The community programs fostered by the movement were very small in scope and were subordinated to the demands of protest and indoctrination. Its leadership and structure was essentially liquidated, and it failed to bridge

20566-498: The majority of migrant non indigenous ethno-racial groups of South Africa. Occasionally grouped as Bantu , the term itself is derived from the English word "people", common to many of the Bantu languages . The Oxford Dictionary of South African English describes "Bantu", when used in a contemporary usage or racial context as "obsolescent and offensive", because of its strong association with

20748-541: The march, only to find out that police had barricaded the road along their intended route. The leader of the action committee asked the crowd not to provoke the police, and the march continued on another route and eventually ended up near Orlando High School. The crowd of between 3,000 and 10,000 students made its way towards the area of the school. Students sang and waved placards with slogans such as, "Down with Afrikaans", "Viva Azania " and "If we must do Afrikaans, Vorster must do Zulu ". The police set their trained dog on

20930-1038: The medium of instruction among the Black people as well?... No, I have not consulted them and I am not going to consult them. I have consulted the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa...." A change in language of instruction forced the students to focus on understanding the language, instead of the subject material. That made critical analysis of the content difficult and discouraged critical thinking. The resentment grew until 30 April 1976, when children at Orlando West Junior School in Soweto went on strike and refused to go to school. Their rebellion then spread to many other schools in Soweto. Black South African students protested because they believed that they deserved to be treated and taught like white South Africans. Also, very few people in Soweto spoke Afrikaans. A student from Morris Isaacson High School , Teboho "Tsietsi" Mashinini , proposed

21112-515: The medium of instruction in black schools. It is estimated that 20,000 students took part in the protests. They were met with fierce police brutality , and many were shot and killed. The number of pupils killed in the uprising is usually estimated as 176, but some sources estimate as many as 700 fatalities. The riots were a key moment in the fight against apartheid as it sparked renewed opposition against apartheid in South Africa both domestically and internationally. In remembrance of these events, 16 June

21294-605: The mid-1960s out of the political vacuum created by the jailing and banning of the African National Congress and Pan Africanist Congress leadership after the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960. The BCM represented a social movement for political consciousness . [Black Consciousness'] origins were deeply rooted in Christianity. In 1966, the Anglican Church under the incumbent, Archbishop Robert Selby Taylor , convened

21476-721: The modern-day Republic of South Africa, caused the First of the Sekhukhune Wars when he declared war against the Bapedi Kingdom, the Burgers' army was defeated on 1 August 1876. The Burgers' government later hired the Lydenburg Volunteer Corps commanded by a German mercenary Conrad von Schlickmann, they were repelled and Conrad was killed in later battles. On 16 February 1877, the two parties, mediated by Alexander Merensky , signed

21658-518: The months following Biko's death, activists continued to hold meetings to discuss resistance. Along with members of the BCM, a new generation of activists who had been inspired by the Soweto riots and Biko's death were present, including Bishop Desmond Tutu . Among the organisations that formed in these meetings to carry the torch of Black Consciousness was the Azanian People's Organisation (AZAPO), which persists to this day. Almost immediately after

21840-431: The movement he helped start eventually took up violent resistance. White newspaper editor Donald Woods supported the movement and Biko, whom he had befriended, by leaving South Africa and exposing the truth behind Biko's death at the hands of police by publishing the book Biko . One month after Biko's death, on 19 October 1977, now known as "Black Wednesday" the South African government declared 19 groups associated with

22022-615: The movement such as Bennie Khoapa , Barney Pityana , Mapetla Mohapi , and Mamphela Ramphele joined Biko in establishing the Black Community Programmes (BCP) in 1970 as self-help groups for black communities, forming out of the South African Council of Churches and the Christian Institute . Their approach to development was strongly influenced by Paulo Freire . They also published various journals, including

22204-577: The movement, claiming that their ideas of black development were treasonous, and virtually the entire leadership of SASO and BCP were banned. In late August and September 1974, after holding rallies in support of the FRELIMO government which had taken power in Mozambique , many leaders of the BCM were arrested under the Terrorism Act and the Riotous Assemblies Act, 1956 . Arrests under these laws allowed

