In the mid-1950s there was emerging in South Africa a group of angry young Black men who were beginning to uniqueness" and who were cager to define who they were and what. These were the clements who were disgruntied with the direction imposed on the African National Congress by the told guard" within its leadership.
These young men were questioning a number of things, among which was the "go slow" attitude 4e Peoples Cher 1 han those run by Black adopted in Kliptown in 1955 was evidence of this. In a sense one can say that these were the first real signs that the Blacks in South Africa were beginning to realise the need to go it alone and to evolve a philosophy pasca on, and decica Dy, backs in oler words, Black consciousness was slowly manifestTs may be said that, on the broader palitical Irant, Blacks in souto ninca nave not sabwn any overt signs of new thinking since the banning cl леи родиси дагоск, пог were Enc signs os disgrunilement with the White world ever given a Cance o estas ma posi approach. Black students, on the other hand, began to rethink their position in Black-White coalitions. The emergence of the South African Sodeot Organisation and Is tough nolicy o! non-involvement with the White world set people's minds thinking along new lines. This was a challenge to the age-old tradition in South Africa that opposition to apartbeid was enough to qualify Whites for acceptance by the Black WOCID:
WESHALL LEADOURSELVES Despite protest and charges of racialism from liberal-minded White students, the Black stodenis stood firm in their rejection of the principle of unholy alliances between Blacks and Whites. A spokesman of the new right-of-middie group. NAFSAS, was treated to a dose of the new thinking when a Black student told him that "we shall lead ourselves, be it to the sea, to the mountain or to the desert; we shall have nothing to do with the White students'.
The call for Black consciousness is the most positive call to come from any group in the Black world for a long time. It is more than just a reactionary rejection of Whites by Blacks. The quintessence of it is the realisation by the Blacks Vorster's police regarded him as dangerous. So they killed him. We print an extract from an article by STEVE BIKO.
Naiki Biko andherchildren after Jearning of Steve's death by Biko for father when the child is actively taught by his know all White tutors to discogard his family's teachings? How can an African avoid losing respect for his tradition when in school his whole cultural background is summed up in one word barbarism"
To add 1o the White-oriented education received, the whole history of Black people is presented as a long lamentation of repoated derears. Strangely enough, everybody has come to accept that the history of South Africa starts 10 0321O often-told lie that Blacks arrived in this country of attention has to be paid to our history it' me as Blacks want to aid each other in our coming into constipusness, We have to rowrite our history and describe in it the heroes that formod the core of resistance to the White invaders. More has to be revealed and stress has to be laid on the successfil nationSELEIS by people like Shaka, Moshoeshoe and Hinesa Our culture must be defined in concrete teres We mist relate the past lo the present and demonstrate an historical evolution of the modern African. We must reit the atlempts Dy the powers that he to project an arresced image -inliset apeakers and discuss on Saotamber ar Paddy 1. commencing 7.45pm atre's play about the struggle of the Portuguesa peopla açainat fasciso Power of the Winda: Theatro Technis, 9 York Way. London N7. 101 267 0439) Sat 8 Dei, 3pm. Forowed by discussion. Tickela 21 (Students CAPa 50c) of our culture. This is not the sum total of our They have deliberately arrested our culture as the tribal sage to perpetuate the myth African people were bear-cannibals, bad no real ambitions in life, and were preocupied with sex and drink. In fact the wide-spread vice offen found in the African lownships is n result of the interference of the White man in the natural evolution of the true native culture. "Wherever colonisation is a lact, the indigenous culture begins to o and amond the ruins something begins to be boen which if condemned to exist on the margin allowed it by the European culture: It is through the evolution of our genuine culture that our identity can be fully rediscovered. We neuse seck to restore to the Black people a value of human relationships; to highlight the fact that in the pre Van Riebecck days we had a high regard for people, their property and for life in general; to reduce the hold of technology aver man and to reduce the materialistic element that is slowly creeping into the African character.
BUY BLACK It goes without saying that the Black peopie of South Alica, in ordei to make the Docessa scrides in the new direction they are thinking of have to take a long look at how they can use their econonic poser to their advantage. Al the situation stands today, money from the Black world tends to take a uni-directional flow to the White society. Blacks huy from White super markets, White greengrocers, White bottle mores, White chemists, and, to crown it all, those who can, bank at White-owned banks. Noedless to say, they travel to work in government-pened trains or White-owned bases If then we wish to make use of the little we have to improve our lot, it can only lead to greater awareness of the power we wield as a group. The 'Buy Black' campaign that is being waged by some people in the Johanneshurg anea must not It is often claimed that the advocates of Black consciousness are hemming themiselves in into a closed world, chousing to weep oo cach orber's shoulders and thereby cutting out wsetal dialogue with the rest of the world Yer I feel that the Black people of the world, in choosing lo reject the legacy of colonialism and White domination and to buikd around thomscives their own values, sandards and outlook to life, have at last established a solld base for meaningiul cooperation amongst themselves in the larger battle. of the Third Warld against the rich nations.
As Fanon puts it, "the consciousness of the self is not the closing of a door to communication....