| Steve Biko. The Quest for a True Humanity |
 |
| Written by Zola Ndimande |
| Friday, 28 August 2009 14:40 |
|
Slave Lodge, Cape Town. November 2008 – End of December 2009  CAPE TOWN Walking through or rather before I entered the Steve Biko exhibition I was rather anxious about what I would find. I thought I knew who Steve Biko was and the role he played as a freedom fighter against the apartheid government in South Africa. I also thought he would be just like all the other freedom fighters of his time. I soon realised however that I actually knew very little about this amazing man who grew up in Eastern Cape.
This is a deeply moving and sensitive exhibition which has been borrowed from the Apartheid Museum in Johannesburg which celebrates the 30th anniversary of Biko’s death. The exhibition consists of a BBC Interview of Steve Biko and his life, a music dedication by Peter Gabriel, a tribute to the 115 people who died in police custody for speaking against a racist government and a timeline dating back nearly 200 years consisting of important Black African thinkers who shaped the African landscape by choosing to speak freely about the African liberation. The underlying theme which runs throughout the exhibition is the importance of Black consciousness in the realisation of true freedom of the African black race. Like all other revolutionaries Biko wanted the black man to awaken to age old lies which African people have been told about themselves leading them to their oppressed state.  Steve Biko After reading his biography, I pretty much summoned up that he was a man who would have easily become the first post apartheid president of South Africa and done an excellent job of it as well. Maybe even giving Nelson Mandela a good run for his money. The exhibition starts way back into the influences that shaped the man who become of one of South Africa’s powerful revolutionaries and it takes you on a journey into the thinking behind the man. I felt a very deep respect for him as I delve deeper into his life putting together all the pieces of the puzzle leading up to his unceremonious death in the hands of the South African policemen in September 1977.  His ideas had a large influence on the freedom struggle in South Africa. His views were direct and to the point, no doubt causing much discomfort in the government cabinets of the apartheid regime whose fear was to have an enlightened and a conscious people fighting together for their freedom.  Though the idea of a freedom is not knew, when listening to Steve Biko speak and articulate the purpose behind his actions one cannot help but imagine the very idea of freedom being born at that very moment. An extremely intelligent man who’s visionary ability could have transformed the South African Liberation movement much sooner than it took. The exhibition will appeal to those wanting a deeper understanding of the history of South Africa and to those wanting to track the African liberation movement in South Africa until now. It will also be an eye opener into many injustices black South Africans were subjected to and to the unremitting fight that many South Africans dedicated their lives in the quest for freedom. At the end of the exhibition there is a sense of hope as new young freedom fighters with liberated minds emerge to continue the struggle and to seek and live the true meaning of humanity. Evidence that Steve Biko is not dead after all. I found myself ashamed at not having had the interest before to inquire about him, to know his principles and understand the mind behind the smiling face. Indeed I learned that he was a cut above the rest. Bookmark us: 
|
| Last Updated on Wednesday, 16 September 2009 10:02 |