22386-621: The myth, for example the Lydenburg heads , the Bantu-speaking peoples' Kingdom of Mapungubwe (c.1075–c.1220) and Leo Africanus 's 1526  CE account of Bantu-speaking peoples of the region. The longest running military action from the period of colonialism in Africa , which saw a series of nine wars during 1779 till 1879. Involving the Xhosa Kingdom and the British Empire , mainly in

22568-505: The new multi-racial South Africa. According to Pallo Jordan "The great tragedy of the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) was that it was never able to gather and retain much support beyond a narrow band of African intellectuals." Donald Woods , a white South African liberal, was close friends with Biko and a number of other senior figures in the BCM, but nevertheless expressed concern about what he regarded as "the unavoidably racist aspects of Black Consciousness". The Zimele Trust Fund

22750-494: The newly implemented Internal Security Amendment Act. On 12 September 1977, its banned National Leader, Steve Bantu Biko died from injuries that resulted from brutal assault while in the custody of the South African Police . The Black Consciousness Movement started to develop during the late 1960s, and was led by Steve Biko , Mamphela Ramphele , and Barney Pityana . During this period, which overlapped with apartheid,

22932-470: The non-violent tactics of Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. , this was not because Biko fully embraced their spiritually-based philosophies of non-violence. Rather, Biko knew that for his struggle to give rise to physical liberation, it was necessary that it exist within the political and military realities of the apartheid regime, in which the armed power of the white government outmatched that of

23114-405: The official outposts of the state. The violence had abated by nightfall. Police vans and armoured vehicles patrolled the streets throughout the night. Emergency clinics were swamped with injured and bloody children. The police requested for the hospital to provide a list of all victims with bullet wounds to prosecute them for rioting. The hospital administrator passed the request to the doctors, but

23296-464: The policy of apartheid, freedom of speech , and more rights for South African blacks who were oppressed by the white apartheid regime, but also black pride and a readiness to make blackness, rather than simple liberal democracy, the rallying point of unapologetically black organisations. Importantly, the group defined black to include other "people of color" in South Africa, most notably the large number of South Africans of Indian descent. In this way,

23478-410: The political organizational structure was the household, or kraal , consisting of a man, woman or women, and their children, as well as other relatives living in the same household. The man was the head of the household and often had many wives, and was the family's primary representative. The household and close relations generally played an important role. Households which lived in the same valley or on

23660-569: The polity was re-stabilized under Thulare's son Sekwati. Sekwati succeeded King Thulare as paramount chief of the Bapedi in the northern Transvaal ( Limpopo ). He engaged in maintaining his domain from other indigenous polities, mostly in frequent conflict with Mzilikazi 's army who then had established and residing in Mhlahlandlela (present day Centurion, Gauteng ) after retreating King Sigidi kaSenzagakhona 's forces, before they moved on to found

23842-463: The present day South African region of Eastern Cape. (1779–1803): After European invasion of the present day Western Cape, South Africa region, colonialist's frontiersmen in the 18th century started encroaching the land farther inland present-day South African region, encountering more of the indigenous population, conflict of land and cattle grew sparking the first war that set to drive Xhosa people out of Zuurveld by 1781. The second war involved

24024-411: The prophecy and it was considered absurdity, but more and more people started believing Nongqawuse. The cult grew and built up momentum, sweeping across the eastern Cape. The return of the ancestors was predicted to occur on 18 February 1857, when the day came, the Xhosa nation waited en masse for the momentous events to occur, only to be bitterly disappointed. Famine set in and disease was also spread from

24206-598: The protest arrived at schools that morning without prior knowledge of the protest but agreed to become involved. The protest was planned by the Soweto Students' Representative Council's (SSRC) Action Committee, with support from the wider Black Consciousness Movement . Teachers in Soweto also supported the march after the Action Committee emphasized good discipline and peaceful actions. Tsietsi Mashinini led students from Morris Isaacson High School to join up with others who walked from Naledi High School . The students began

24388-450: The protesters, who responded by killing it. The police then began to shoot directly at the children. Among the first students to be shot dead were the 15-year-old Hastings Ndlovu and the 12-year-old Hector Pieterson , who were shot at Orlando West High School. The photographer Sam Nzima took a photograph of a dying Hector Pieterson as he was carried away by Mbuyisa Makhubo and accompanied by his sister, Antoinette Peterson, which became

