Steven Biko Quotes

On this page you can find the TOP of Steven Biko's best quotes! We hope you will find some sayings from Activist Steven Biko's in our collection, which will inspire you to new achievements! There are currently 53 quotes on this page collected since December 18, 1946! Share our collection of quotes with your friends on social media so that they can find something to inspire them!
  • If one is free at heart, no man-made chains can bind one to servitude.

    Heart   Men   Made  
  • We are experiencing new problems every day and whatever we do adds to the richness of our cultural heritage as long as it has man as its centre

    Men   Long   Add  
  • If you want to say something radical, you should dress conservative.

  • The most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.

    "White Racism and Black Consciousness" (paper presented at workshop sponsored by Abe Bailey Institute of Interracial Studies),Cape Town, South Africa, Jan. 1971
  • The essence of politics is to direct oneself to the group which wields power

  • So as a prelude whites must be made to realise that they are only human, not superior. Same with Blacks. They must be made to realise that they are also human, not inferior.

  • Part of the approach envisaged in bringing about Black Consciousness has to be directed to the past, to seek to rewrite the history of the black man and to produce in it the heroes who form the core of the African background

    Hero   Men   Past  
  • We do not want to be reminded that it is we, the indigenous people, who are poor and exploited in the land of our birth. These are concepts which the Black Consciousness approach wishes to eradicate from the black man's mind before our society is driven to chaos by irresponsible people from Coca-cola and hamburger cultural backgrounds.

    Men   Land   People  
  • I think the central theme about black society is that it has got elements of a defeated society

  • 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.

    Lying   Believe   People  
  • In time, we shall be in a position to bestow on South Africa the greatest possible gift - a more human face.

    "I Write What I Like (White Racism and Black Consciousness)". Book by Steven Biko, 1978.
  • The oneness of community for instance is at the heart of our culture.

  • It becomes more necessary to see the truth as it is if you realise that the only vehicle for change are these people who have lost their personality. The first step therefore is to make the black man come to himself; to pump back life into his empty shell; to infuse him with pride and dignity, to remind him of his complicity in the crime of allowing himself to be misused and therefore letting evil reign supreme in the country of his birth.

    Country   Pride   Men  
  • Apartheid - both petty and grand - is obviously evil. Nothing can justify the arrogant assumption that a clique of foreigners has the right to decide on the lives of a majority.

    "I Write What I Like (We Blacks)". Book by Steven Biko, 1978.
  • This is white man's integration, an integration based on exploitative values

  • The basic tenet of black consciousness is that the black man must reject all value systems that seek to make him a foreigner in the country of his birth and reduce his basic human dignity.

    Country   Men   Black  
    Steven Biko (1979). “Steve Biko: Black Consciousness in South Africa”, Vintage
  • Being black is not a matter of pigmentation - being black is a reflection of a mental attitude.

    "I Write What I Like: Selected Writings". Book by Steven Biko edited by Aelred Stubbs, www.huffingtonpost.com. 1978.
  • The blacks are tired of standing at the touchlines to witness a game that they should be playing. They want to do things for themselves and all by themselves.

    Tired   Games   Want  
  • The wealth of the country must eventually be enjoyed by people of the country

    Country   People   Wealth  
  • In all fields black consciousness seeks to talk to the black man in a language that is his own

    Men   Black   Fields  
  • We regard our living together not as an unfortunate mishap warranting endless competition among us but as a deliberate act of God to make us a community of brothers and sisters jointly involved in the quest for a composite answer to the varied problems of life. Hence in all we do we always place man first and hence all our action is usually joint community oriented action rather than the individualism.

    Brother   Men   Community  
  • A people without a positive history is like a vehicle without an engine.

  • We have set out on a quest for true humanity, and somewhere on the distant horizon we can see the glittering prize. Let us march forth with courage and determination, drawing strength from our common plight and our brotherhood [and sisterhood]. In time we shall be in a position to bestow upon South Africa the greatest gift possible--a more human face

  • I would like to remind the black ministry and indeed all black people that God is not in the habit of coming down from heaven to solve people's problems on earth.

    People   Heaven   Black  
  • Any warning normally implies, even if it is tacit, that there should be changes

    Warning   Should   Tacit  
  • Sure there are a few good whites just as much as there are a few bad Blacks. However what we are concerned here with is group attitudes and group politics. The exception does not make a lie or the rule - it merely substantiates it.

    Attitude   Lying   Groups  
  • Black Consciousness is an attitude of the mind and a way of life, the most positive call to emanate from the black world for a long time.

  • A community is easily divide when their perception of the same thing is different

  • I'm going to be me as I am, and you can beat me or jail me or even kill me, but I'm not going to be what you want me to be.

    Jail   Want   Beats  
    "Cry Freedom: Richard Attenborough makes a Mandela of Steve Biko" by Alex von Tunzelmann, www.theguardian.com. June 10, 2010.
  • 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'.

    Beautiful   Men   Black  
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  • We hope you have found the saying you were looking for in our collection! At the moment, we have collected 53 quotes from the Activist Steven Biko, starting from December 18, 1946! We periodically replenish our collection so that visitors of our website can always find inspirational quotes by authors from all over the world! Come back to us again!

    Steven Biko

    • Born: December 18, 1946
    • Died: September 12, 1977
    • Occupation: Activist