On Sept. 12, 1977, Bantu Stephen Biko was murdered by the South African government. They considered him the biggest threat to their apartheid way of life. Little did they know that he had already accomplished his goal of raising the consciousness of the black people of South Africa. It took another 17 years before Apartheid was officially ended, but it would not have happened without the hard work and great insight and organizing ability of Stephen Biko.
I have been singing his praises for more than 40 years now, but few seem to really care. So, when I found the video below, I just had to post it. It is only a summary of his life and work to make South Africa free, and does not present the real struggles he went through daily, but it is something.
So why do I keep coming back to the life and accomplishments of Bantu Stephen Biko? It is because we as human beings are still going through our own form of Apartheid. Forces beyond our control are still trying to keep us down and suffering from wealth apartheid. No, we do not all need to be wealthy, but we do need to have the wealth of our planet belong to us, not to the super-wealthy few. We need to have free medical services for all, so no one suffers from treatable medical conditions because we cannot obtain medical help that is and should be available to all. This includes nutritious food and adequate shelter without which true good health is impossible.
And it includes the freedom to be ourselves, whomever we see ourselves to be. We are humans, not things defined by the colour of our skin. We are people who are capable of love not defined by the body parts we were born with, but by the spirits we have inside us. We are human beings, not defined by the roles we are forced to play by being born male or female. We are human beings, not defined by the places we happen to be born, or by the circumstances to which we were born.
In truth, these are the lessons Stephen Biko taught to his fellow Black citizens of South Africa, but they are also lessons all of us need to learn if we are ever to be truly free members of the race of human beings.
We need to be conscious of all the things we do not have in order to become the beings we can be. We need a human consciousness, indeed a life consciousness, that allows us to be ourselves, each and every one of us!
Ideas From Outside the Boxes 
14 replies on “THERE WAS APARTHEID, AND THERE IS STILL APARTHEID — IF WE CHOOSE TO LOOK AT THE TRUTH”
Reblogged this on A New Spirituality.
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Reblogged this on Filosofa's Word and commented:
I’ve been friend with rawgod for many years now, and I have to say that this is by far the BEST post he has ever done! It is a timely post, a humanitarian one … a reminder to us all. The video is particularly interesting and I learned a lot from it about Apartheid in South Africa only a short 50 years ago … and as I watched, I thought, “Is this where the U.S. is headed?” (I recommend using the closed captioning for the video, as the narrator’s accent is sometimes difficult to keep up with, at least for me) Thank you, rg, for this excellent post.
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We are all, striving for, equal rights for all the people, and, that is not at all, easy, because, we all have, different takes on what equality means, which is why, it’s, do difficult, to just have that, one set of rules that fit to, all. But, making sure that everyone is on thd same level as they start off is a good start.
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There is no reason to not have a minimum level of subsistence for everyone, and that level does not have to be at the poverty line. I may be being idealistic, but there is enough money in this world for even 8 billion humans to live fairly comfortably, and the fact that we are not is because as a species we are willing to allow many to live below the poverty line.
This is a lesson similar to what Biko taught to his fellow black South Africans, if you are willing to be stepped on, someone will step on you. Therefore, stop being willing to be stepped on!
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Reblogged this on NEW BLOG HERE >> https:/BOOKS.ESLARN-NET.DE.
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Thank you, sir.
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Thanks for sharing this very important information. The fight for freedom in democracy has to go on. Best wishes, Michael
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I will never give up on sharing anything good about Stephen Biko. I first heard about him at the Winnipeg Folk Festival through a song by Tom Paxton. The song told about the many things Biko was trying to do in South Africa to end Apartheid. But in those days, before the internet, it was hard to find much more. Then by seeming total coincidence a book came into my hands called Black Consciousness in South Africa, and that book changed my life forever. Here was possibly the most revolutionary thinker this world has ever seen, and hardly anyone outside of South Africa knew about him.
Then, when Apartheid finally ended in 1994, no one spoke his name. Everything was about Nelson Mandela. I have no problem with Mandela being honoured for his part in the fight, but he was sitting in jail on Robbens Island when Biko was going about changing the world. Without Biko South Africa would still be under Apartheid, and I will do everything in my power to spread the gospel according to Stephen Biko. He deserves to have a worldwide holiday in his name.
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An impressive post my friend. You have said it all. The correct determined and optimistic look to a future Humanity should work for.
Remember this:
Reblogged
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Thank you for the reblog, Sir Roger, I appreciate it immensely.
You may not agree with me about.the video, which I appreciate in a way, but not in another. I am glad Mr,. Gabriel put Biko’s name out there, but in my mind he didn’t tell the right story, or rather, any story at all except Biko’s death. I would have liked to see him celebrate Biko’s life, because that was what made his death so tragic, and futile.
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My pleasure to share rawgod, good friend.
I broadly agree with you on Peter Gabriel. Back in the 1970s-early 1990s Apartheid was a cause taken up in the UK, which became ‘fashionable’. I don’t doubt Gabriel’s sincerity, he tends to write as he feels…..Anyway the movement tended to focus its own Hate on the South African White Communities and not celebrate the efforts of people such as Biko and Mandela. Once Mandela was voted in a President, they mostly moved on to other causes.
Your post redresses the balance pointing out the effort Biko made for bring some sense to matters, and that he paid for it. He lives on though, and maybe his legacy will flourish.
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We live in hope. ✌my brother.
Have you ever read Black Consciousness in South Africa. I think it goes under another name now. In it is instruction on how to create a peaceful revolution. It is a powerful book.
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We do live in Hope good friend and brother-in…..Hoping when all says we should not. When all current Human Conventions suggest the ‘game is up’. We keep on keeping on. As long as we Hope and do as best we can, how we can as we can, there is a chance Humanity will get through.
No, I’ve never read that book. It is encouraging to think that out there somewhere there are still works which suggest there is a peaceful way.
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Reblogged this on The World As It Is. Not As It Should Be and commented:
I am too grim and indoctrinated.
My good friend rawgod reminds us, there is another way to strive for
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