Frases de Steve Biko

„Es mejor morir por una idea que vale la pena vivir, que vivir por una idea que no vale la pena morir.“

—  Steve Biko

„Si somos libres en el corazón, no habrá cadenas hechas por el hombre con fuerza suficiente para sujetarnos.“

—  Steve Biko

„Black Consciousness is in essence the realization by the black man of the need to rally together with his brothers around the cause of their oppression.“

—  Steve Biko

„It is better to die for an idea that will live, than to live for an idea that will die.“

—  Steve Biko

Quoted in Scott MacLeod, "South Africa: Extremes in Black and Whites" http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,975037,00.html, Time, March 9, 1992, p. 38
Quoted in "The Mind of Black Africa" (1996) by Dickson A. Mungazi, p. 159

„Apartheid — both petty and grand — is obviously evil.“

—  Steve Biko

We Blacks
I Write What I Like (1978)
Contexto: Apartheid — both petty and grand — is obviously evil. Nothing can justify the arrogant assumption that a clique of foreigners has the right to decide on the lives of a majority.

„This is the extent to which the process of dehumanization has advanced.“

—  Steve Biko

We Blacks
I Write What I Like (1978)
Contexto: The logic behind white domination is to prepare the black man for the subservient role in this country. Not so long ago this used to be freely said in parliament, even about the educational system of the black people. It is still said even today, although in a much more sophisticated language. To a large extent the evil-doers have succeeded in producing at the output end of their machine a kind of black man who is man only in form. This is the extent to which the process of dehumanization has advanced.

„The most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.
So as a prelude whites must be made to realise that they are only human, not superior. Same with Blacks. They must be made to realise that they are also human, not inferior.“

—  Steve Biko

Statement quoted in the Boston Globe (25 October 1977)
Contexto: Even today, we are still accused of racism. This is a mistake. We know that all interracial groups in South Africa are relationships in which whites are superior, blacks inferior. So as a prelude whites must be made to realize that they are only human, not superior. Same with blacks. They must be made to realize that they are also human, not inferior.

„The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.“

—  Steve Biko

White Racism and Black Consciousness
I Write What I Like (1978)
Variante: The greatest weapon in the hand of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.

„Even today, we are still accused of racism. This is a mistake. We know that all interracial groups in South Africa are relationships in which whites are superior, blacks inferior. So as a prelude whites must be made to realize that they are only human, not superior. Same with blacks. They must be made to realize that they are also human, not inferior.“

—  Steve Biko

Statement quoted in the Boston Globe (25 October 1977)

„The system concedes nothing without demand, for it formulates its very method of operation on the basis that the ignorant will learn to know, the child will grow into an adult and therefore demands will begin to be made. It gears itself to resist demands in whatever way it sees fit.“

—  Steve Biko

The Quest for a True Humanity
I Write What I Like (1978)

„We must realise that prophetic cry of black students: "Black man you are on your own!"“

—  Steve Biko

The Quest for a True Humanity
I Write What I Like (1978)

„You are either alive and proud or you are dead, and when you are dead, you can't care anyway.“

—  Steve Biko

On Death

„The basic tenet of black consciousness is that the black man must reject all value systems that seek to make him a foreigner in the country of his birth and reduce his basic human dignity.“

—  Steve Biko

Statement as witness (3 May 1976)

„In time, we shall be in a position to bestow on South Africa the greatest possible gift—a more human face.“

—  Steve Biko

White Racism and Black Consciousness
I Write What I Like (1978)