I Write What I Like

Chapter 7 is an article from SASO’s June 1971 newsletter addressing the problems facing Black leaders in the apartheid system. Biko identifies the lack of unity in Black leadership as a key obstacle to ending oppression. The 1960 banning of Black political parties, namely, the African National Congress and the Pan-Africanist Congress, resulted in the withdrawal of Black people from politics. Liberalism took hold. When Black people reentered the political sphere, they chose to work within the system to avoid being banned.

The Black population became increasingly fragmented as leaders fought for concessions for the individual groups they represented, rather than fighting for all Black people. Biko views apartheid institutions as tools that fragment Black people by encouraging their leaders to fight separately for certain gains. He discourages Black people from joining apartheid institutions, urging them instead to maintain solidarity.

Chapter 8 is a paper Biko gave at the 1971 conference of the Interdenominational Association of African Ministers of Religion in Natal. The paper focuses on the interrelated issues of African culture and acculturation.

Two main cultures met through colonialism: African culture and Anglo-Boer culture. Colonizers conquered through force and by