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Biko is a biography about Black Consciousness Movement
Black Consciousness Movement

The Black Consciousness Movement was a grassroots anti-Apartheid activist movement that emerged in South Africa in the mid-1960s out of the power vacuum created by the decimation of the African National Congress and Pan Africanist Congress leadership, by jailing and banning, after the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960.....
 leader and anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko
Steve Biko

Stephen Bantu Biko was a noted anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population....
. It was written by Biko’s friend Donald Woods
Donald Woods

Donald James Woods, Order of the British Empire was a white South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist.As editor of the Daily Dispatch from 1965 to 1977, he befriended Steve Biko, leader of the anti-History of South Africa in the apartheid era Black Consciousness Movement, and was banned by the government soon after Biko's d...
 who went into exile for attempting to expose the truth surrounding Biko’s death. It was inspiration for the 1987 film Cry Freedom
Cry Freedom

Cry Freedom is a 1987 in film feature film directed by Richard Attenborough, set in the late 1970s, during the apartheid era of South Africa....
.

Summary
Biko covers the life of South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko from the view of his friend Donald Woods
Donald Woods

Donald James Woods, Order of the British Empire was a white South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist.As editor of the Daily Dispatch from 1965 to 1977, he befriended Steve Biko, leader of the anti-History of South Africa in the apartheid era Black Consciousness Movement, and was banned by the government soon after Biko's d...
. The book is also critical of the white government of South Africa and the Apartheid system.






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Biko is a biography about Black Consciousness Movement
Black Consciousness Movement

The Black Consciousness Movement was a grassroots anti-Apartheid activist movement that emerged in South Africa in the mid-1960s out of the power vacuum created by the decimation of the African National Congress and Pan Africanist Congress leadership, by jailing and banning, after the Sharpeville Massacre in 1960.....
 leader and anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko
Steve Biko

Stephen Bantu Biko was a noted anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population....
. It was written by Biko’s friend Donald Woods
Donald Woods

Donald James Woods, Order of the British Empire was a white South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist.As editor of the Daily Dispatch from 1965 to 1977, he befriended Steve Biko, leader of the anti-History of South Africa in the apartheid era Black Consciousness Movement, and was banned by the government soon after Biko's d...
 who went into exile for attempting to expose the truth surrounding Biko’s death. It was inspiration for the 1987 film Cry Freedom
Cry Freedom

Cry Freedom is a 1987 in film feature film directed by Richard Attenborough, set in the late 1970s, during the apartheid era of South Africa....
.

Summary


Biko covers the life of South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko from the view of his friend Donald Woods
Donald Woods

Donald James Woods, Order of the British Empire was a white South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist.As editor of the Daily Dispatch from 1965 to 1977, he befriended Steve Biko, leader of the anti-History of South Africa in the apartheid era Black Consciousness Movement, and was banned by the government soon after Biko's d...
. The book is also critical of the white government of South Africa and the Apartheid system. It attacks the mistreatment of blacks and the brutality that is used by the police.

History


Steven Biko died on September 12, 1977 while in Police custody. The official police report was that he had died as the result of a hunger strike
Hunger strike

A hunger strike is a method of non-violent resistance or pressure in which participants fasting as an act of political protest, or to provoke feelings of guilt in others, usually with the objective to achieve a specific goal, such as a policy change....
, but South African journalist Donald Woods
Donald Woods

Donald James Woods, Order of the British Empire was a white South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist.As editor of the Daily Dispatch from 1965 to 1977, he befriended Steve Biko, leader of the anti-History of South Africa in the apartheid era Black Consciousness Movement, and was banned by the government soon after Biko's d...
 after first seeing the body was convinced that Biko was beaten to death. Woods had photographs of Biko body taken and published in his newspaper Daily Dispatch. Donald Woods
Donald Woods

Donald James Woods, Order of the British Empire was a white South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist.As editor of the Daily Dispatch from 1965 to 1977, he befriended Steve Biko, leader of the anti-History of South Africa in the apartheid era Black Consciousness Movement, and was banned by the government soon after Biko's d...
 was forced to flee for his life after he became targeted by the government for attempting to investigate Biko's death. Woods fled to the United Kingdom
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
, where he campaigned against apartheid and publicized articles about Biko.

Cry Freedom


Richard Attenborough
Richard Attenborough

Richard Samuel Attenborough, Baron Attenborough, Order of the British Empire, is an English people actor, film director, film producer, and entrepreneur....
 movie Cry Freedom
Cry Freedom

Cry Freedom is a 1987 in film feature film directed by Richard Attenborough, set in the late 1970s, during the apartheid era of South Africa....
 was based on Biko and other articles written by Donald Woods. It stars Denzel Washington
Denzel Washington

Denzel Hayes Washington, Jr. is an United States actor and film director. He has garnered much critical acclaim for his work in film since the 1990s, including for his portrayals of real-life figures, such as Steve Biko, Malcolm X, Rubin "Hurricane" Carter, Melvin B....
 as Steve Biko
Steve Biko

Stephen Bantu Biko was a noted anti-apartheid activist in South Africa in the 1960s and 1970s. A student leader, he later founded the Black Consciousness Movement which would empower and mobilize much of the urban black population....
 and Kevin Kline
Kevin Kline

Kevin Delaney Kline is an Academy Award winning American actor of theatre and film....
 as Donald Woods
Donald Woods

Donald James Woods, Order of the British Empire was a white South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist.As editor of the Daily Dispatch from 1965 to 1977, he befriended Steve Biko, leader of the anti-History of South Africa in the apartheid era Black Consciousness Movement, and was banned by the government soon after Biko's d...
. The movie was not banned in South Africa
South Africa

The Republic of South Africa, also known by Official names of South Africa, is a country located at the southern tip of the continent of Africa....
 but the police confiscated copies of it and theaters showing it were bombed.

See also

  • Donald Woods
    Donald Woods

    Donald James Woods, Order of the British Empire was a white South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist.As editor of the Daily Dispatch from 1965 to 1977, he befriended Steve Biko, leader of the anti-History of South Africa in the apartheid era Black Consciousness Movement, and was banned by the government soon after Biko's d...
  • Steven Biko