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Black Consciousness & Soweto - Coggle Diagram
Black Consciousness & Soweto
Black Consciousness
Inspired by growing frustration amongst the youth, and the vacuum created by the ANC PAC's absence
It was an international movement, originating in the U.S.A, manifesting in SA as acceptance the government and education offered nothing for them
Culminating in SASO's formation (1969) by Steve Biko, tolerated by the NP for it's emphasis on separate development
The slogan "Black man you are on your own" in the 1960's came from the belief that white liberals wanted the end of apartheid and separate development for their own benefit
SASO organised strikes in 1972 and celebrated neighbouring countries decolonisation,such as Mozambique in 1975
It also led to the formation of SASM which disrupted SABRA meetings and heckled Dutch Reformed Church members
Soweto
By the mid 1970's african education was at an all time low, but numbers were increasing to reflect the need for more skilled labour and a way out of poverty
During the 1970's spending dipped to 10 times less than white children and class sizes in Soweto were 70-100
Soweto was overcrowded, Tutu warning "Something must be done" and africans were increasingly urbanised, with the absence of any significant leadership SASM stepped up
The Afrikaans Decree (1974) made teaching in Afrikaans compulsory, affecting the majority of their 1 million population
on the 16th June 1976 there was a demonstration against the decree held by SASM and the SSRC where thousands of children marched to Orlando stadium
Police used tear gas and dogs before firing, killing 20 including 13yo Hector Pieterson, and protests spread to at least 100 other places
Suppression and Reaction to Soweto
Minister of Justice blamed the demonstrators for formenting trouble and said "Natives must be made tame to the gun"
Government officials used the Communist revolution and stated they should be grateful for the current education
18 organisations were banned and 52,000 arrests were made, causing cadres to grow massively
Armed resistance began again in Autumn 1976, causing a Total strategy to be formed in response to Total Onslaught
Total Onslaught involved every aspect of society being deployed against the enemy, restructuring government and establishing a State Security Council to oversee security at all levels, as well as focusing on hard and soft intelligence
UN responded 3 days later with Resolution 392 and many MNC's withdrew support, including Polaroid completely in 1977
saw a rise in youth support who were easily radicalised, growing cadres as their neighbours gained independence
Steve Biko
Given a banning order in 1973, he was estimated to be arrested 29 times over the next 3 years, gaining publicity after defending SASO activists in court
He died in September 1977 after being arrested for defying his banning order, spent 20 days in solitary confinement and was chained to a grille before dying on the wall to hospital
It was stated he fell against a wall after a violent confrontation with guards and both the UN / USA protesting, a movie called Cry Freedom about him was released