Mamphela Ramphele has trod a path from black =20 conciousness activist in the 1970s to the top of the =20 academic and corporate world in the 1990s. She is =20 tipped as the next vice-chancellor of the University of =20 Cape Town, sits on the board of Anglo American and =20 helps run the Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund. Over the =20 next four weeks, M&G will be running extracts from A =20 Life, the autobiography of this remarkable woman=20
Part I
THE year 1970 marked the real turning point in the =20 maturation of the Black Consciousness Movement. Steve =20 Biko and Barney Pityana were participants in a seminar =20 of student leaders of all colours and political =20 persuasions, held at the Abe Bailey Institute (now the =20 Centre for Conflict Resolution) at the University of =20 Cape Town during the 1969 December holidays. =20
In the preparation for their presentation, a lot of =20 their own thoughts were clarified, and their papers =20 reflected a growing sense of confidence in the =20 importance of their mission as student leaders and the =20 role they were to play as liberators of their own =20 people. The conference proceedings were later published =20 by David Philip under the title Student Perspectives on =20 South Africa (Cape Town, 1972).=20
Maturation brought about a growing sense of the need =20 for self-definition. Common terms of the time, such as =20 “non-white” and “non-European” exemplified the extent =20 to which both blacks and whites in South Africa had =20 accepted European “whiteness” as the golden standard =20 against which all else was to be measured.=20
Steve Biko articulated his thoughts on this issue in =20 the regular feature he contributed in the South African =20 Students’ Organisation (Saso) Newsletter with the title =20 I Write What I Like, under the pseudonym of Frank Talk, =20 both defiant symbolic statements by the author. =20
The term “black” was adopted and defined as referring =20 to “those who are politically, socially and =20 economically discriminated against, and identify =20 themselves as such”. It was thus possible for one to =20 remain a “non-white” by virtue of failure to identify =20 with the struggle for liberation — a rather =20 interesting twist of logic which shows up the =20 ridiculousness of race definitions and exposes their =20 perilous political foundations. =20
But the 1970s was the decade when blacks of necessity =20 had to redefine race politics as a first step away from =20 their entrapment and disempowerment by centuries of =20 racism. The demands of philosophical precision were not =20 allowed to interfere with this self-definition.=20
Aubrey Mokoape, Keith Mokoape’s elder brother, used to =20 engage Biko in serious all-night discussions. Mokoape’s =20 sympathies lay with the Pan Africanist Congress, with =20 which he had cut his political teeth as a high-school =20 student. Biko enjoyed the debates he held with Mokoape. =20 He found him challenging and intellectually =20 stimulating, forcing him to clarify his own thoughts on =20 a number of questions in his espousal of the Black =20 Consciousness philosophy. =20
Mokoape argued from his Africanist perspective against =20 the inclusion of “coloureds” and Indians in the Black =20 Consciousness Movement. As he became more and more =20 liberated by increasing levels of alcohol, he would =20 argue that Indians should be reminded that there was a =20 ship leaving Durban harbour every Thursday for India, =20 which they should be encouraged to make use of. And =20 what about the “coloureds”, someone would ask good-=20 naturedly. He would respond good-humouredly in the =20 style of some of the 1960s Pan Africanist demagogues: =20 “The coloureds — eh — the — eh –coloureds — =20
A number of African students shared this view and =20 expressed their reservations about sharing a political =20 programme with Indians. For example, Klaas Mogotlane =20 summed up his feelings by stating that he would hate to =20 see Biko dying for the liberation of Indians! Langa =20 Duba, a final-year student in 1969, would occasionally =20 stagger into Biko’s room after his regular weekend =20 binges, and express his dismay at the company Biko was =20 keeping: “Biko, you are going down, my friend. Your =20 room is full of curry! You are going down, my friend!”=20
Goolam Abram (Gees), himself classified Indian, used to =20 laugh at this anti-Indian rhetoric, particularly that =20 coming from the Langa Dubas of those days. He was also =20 Aubrey Mokoape’s friend and would listen to the =20 invitation to take the ship to India as an “honorary =20 African” and be able to laugh off this brand of =20 Africanist fantasy. =20
Abram understood the depth of Africans’ anger towards =20 Indians and the reasons for their mistrust. The rise of =20 Idi Amin as the leader of Uganda and his expulsion of =20 Asians simply fuelled the fires of hatred and mistrust. =20 Strini Moodley, the Saso director of publications at =20 the time, devoted an entire address to warn Indian =20 students that they would face the same fate unless they =20 dedicated themselves to the struggle for liberation and =20 justice for all.=20
Biko’s energy became increasingly focused on his =20 political activism at the expense of his medical =20 studies. It became difficult for him to maintain a =20 balance between his personal development and national =20 service — a common problem of many student activists. =20
It came as no surprise that he was finally excluded =20 from Natal Medical School in the middle of 1971, after =20 failing a supplementary examination for his second-year =20 courses, which he was repeating. He was naturally =20 disappointed, but he was not given to brooding over a =20 problem for too long. =20
