(ستيف بانتو بيكو وفلسفة الوعي الأسود: قراءة تاريخية في خطابه وتأثيره(1968–1994م

Abstract

This research offers a historical–analytical reading of the philosophy of Black Consciousness as articulated by Steve Bantu Biko between 1968 and 1977, and traces its impact on the reconstruction of national discourse and intellectual resistance to the apartheid system up to 1994. The analysis proceeds from the premise that Biko moved beyond the role of a student activist to emerge as a thinker who redefined liberation on the basis of consciousness and dignity, locating the deepest arena of struggle within the human subject before its manifestation in the political sphere. The study adopts a historical–discursive approach, drawing on original sources such as the South African Students’ Organization policy statements, Frank Talk writings, Biko’s courtroom testimonies, and the reports of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in order to reread his discourse within its intellectual, political, and ethical contexts. The findings demonstrate that Biko’s thought produced a cognitive shift that redirected resistance from the pursuit of legal rights  toward the liberation of the self from internal negation, redefining blackness as an ethical stance grounded in dignity. The study further shows that the influence of Black Consciousness persisted after Biko’s death in 1977 within labor, church, cultural, and youth movements, contributing to the formation of the moral language of resistance during the 1980s, and later finding expression in the philosophy of transitional justice following the collapse of apartheid. The study concludes that Black Consciousness represents a renewed humanist project that places dignity at the center of resistance, affirming that the path to freedom begins with the liberation of consciousness prior to any political or social transformation