24570-408: The real issue at stake. It is not the rental issue, it is not the presence of security forces in black residential areas, it is not certain remembrance days, it is not school programs. The violent overthrow of the South African state is the issue." As retaliation, a black town councilor was killed the following day, hacked to death by a mob. On September 4, police filled a stadium with tear gas to stop

24752-490: The reality of black peoples lives in order to portray the broad spectrum of problems black people faced. Black Viewpoint was a literature addition to the Black Community Programmes. The editorial wrote reviews and gave feedback on the different black Community Programmes that were taking place such as the Zanempilo Community Health Care Centre . Black Review was banned prior to Biko's banning. This

24934-475: The return of the Xhosa territories did not dissipate Xhosa frustration toward the inability to provide for themselves, hence the Xhosa resorted to frontier cattle-raiding. In response on 11 December 1834, a Cape government commando party killed a chief of high rank, incensing the Xhosa army of 10,000 led by Maqoma , that swept across the frontier into the Cape Colony. A string of defeats by Sir Benjamin d'Urban combining forces under Colonel Sir Harry Smith stopped

25116-422: The riots spread all over the world and shocked millions. The photograph of Hector Pieterson's dead body, as captured by the photojournalist Sam Nzima , caused outrage and brought down international condemnation on the apartheid government. The Soweto riots were depicted in the 1987 film by the director Richard Attenborough , Cry Freedom and in the 1992 musical film Sarafina! and the musical production of

25298-509: The rise and fall of Stockenström's treaty system . The seventh war became a war between the imperial British troops collaborating with the mixed-race "Burgher forces", which were mainly Khoi, Fengu , British settlers and Boer commandos, against the Ngcika assisted by the Ndlambe and Thembu . Tension had been simmering between colonialist farmers and Xhosa raiders, on both sides of the frontier since

25480-399: The same hill in a village were also an organizational unit, managed by a sub-chief. Chiefdom -ship was largely hereditary , although chiefs were often replaced when not effective. In most clans the eldest son inherited the office of his father. In some clans the office was left to the oldest brother of the deceased chief, and after his death again the next oldest brother. This repeated until

25662-547: The same name by Mbongeni Ngema . The riots also inspired the novel A Dry White Season by Andre Brink and a 1989 movie of the same title . The uprising also featured in the 2003 film Stander about the notorious bank robber and former police captain Andre Stander . The lyrics of the song " Soweto Blues " by Hugh Masekela and Miriam Makeba describe the Soweto Uprising and the children's part in it. In June 1996,

25844-471: The same time as the Europeans had begun to move northwards from the Cape settlement, despite there being no historical or archaeological evidence to support this theory. This theory originated in Southern Africa during the period of Colonisation of Africa , historians have noted that this theory had already gained currency among Europeans by the mid-1840s. Its later alternative form of note were conformed around

26026-660: The situation in Rhodesia , but the Soweto uprising did not feature in the discussions. Kissinger and Vorster met again in Pretoria in September 1976, with students in Soweto and elsewhere protesting his visit and being fired on by police. On the night of 26 August 1986, the police opened fire on a demonstration in the White City locale. They killed between 20 and 25 people, possibly more, and wounded over 60. The South African government officially claimed that 11 people had died but later raised

26208-426: The southernmost region inside the borders of what is now Mozambique take importance to this article for being the closest, oldest archaeological evidence by distance to the South African border thus far related to South African Bantu–speaking peoples and dated 354–68  BCE . Ancient settlements remains found thus far similarly based on pastoralism and farming within South Africa were dated 249–370  CE . When

26390-432: The spirits of many. It was in this context that black students, Biko most notable among them, began critiquing the liberal whites with whom they worked in anti-apartheid student groups, as well as the official non-racialism of the ANC. They saw progress towards power as requiring the development of black power distinct from supposedly "non-racial groups". This new Black Consciousness Movement not only called for resistance to

26572-515: The staple product of maize mid-18th century (introduced from the Americas by Portuguese in the late 17th century via the East African coast), it became favoured for its productiveness which was more than the grains of South African native grasses. There were a number of taboos regarding the consumption of meat. The well known, no meat of dogs, apes, crocodiles or snakes could be eaten. Likewise taboo

26754-480: The start up costs income gathering families. This assisted in economically restabilising the families of those with "political" criminal records as many communities branded these activists as trouble makers, making it difficult for them to secure employment. The Trust fund also supported families through bursaries and scholarships for activists children as activists struggled to secure bursaries and scholarships for their children due to stigmatisation. The trust, much like