His attention turned to securing a base from which to =20 pursue his activism. Sprocas 2 (The Special Project for =20 Christian Action in Society), a joint project of the =20 Christian Institute headed by Dr Beyers Naude and the =20 South African Council of Churches (SACC) headed by John =20 Rees, presented him with an appropriate base. The =20 project had just presented its report of a study co-=20 ordinated by Rick Turner, which challenged the churches =20 to devise an active programme to promote justice and =20
The outcome of deliberations on the Sprocas report was =20 a decision to establish the Black Community Programmes =20 (BCP) as a way of responding to the need for =20 development necessitated by decades of injustice. A =20 parallel white consciousness programme was to have been =20 started to create awareness among whites of the evil of =20 apartheid and the need for repentance. Bennie Khoapa, a =20 social worker who was then working for the Young Men’s =20 Christian Association (YMCA), was chosen as the =20 Director of the Black Community Programmes.=20
Khoapa had been a supportive admirer of the young =20 student activists of the day and used to organise an =20 end-of-year party for all of us to sit on the lawn of =20 his house in Umlazi Township, sipping beer and enjoying =20 a braai. He was only too pleased to have Biko as his =20 assistant in the new venture. As it turned out, Biko =20 had thought through some of the issues more than Khoapa =20 had, and was enormously helpful to Khoapa in =20 negotiating with the Christian Institute and the SACC =20 for a proper supportive relationship that would not =20 stifle the new venture.=20
Biko had identified the need for documenting the lives =20 of black South Africans as vital to encouraging them to =20 become agents of their own liberation. One had to write =20 history to make history. Documentation and research =20 among blacks were, and remain, under-developed for a =20 variety of reasons. The oral tradition which is strong =20 among Africans did not lay a firm foundation for =20 respect for the written word. =20
Then again, the deliberate under-development of blacks =20 by means of Bantu Education discouraged the emergence =20 of a love for the written word and good record-keeping. =20 Moreover, the instability of the life of the poor and =20 marginal, subject to forced removals and the =20 vicissitudes of inadequate shelter, led to the loss of =20 many important historical and other documents. Finally, =20 the scarcity of black researchers and social scientists =20 made blacks vulnerable to becoming the objects of other =20 people’s studies, with all the risks of limited insight =20 inherent in that form of scholarship.=20
The annual reports of the Institute of Race Relations =20 in the 1960s and early 1970s were a case in point. They =20 were chronicles of the victimisation of blacks at the =20 hands of the apartheid regime. Blacks were denied any =20 active role in the chronicle. Nothing positive about =20 what blacks did was reported with any prominence. It =20 was as if such positive reporting would reduce the =20 impact of the reports on the oppression blacks =20 suffered. Blacks were depicted as the ultimate victims, =20 completely lacking in agency.=20
Necessity and passion are powerful motivators, =20 overcoming the lack of social science and formal =20 research training. Single-handedly, Biko designed the =20 first edition of the Black Review, a comprehensive =20 report of what went on in the black community: the =20 good, the bad and the ugly. The areas covered included =20 political developments, education, housing, worker =20 issues, arts and sports. The data were derived from =20 newspaper cuttings, visits to newspaper libraries, and =20 Hansard reports on parliamentary proceedings. =20
Malusi Mpumlwana (who had also been excluded from =20 Medical School at the end of 1970) and Tomeka Mafole =20 and Welile Nhlapo (both of whom had been expelled from =20 Fort Hare earlier for political reasons) became Biko’s =20 temporary assistants in the enormous task of putting =20 together the first edition of Black Review during the =20 second half of 1971 and the whole of 1972. =20
Ironically, Biko’s pioneering work could not be =20 publicly acknowledged without jeopardising the =20 publication of the report: the banning order which was =20 served on him at the beginning of 1973 prohibited him =20 from participating in any publication — part of the =20 state’s attempt to limit the spread of ideas of =20 political activists in apartheid South Africa. To =20 protect the baby he had given birth to, other people =20 had to claim credit for it. The first issue of Black =20 Review consequently bore the name of Bennie Khoapa as =20
Activist life was not without its frustrating moments. =20 The biggest tension arose between the demands of my =20 body for long hours of sleep (eight hours minimum a =20 night) and the culture of late nights which was an =20 integral part of activist life at the time. =20 Irritability was an early warning sign for me as the =20 nights became too long for my body to bear. A second =20 problem was my body’s need for regular meals. =20
I remember one particularly unpleasant experience of a =20 train journey to Johannesburg with Biko. We had been =20 doing the usual last-minute rushing around when we =20 realised that we had to leave immediately to catch the =20 train, which left Durban at lunch time. I felt like =20 screaming from my hunger pangs, which were compounded =20 by the knowledge that the next meal would only be the =20 following day in Johannesburg.=20
Biko knew what was coming, so he quietly positioned =20 himself on the uncomfortable bunk and fell asleep. I =20 could have killed him! I eventually also fell asleep. =20 We were met at Park Station by Bokwe Mafuna, who took =20 us to his one-roomed house in Alexandra, where it took =20 time to prepare brunch. We finally ate at about ten =20 o’clock. My hunger pangs were by then tamed. The frail =20 body had a lot to learn to incorporate the emerging =20 activist in me.=20
A Life, by Mamphela Ramphele (David Philip, R59,95) is =20 due out next week=20