The Azanian Students=D5 Movement is misusing Steve Biko=D5s name for its=
own sectarian interests, argues Mamphela Ramphele
THE tensions around the Azanian Students Movement=D5s (Azasm)=20 campaign to have white teachers in schools previously set aside for black=
people replaced by unemployed black teachers, in the name of black=20 solidarity, is a chilling reminder of the divisions in our society and the=
perceived lack of a unified national strategy to heal the wounds of the pas=
It was, however, gratifying to see how strongly parents and pupils, in=20 whose name the Azasm activists were said to be acting, protested this=20 disruptive action.=20 There is no doubt that there needs to be a more visible strategic plan to m=
out a programme of action to deal with the legacy of Bantu Education as a=
priority area of concern of the Government of National Unity. There is also=
a crying need for a communication strategy to let the public know what=20 plans are being developed, so that ordinary people can have the confidence=
that their expectations are being addressed, and the time scale over which=
their needs are likely to be met. In my opinion, ordinary people have shown=
an amazing willingness to wait for social change, provided they feel that=
there is light at the end of the tunnel. Our government has yet to understa=
this and has thus left a gap for some elements to discredit our nascent=20 democracy as a sham. Azasm represents an important constituency within the Azanian People=D5s=20 Organisation family, which is most vocal in its criticisms of the new=20
The 18th anniversary of Stephen Biko=D5s death in police custody on=20 September 12 is an opportune moment to trace the continuities and=20 discontinuities between the Black Consciousness Movement (BCM) of=20 1969 to 1977, and that of the 1977 to the 1990s. The bannings of October 19 1977, following so swiftly after Biko=D5s death,=
marked a turning point in the struggle for liberation. The oppressive syste=
intensified its grip, and forced political activists to develop new strateg=
for continuing the struggle. Unity within the liberation movement =D1 the=
main mission which took Biko to Cape Town on that fateful trip =D1 became=
The emergence of the Azanian People=D5s Organisation (Asapo) signalled a=20 division between those who believed in continuing the focus on black=20 solidarity on one hand, and those who promoted a more united front=20 approach to the liberation process. It is worth recalling that the motivation for the formation of the BCM in t=
late1960s was to raise the consciousness of black people of the relationshi=
between their physical oppression by a racist system and their=20 internalisation of an inferiority complex, which constituted a psycho-socia=
dimension to their oppression. The focus was thus on freeing the self from=
psycho-social oppression through solidarity, self-reliance and self-critici=
as an important prerequisite to full liberation from all forms of oppressio=
The enemy within had to be defeated to enable one to effectively tackle the=
external institutional one. Much comment has been passed on the success=20 or failure of this process, but the BCM contributed significantly to the=20 positive affirmation of the historical agency of black people and the=20 revitalisation of the liberation struggle, including the ANC=D5s armed=20 struggle, which reaped the benefits of the energy of young activists who=20 fled into exile. The visibility of products of this era, such as Cyril Ramaphosa, Cheryl=20 Carolus, Barney Pityana, Thenjiwe Mthintso, Frank Chikane et al, in public=
office in a changing South Africa speaks louder than any words. There is general agreement that part of the process of reconstruction and=
development is about restoring the fabric of our society, which has been=20 torn apart by the brutality of our past. The place of the Black=20 Consciousness philosophy in such a healing process needs to be examined. There is, on the one hand, a denial of the extent to which the legacy of=20 racism has shaped our self perceptions, our self-images, our sense of guilt=
and hurt. Such denials fly in the face of the everyday experiences of=20 ordinary people who have voted for the new dispensation, but feel that thei=
humanity is not properly affirmed in their dealings with fellow South=20
On the other hand, there are people who refuse to acknowledge the=20 possibility of reconciliation of our divided past and the emergence of a=20 truly non-racial social order. In the minds of these advocates, South=20 Africans are doomed as prisoners of past racist practices.=20 The appropriation of the past to suit particular political-economic or soci=
cultural ends is a global and age-old practice. A changing South Africa is=
witnessing the invention and re-invention of history to explain, legitimate=
and justify claims by various social actors of their role in the anti-apart=
struggle and the process of liberation. Biko is often quoted as an authority on what political strategies in the=20 1980s and 1990s ought to be. The brandishing of his name is intended to=20 silence critics, who are cast in the role of traitors to the cause for whic=
Biko laid his life down. The dragging of the dead from their resting places=
to help win arguments often signals an unwillingness or, indeed, an=20 inability to confront the present. The dead cannot rule from the grave, nor=
should their rest be continually interrupted to settle intellectual dispute=
Azapo=D5s appropriation of Biko=D5s name in its war of position in changing=
South Africa is particularly unfortunate for a number of reasons. First, Bi=
was not a member of Azapo =D1 a post-1977 organisation =D1 and it would=20 be of academic interest only to explore whether he would have identified=20 himself with its politics had he lived. It is not insignificant that none o= f his=20 close political associates from the 1970s are members of Azapo.=20
Second, contrary to Azapo=D5s assertion, Biko was never anti-white, nor did=
he ever act against white people in the name of black solidarity. Biko made=
a clear distinction between white people and the oppressive, racist white=
system. Indeed, among his many personal and dear friends were white=20
Third, the appropriation of Biko=D5s memory and the legacy of the entire=20 BCM tradition as sectarian symbols by Azapo has inhibited, and will=20 continue to inhibit, the exploration and appreciation of the rest of the So=
African population of the relative contribution of Biko the person and the=
BCM to the struggle for liberation. The eighteenth anniversary of his death is an opportune moment to free the=
memory of this remarkable man to roam freely in the country he loved so=20 much, and for which he was prepared to die. The philosophy of Black=20 Consciousness also needs to be freed from the trappings of sectarian=20 interpretations, so that young black South Africans can learn how to come=
to terms with their blackness in a society in which, historically, that whi=
is black was and still is symbolically linked with inferiority, incompetenc=
ignorance and so on. Living in non-racial South Africa is not going to become a reality for many=
young black people until they have developed a sense of self which they=20 can live with. There is a lot of tension, anger and bewilderment underneath=
the multiracial ethos which characterises many of the organs of civil=20 society, including the church and political parties. The road to non-racialism is going to be a long and hard one. South=20 Africans need all the unifying symbolic armour they can muster to=20 negotiate the new environment. Delegitimating Biko and the BCM for=20 sectarian interests does serious injustice to his memory. It is time to let= him=20 and the BCM be. Dr Mamphela Ramphele is director of Idasa=D5s public information centre