26936-407: The suspension of the doctrine of habeas corpus , and many of those arrested were not formally charged until the next year, resulting in the arrest of the "Pretoria Twelve" and conviction of the " SASO nine ", which included Aubrey Mokoape and Patrick Lekota . These were the most prominent among various public trials that gave a forum for members of the BCM to explain their philosophy and to describe

27118-443: The symbol of the Soweto uprising. The police attacks on the demonstrators continued, and 23 people died on the first day in Soweto. Among them was Melville Edelstein . He was stoned to death by the mob and left with a sign around his neck proclaiming, "Beware Afrikaans is the most dangerous drug for our future". The violence escalated, as bottle stores and beer halls, seen as outposts of the apartheid government, were targeted, as were

27300-420: The time included mainly dispersement techniques. Hundreds of people were arrested, including activist Connie Mofokeng , who was tortured for information. The number of people who died is usually given as 176, with estimates up to 700. The original government figure claimed only 23 students were killed, with the number of wounded estimated to be over 1,000 people. Black students also killed two white people during

27482-463: The time, due to economic situations, were nullifying irrational oppression of natives in the work place. The pogroms and slogans used in the uprising against blacks by whites articulated that irrationally oppressing Bantu-speaking peoples of South Africa was much more a social movement in European communities in the 20th century South Africa, before ever becoming government in 1948 which happened through

27664-471: The time, such as Amílcar Cabral 's PAIGC and Huey Newton 's Black Panther Party . In 1959, just leading up to this period, the National Party (NP) established universities that were exclusively for black students. This action aligned with the Party's goal of ensuring racial segregation in all educational systems. Although the ANC and others opposed to apartheid had initially focused on non-violent campaigns,

27846-499: The tribal gap in any *large-scale* way, although certainly small groups and individuals collaborated across tribes. After much blood shed and property destroyed, critics charged that the Movement did nothing more than raise "awareness" of some issues, while accomplishing little in the way of sustained mass organisation, or of practical benefit for the masses. Some detractors also assert that Black consciousness ideas are out-dated, hindering

28028-457: The two powerful divisions, the Nguni and the Sotho–Tswana, are patrilineal societies, in which the leaders formed the socio-political units. Similarly, food acquisition was by pastoralism, agriculture, and hunting. The most important differences are the strongly deviating languages, although both are Southern Bantu languages , and the different settlement types and relationships. In the Nguni settlements villages were usually widely scattered, whereas

28210-419: The uprising, one of them Melville Edelstein . The clashes occurred while the South African government was being forced to "transform" apartheid in international eyes towards a more "benign" form. In October 1976, Transkei , the first Bantustan , was proclaimed "independent" by the government. That attempt to showcase supposed South African "commitment" to self-determination backfired, however, since Transkei

28392-625: The various ethnic "-stans" of Western and Central Asia such as the Kafiristan , Pakistan , etc. But in South Africa, the association with Apartheid discredited the term, and the Apartheid government shifted to the politically appealing but historically deceptive term "ethnic homelands". Meanwhile, the Anti-Apartheid Movement persisted in calling the areas Bantustans, to actively protest the Apartheid governments' political illegitimacy. The fallacy of The Empty Land Myth also completely omits

28574-407: The walls in terms of their basic design structure. Creating the right tools to allow accuracy and freedom becomes a difficult task. The tools can't restrict the painter from creating her art. They have to have tools for the large geometric shapes of flat colour and small brushes for the very small areas, outlines, and sacks. The advancement of tools has allowed faster and more complex designs throughout

28756-417: The way, although Sempala turned to prose after Soweto. Serote wrote from exile of his internalisation of the struggles, while Gwala's work was informed and inspired by the difficulty of life in his home township of Mpumalanga near Durban . These forerunners inspired a myriad of followers, most notably poet-performance artist Ingoapele Madingoane . Adam Small is noted as a Coloured South African writer who

28938-494: The white doctor who pronounced Pieterson dead in Baragwanath Hospital. The programme was broadcast on SABC and on a number of local radio stations throughout South Africa. The following year, BBC Radio 4 and BBC World Service broadcast a revised version containing fresh interviews, The Day Apartheid Died . The programme was runner-up at the 1998 European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) TV & Radio Awards and also at

