Welcome to our collection of Steven Biko quotes, where we celebrate the profound wisdom and enduring legacy of one of South Africa’s most iconic anti-apartheid activists. Steven Biko, born in 1946, was a pivotal figure in the struggle against apartheid, advocating for the rights and dignity of black South Africans during a time of intense racial oppression. His fearless activism and unwavering commitment to justice made him a symbol of resistance, inspiring generations to stand up against injustice and fight for equality.
Throughout his life, Steven Biko articulated powerful insights and reflections on the nature of oppression, the importance of self-awareness and self-empowerment, and the necessity of solidarity in the face of adversity. His words continue to resonate deeply, serving as a beacon of hope and inspiration for those who strive for a more just and equitable world. As we delve into his quotes, we invite you to reflect on their relevance to our present-day struggles for equality and human rights, and to consider how we can each contribute to the ongoing pursuit of justice and freedom.
Tradition has it that whenever a group of people has tasted the lovely fruits of wealth, security, and prestige, it begins to find it more comfortable to believe in the obvious lie and accept that it alone is entitled to privilege. Steven Biko
Black man, you are on your own. Steven Biko
The basic tenet of black consciousness is that the black man must reject all value systems that seek to make him a foreigner in the country of his birth and reduce his basic human dignity. Steven Biko
Apartheid – both petty and grand – is obviously evil. Nothing can justify the arrogant assumption that a clique of foreigners has the right to decide on the lives of a majority. Steven Biko
In a bid for change, we have to take off our coats, be prepared to lose our comfort and security, our jobs and positions of prestige, and our families… A struggle without casualties is no struggle. Steven Biko
Black Consciousness is an attitude of the mind and a way of life, the most positive call to emanate from the black world for a long time. Steven Biko
A people without a positive history is like a vehicle without an engine. Steven Biko
The most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed. Steven Biko
The fact that apartheid has been tied up with white supremacy, capitalist exploitation, and deliberate oppression makes the problem much more complex. Material want is bad enough, but coupled with spiritual poverty, it kills. Steven Biko
It becomes more necessary to see the truth as it is if you realize that the only vehicle for change are these people who have lost their personality. Steven Biko
Black Consciousness seeks to infuse the black community with a new-found pride in themselves, their efforts, their value systems, their culture, their religion and their outlook to life. Steven Biko
The press is largely directed at white society or the so-called electorate whose values are laced with racial prejudice against black people. Steven Biko
A Black man should be more independent and depend on himself for his freedom and not to take it for granted that someone would lead him to it. The blacks are tired of standing at the touchlines to witness a game that they should be playing. They want to do things for themselves and all by themselves. Steven Biko
Merely by describing yourself as black you have started on a road towards emancipation, you have committed yourself to fight against all forces that seek to use your blackness as a stamp that marks you out as a subservient being. Steven Biko
I entered the University of Natal as a preliminary-year student in 1966 and stayed on to June 1972, when I was expelled from the university. I was then doing third-year medicine. Steven Biko
I would describe and I have described myself to people who ask as a freedom fighter. Steven Biko
Being black is not a matter of pigmentation – being black is a reflection of a mental attitude. Steven Biko
The great powers of the world may have done wonders in giving the world an industrial look, but the great gift still has to come from Africa – giving the world a more human face. Steven Biko
The black man has become a shell, a shadow of man, completely defeated, drowning in his own misery, a slave, an ox bearing the yoke of oppression with sheepish timidity. Steven Biko
In time, we shall be in a position to bestow on South Africa the greatest possible gift – a more human face. Steven Biko
You are either alive and proud or you are dead, and when you are dead, you can’t care anyway. Steven Biko
The revolutionary sees his task as liberation not only of the oppressed but also of the oppressor. Happiness can never truly exist in a state of tension. Steven Biko
If one is free at heart, no man-made chains can bind one to servitude, but if one’s mind is so manipulated and controlled by the oppressor, then there will be nothing the oppressed can do to scare his powerful masters. Steven Biko
We know that all interracial groups in South Africa are relationships in which whites are superior, blacks inferior. So as a prelude, whites must be made to realize that they are only human, not superior. Same with blacks. They must be made to realize that they are also human, not inferior. Steven Biko
We are concerned with that curious bunch of nonconformists who explain their participation in negative terms: that bunch of do-gooders that goes under all sorts of names – liberals, leftists, etc. These are the people who argue that they are not responsible for white racism and the country’s ‘inhumanity to the black man.’ Steven Biko
