The month of September is a very important month within circles of Black Consciousness. It was in September 1977 that one of the most iconic faces in the world, Bantu Steve Biko was brutally killed by the apartheid regime. In commemorating Biko's death, the Centre for Black Thought and African Studies held a dialogue to reflect on the meaning of Black consciousness and Biko's activism in the context of a so-called postcolonial and apartheid South Africa.
The seminar was led by Mr. Zenzile Molo and Mr Nkosi Gola. Zenzile Molo is working with UNISA & SAMRC as a community liaison & Content Producer focusing on Gender-Based Violence, African Psychologies and Men and Masculinities. Nkosi Gola is an activist, guerrilla gardener, and dreamer of a South Africa that looks different for all its citizens. Working at Anabaptist Network in SA, He expresses unapologetic love for black people and prophetically imagining a city where all people have equal access. He is co-founder of Ujamaa, a self-reliant, self-awareness community initiative striving for communal economic development and sharing based on a co-operative approach in the Cape Town area.
In his reflections on the importance of Biko's activism, Mr Molo reflected on the context that shaped Biko's activism. Molo argued that the banning of liberation movements in 1960s created a political vacuum which required the expression of the political and social aspirations of Black people at the time. Mr Molo then drew the parallels between the leadership vacuum that existed in the 1960 onwards and the leadership vacuum that characterises contemporary South Africa.
On the other hand, Mr Gola reflected of Biko in a prophetic sense. Mr. Gola argued that the incorporation of a Black elite class into the racist and capitalist society of apartheid is something that Biko foresaw and highlighted as far back as the 1970.
You can watch the dialogue on the Seth Mokitimi Methodist Seminary Facebook page on the link below. (2) Facebook
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