29120-640: Was "the language of the oppressor." Also, teacher organizations, such as the African Teachers Association of South Africa, objected to the decree. Punt Janson, the Deputy Minister of Bantu Education, was quoted as saying: "A Black man may be trained to work on a farm or in a factory. He may work for an employer who is either English-speaking or Afrikaans-speaking and the man who has to give him instructions may be either English-speaking or Afrikaans-speaking. Why should we now start quarrelling about

29302-455: Was President of the British's South African Republic (ZAR) at the time of Mampuru's execution. The Pedi paramountcy's power was also cemented by the fact that chiefs of subordinate villages, or kgoro, take their principal wives from the ruling house. This system of cousin marriage resulted in the perpetuation of marriage links between the ruling house and the subordinate groups, and involved the payment of inflated bohadi or bride wealth, mostly in

29484-547: Was a compilation of essays that were written by black people for black people. The author was Njabulo Ndebele and was published in 1972 by the Spros-Cas Black Community Programmes. Steve Biko wrote the introduction. It includes "Black Development Day" written by Njabulo Ndebele , "New Day" written by C. M. C Ndamse, "Kwa-Zulu Development" written by Chief M. G Buthelezi and "The New Black" written by Bennie A. Khoapa . Another similar magazine publication

29666-686: Was a trust fund created by the black consciousness movement to fund black community programmes (BCP's). Many of the community programmes that were funded were located in rural areas in the Eastern Cape and some in Kwa-Zulu Natal . In May 1972, the Black Consciousness movement sponsored a church conference which aimed at creating a more "black orientated" perspective of the Christian gospel. Church organizations assisted BCPs and many BCPs assisted religious organisations to run church programmes. This resulted in

29848-517: Was adhered to from year 1853 in the Cape Colony and the early years of the Cape Province which was later gradually restricted, and eventually abolished, under various National Party and United Party governments. It qualified practice of a local system of multi-racial suffrage . The early Cape constitution which later became known as the Cape Liberal tradition. When the Cape's political system

30030-567: Was also reflected in the Pan-Africanist , Marcus Garvey , as well as Harlem Renaissance philosopher Alain Locke and in the salons of the sisters, Paulette and Jane Nardal in Paris. Biko's understanding of these thinkers was further shaped through the lens of postcolonial thinkers such as Frantz Fanon , Léopold Senghor , and Aimé Césaire . Biko reflects the concern for the existential struggle of

30212-413: Was another encroachment against the black population, which generally spoke indigenous languages like Zulu and Xhosa at home, and saw English as offering more prospects for mobility and economic self-sufficiency than did Afrikaans . And the notion that Afrikaans was to define the national identity stood directly against the BCM principle of the development of a unique black identity. The protest began as

30394-479: Was held by 350 troops repulsed Nxele. Nxele was captured and imprisoned on Robben Island . The British pushed the Xhosa further east beyond the Fish River to the Keiskamma River . The resulting empty territory was designated as a buffer zone for loyal Africans' settlements. It came to be known as the "Ceded Territories". (1834–1879): The Xhosa remained expelled from their territory dubbed "Ceded Territories", that

30576-470: Was in competition with the Ndwandwe clan for domination of the northern part of modern-day KwaZulu-Natal. After the death of the Mthethwa king Dingiswayo around 1818, at the hands of Zwide , the king of the Ndwandwe, Shaka assumed leadership of the entire Mthethwa alliance. The alliance under his leadership survived Zwide's first assault at the Battle of Gqokli Hill . Within two years he had defeated Zwide at

30758-409: Was inspired by ancient ideographic traditions of the Southern African region, and its parent systems being Amabheqe ideographs and Litema . It was developed for siNtu . The origins of Litema ornamental and mural art of Southern Africa stretches centuries back in time, while excavations at Sotho-Tswana archaeological sites have revealed hut floors that have survived the elements for 1500 years,

30940-515: Was internationally derided as a puppet state . For the government, the uprising marked the most fundamental challenge yet to apartheid. The economic and political instability that it caused was heightened by the strengthening international boycott. It would be 14 years before Nelson Mandela was released, but the state could never restore the relative peace and social stability of the early 1970s, as black resistance grew. The liberation movements that were either weakened or exiled gained new momentum as

