August 18

August 18, 1977 – Stephen Biko Arrested

Steve_Biko_Logo

Stephen Biko

Considered by many the martyr of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, Stephen Biko was arrested on August 18, 1977.  Biko, the founder of the Black Consciousness Movement in South Africa died in police custody. He gave Black South Africans through his leadership and writings a sense of empowerment and encouragement in the midst of South Africa’s systematic racism.  Bantu Stephen Biko was born on December 18, 1946 in King William’s Town, South Africa.

South Africa East London City Hall 2

This view shows the memorial to Steve Biko in the foreground and the War Memorial in the bottom right corner at the South Africa East London City Hall.

He graduated in 1966 from St. Francis College and then entered the University of Natal Medical School.  He was expelled from Natal Medical School in 1972 under accusations of political activism. He died of severe head trauma on September 12, 1977 in Pretoria,  South Africa.  Five South African police officers confessed over twenty years later to being responsible for his death.

Stephen Biko’s last interview.