The contradictions of black consciousness: from Biko to RhodesMustFall

ABSTRACT Black Consciousness (BC) has inspired many individuals and political formations since the formation of the South African Student’s Association (SASO) in 1968. We argue that BC, as articulated in the writings of Steve Biko, is beset with internal contradictions and ambiguities, and its limits are revealed in the concrete attempts to realise a politics of “Black solidarity” and the affirmation of “Black values.” We engage in a comparative historical analysis of two moments in which BC was prominent in South African politics namely the late 1960ʹs and 1970ʹs and during 2015–16 within the RhodesMustFall (RMF) student movement at the University of Cape Town. In each case, those claiming fidelity to BC were inevitably forced to ground their politics in something other than “Blackness.” Moreover, the way the internal contradictions of BC theory are overcome become shaped by particular historical circumstance and available political options. While Biko’s generation were afforded opportunities to engage and contribute to various currents of the broader anti-Apartheid liberation movement, contemporary South African social dynamics, where progressive forces are mute and reactionary political currents are on the rise, threaten to turn the politics of “Black solidarity” and the affirmation of “Black values” towards regressive ends.