Statecraft & Independence
Peerless
Steve Biko
1946 – 1977
Founder of Black Consciousness, killed in police custody
Peerless is level 1 of 4 in the South Africa Hall of Fame: changed the field itself. Tell the country's story without them and the story breaks. See how the levels work.
Why they are here
He taught a generation that liberation began in the mind, and was beaten to death in police custody for it at thirty. The outcry that followed changed how the world saw apartheid.
Steve Biko led South Africa's Black Consciousness Movement and was among the most important political thinkers the country produced.
He died in September 1977 of injuries sustained in police custody. The local and international outcry made him a martyr of the anti-apartheid struggle and a symbol of Black resistance far beyond South Africa.
He died in September 1977 of injuries sustained in police custody. The local and international outcry made him a martyr of the anti-apartheid struggle and a symbol of Black resistance far beyond South Africa.
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