31122-489: Was involved in the Black Consciousness Movement and wrote works in Afrikaans and English dealing with racial discrimination. James Mathews was a part of the Drum decade who was especially influential to the Black Consciousness Movement. This poem gives an idea of the frustrations that blacks felt under apartheid: Freedom's child You have been denied too long Fill your lungs and cry rage Step forward and take your rightful place You are not going to grow up knocking at

31304-543: Was made by the British in two regions now known as the Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal . The history of the Bantu-speaking peoples from South Africa has in the past been misunderstood due to the deliberate spreading of false narratives such as The Empty Land Myth . First published by W.A. Holden in the 1860s, this doctrine claims that South Africa had mostly been an unsettled region and that Bantu-speaking peoples had begun to migrate southwards from present day Zimbabwe at

31486-620: Was no longer represented by a single organisation. While the Black Consciousness Movement itself spawned an array of smaller groups, many people who came of age as activists in the Black Consciousness Movement did not join them. Instead, they joined other organisations, including the ANC, the Unity Movement , the Pan Africanist Congress , the United Democratic Front and trade and civic unions. The most lasting legacy of

31668-500: Was primarily by many different, largely Nguni-speaking clans and influenced by the two powers of the Mthethwa and the Ndwandwe . In 1816, Shaka acceded to the Zulu throne (at that stage the Zulu was merely one of the many clans). Within a relatively short period of time he had conquered his neighbouring clans and had forged the Zulu into the most important ally of the large Mthethwa clan, which

31850-579: Was reached that the Steelpoort River was the border between the Pedi and the Republic. The Pedi were well equipped for waging war though, as Sekwati and his heir, Sekhukhune I were able to procure firearms, mostly through migrant labour from the Kimberley diamond fields and as far as Port Elizabeth . On 16 May 1876, Thomas François Burgers , president of the South African Republic (ZAR), not to be confused with

32032-486: Was severely weakened, the movement survived as an increasingly liberal, local opposition against the Apartheid government of the National Party. In the fight against Apartheid, African majority took the lead in the struggle, as effective allies the remaining Cape liberals against the growing National Party, engaged to a degree in collaboration and exchange of ideas with the growing African liberation movements, especially in

32214-506: Was the meat of some birds, like owls, crows and vultures, as well as the flesh of certain totem animals. The mopane worms are traditionally popular amongst the Tswana, Venda, Southern Ndebele, Northern Sotho and Tsonga people, though they have been successfully commercialized. Black Consciousness Movement The Black Consciousness Movement ( BCM ) was a grassroots anti- apartheid activist movement that emerged in South Africa in

32396-412: Was then referred to by the BCM as "the system". It eventually sparked a confrontation on 16 June 1976 in the Soweto uprising , when Black children marched to protest both linguistic imperialism and coercive Afrikaans medium education in the townships . In response, 176 of the child protesters were fatally shot by South African security forces and both outrage and unrest spread like wildfire throughout

32578-478: Was then settled by Europeans and other African peoples. They were also subjected to territorial expansions from other Africans that were themselves under pressure from the expanding Zulu Kingdom. Nevertheless, the frontier region was seeing increasing amounts of multi-racial issues because Africans and Europeans living and trading throughout the frontier region. The indecision by the Cape Government's policy towards

32760-556: Was thrown into prison, nonetheless, more and more black South Africans agreed on the importance of black leadership and active resistance. Partly as a result, the difficult goal of unity in struggle became more and more realised through the late 1970s and 1980s. Biko and the legacy of the Black Consciousness Movement helped give the resistance a culture of fearlessness. And its emphasis on individual psychological pride helped ordinary people realise they could not wait for distant leaders (who were often exiled or in prison) to liberate them. As

32942-445: Was thus inextricably tied up with the development of black literature. This paper was consisted of an analysis of political trends. It was edited by Steve Biko and published in 1972. The editorial was created for the purposes of protecting the interests of black people. Members of the BCM found that there were very few publications in South Africa that were written, directed and produced by black writers. The articles were juxtaposed to

33124-500: Was to embrace blackness by insisting that black people lead movements of black liberation. This meant rejecting the fervent " non-racialism " of the ANC in favour of asking whites to understand and support, but not to take leadership in, the Black Consciousness Movement. A parallel can be seen in the United States, where student leaders of later phases of SNCC , and black nationalists such as Malcolm X , rejected white participation in organisations that intended to build black power . While

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