The 1968 SASO Formation: Black Consciousness Rising
The Story of South Africa: Empire, Apartheid, and Transformation — Fexingo HistoryPlay episode
Show notes
In 1968, a group of black university students led by Steve Biko founded the South African Students' Organisation (SASO), breaking away from the white-dominated National Union of South African Students (NUSAS). This episode traces the origins of the Black Consciousness Movement, exploring how students at the University of Natal's non-European medical school in Wentworth began meeting secretly in 1967. We discuss the ideological influence of Frantz Fanon and Kwame Nkrumah, the symbolic power of the term 'black' as a political identity, and the launch of SASO at a conference in Mariannhill, Durban. The episode details SASO's early projects like the Zanempilo Community Health Centre and the Mamphela Ramphele's role, leading up to the movement's crushing by the apartheid state in the 1970s. We also examine tensions with the ANC's Freedom Charter and the Pan Africanist Congress's legacy. #BlackConsciousness #SteveBiko #SASO #NUSAS #UniversityOfNatal #Wentworth #Mariannhill #FrantzFanon #KwameNkrumah #Zanempilo #MamphelaRamphele #Apartheid #SouthAfrica #StudentMovement #1970s #AntiApartheid #History #FexingoHistory Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo
