IN honour of Stephen Bantu Biko – the man who played a major role in the formation of the South African Students’ Organisation (SASO) and who died on September 12, 1977 – our sister publication the Letaba Herald compiled a list of 12 of his most profound quotes:

1. The most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed
2. The wealth of the country must eventually be enjoyed by people of the country

3. A community is easily divided when their perception of the same thing is different

4. You are either alive and proud or you are dead, and when you are dead, you can’t care anyway
5. Being black is not a matter of pigmentation – being black is a reflection of a mental attitude

6. When you say ‘Black is beautiful’ you are saying, ‘Man you are okay as you are, begin to look upon yourself as a human being’

7. 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

8. If you want to say something radical, you should dress conservativly

9. We believe in the inherent goodness of man

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10. In all fields black consciousness seeks to talk to the black man in a language that is his own
11. We must realise that prophetic cry of black students: Black man you are on your own!
12. It is better to die for an idea that will live, than to live for an idea that will die. Rest in power Stephen Bantu Biko.

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