Black Consciousness And The Quest For A True Humanity Summary

The 20th century illustrates a new approach towards societal values. As the Third World came around, sentiments of self-identity and the struggle with oppression became a war of its own. Steve Biko writes about the issues of racism and how it impacts people’s views, lifestyles and attitudes. He also defends Black Consciousness and offers solutions to eliminate racism from white supremacy. By writing Black Consciousness and the Quest for a True Humanity, Biko is able to draw a powerful South African identity that will lead African Americans to get through oppression. In his writing he states, “… the most powerful weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed” (Biko, 248). The opressor’s main strength is making the oppressed

believe that there is a reason or motive to be oppressed. The oppressor can not control what is in your mind, your heart, or your spirit if one strongly desires to fight for what one truly believes. The oppression can only be fully eliminated the moment one realizes something is worth fighting for. Shifting structures of society and identity in the 20th century centered on the aspects of colonial liberation, women’s liberation, and civil rights. Oppression and the lack of self identity brought about strong influential leaders that portray 20th century societal aspects. Occasions that exemplify Biko’s ideals against oppression and the quest for self-identity are seen through Gandhi’s non-violent resistant movements against decolonization, Simone de Beauvior’s ideals of Women’s Movement and elimination of “the Other”, and Malcolm X and Steve Biko’s active involvement against oppression towards the recognition of black nationalism and consciousness.
Mohandas Gandhi’s Hind Swaraj (Self-Rule) conveys his view on strong Indian Nationalism. He argued that it’s not easy to sustain and accomplish full Indian nationalism due to the various religions and ethnicities that made up the Indian society, as well as the strong sentiment of anti- British rule, “If we become free, India is free. And in this thought you have a definition of Swaraj (self-rule). It’s Swaraj when we learn to rule ourselves…in the palm of our hands… But such Swaraj has to be experienced, by each one for himself” (Gandhi, 230). His anti-British notion is seen through his ideals of “satyagraha” (truth) and “ahimsa” (no violence), which remained strong and influenced civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Nelson Mandela. Throughout Hind Swaraj (Self Rule) 1909, we can comprehend the solution towards oppression to be not only governmental authority, but also Indian nationality pride through culture and a notion of self-identity.
According to Gandhi, the Indian people believe that the dominant nationality is English. First, Gandhi sought for people to believe that they’re superior to the British, and from there lead them to resist English rule. Gandhi shows pride for the Indian civilization, which proves, “We consider our civilization to be far superior to yours… We consider your schools and law courts to be useless. We want our own ancient schools and courts to be restored. The common language of India is not English but Hindi” (Gandhi, 231). Gandhi knows, as does Biko, that if people are oppressed, they’ll keep thinking they’re oppressed. His goal to liberate India was through non-violent resistance such as marches and boycotts. Gandhi enforces a determined passive fighting tactic that will liberate a nation from colonial control. To no longer be oppressed and controlled by another country leads to unhappiness, loss of identity, and opposing judgment. As we will see, Gandhi’s nonviolent acts to deal with oppression in some ways tie in to gender oppression. The general motive is to fight and create a truth, as well as to partition from what can be seen as “the other”.
Not only was decolonized nationality a form of oppression, but gender also. An important feminist of the 20th century, Simone de Beauvior, introduced the concept of woman as “the Other” in The Second Sex, 1949. Feminism advocated equality for women in equal rights, status, and equal roles in society. Beauviours’s writing is considered a central and complete explanation of feminism. She introduces the concept of women as “the other”, meaning the inferior “other” gender to men, “Thus humanity is male and man defines woman not in herself but as relative to him; she is not regarded as an autonomous being… She is defined and differentiated with reference to man and not he with reference to her; she is the incidental, the inessential as opposed to the essential. He is the Subject, he is the Absolute—she is the Other” (Beauvior, 235). Through her writing we can sense that her solution for oppression of gender is to develop a new identity for females, “…thus men have been led, in their own interest, to give partial emancipation to women: it remains only for women to continue their ascent, and the successes they are obtaining are an encouragement for them to do so. It seems almost certain that sooner or later they will arrive at complete economic and social equality, which will bring about an inner metamorphosis…” (Beauvior, 239). Simon de Beauvior has greatly pointed out how females are “the other”. She highlights that not only are women seen as “the other” in terms of gender and society, but also how there are “others” in terms of race and nationalities such as negroes which are seen as inferior to white American supremacy, “Thus it is that no group ever sets itself up as the One without at once setting up the Other over against itself… To the native of a country all who inhabit other countries are ‘foreigners’; Jews are ‘different’ for the anti-Semite, Negroes are ‘inferior’ for American racists, aborigines are “natives” for colonists, proletarians are the ‘lower class’ for the privileged…” (Beauvior, 235). We can also link this to Gandhi’s decolonization. Gandhi sees the English as the “other” and Indians as the superior civilization, therefore strong notion of decolonization and national liberation. Here, females are “the other” in contrast to males.
Beauvior has pictured and questioned the idea and concept of how and why women have come after or are below men in terms of superiority. She touches on physical, mental, biological, and even religious factors that could contribute to women being seen as “the other”. But she also exposes that it’s the 20th century and now is the time for women to stand up and contribute and fight to lay out a foundation that they are not “the other”, they are human beings, they can do as much as men and it’s time for equality. Characteristics of self-identity and equal perspectives during this time period have all formulated identity and oppression. It also compounds the issue of race and culture that we should stop labeling women and other “minorities” as “the other”. Of course, Gandhi might oppose to Beauvior’s overall concept, but he would contribute to the argument that one should be able to be and identify themselves as one wants and desires to be.
Throughout the 1950’s and 1960’s, segregation was a daily life style in the American South. Acts of segregation would define that it was against the law for whites and blacks to equally use or be at the same restaurants, public restrooms, and even public transportation. Segregation was a huge concern for the African American population, mainly in the unequal access of education, health, and income. Between the 50’s and 60’s, the rising of the Civil Rights Movement took a great leap in American history. Great leaders stepped forward, fighting and encouraging the color minority to fight for their equal rights, including those stated in the Constitution. Several of these leaders took Gandhi’s technique of passive resistance, such as boycotts and marches. Unfortunately, nonviolent protests were not satisfactory as is seen through the writings of Malcolm X. Not being able to resist police violence, and other forms of racist attacks angered the Civil Rights leader, following into a more drastic approach to eliminate oppression.
Malcolm X converted to Islam and then left the Nation of Islam. After he left the Nation of Islam, he gave a speech, Address to a Meeting in New York (1964), focusing on why he differs between his Islamic belief and his Black Nationalist identity, while at the same time addressing the process of out ruling oppression. He emphasizes his black nationalism by speaking, “I’m still a Muslim, but I’m also a nationalist, meaning that my political philosophy is black nationalism, my economic philosophy is black nationalism, my social philosophy is black nationalism…to me this means that the political philosophy for black nationalism is…designed to encourage our people, the black people, to gain complete control over the politics and the politicians of our own people” (Malcolm X, 242). As we can see, Malcolm X proposes straightforward action to control and take ahold of the governmental system. He wants people to know that they can and they will form equality, they will form a united society, and they will have their voice heard for once and for all.
Simone de Beauviore and Malcolm X acknowledge and recognize that there aren’t only women or blacks confronting oppression, “…black, brown, red, and yellow people in this country [who] are also seething with bitterness and impatience and hostility and animosity at the racial intolerance not only of the white West but of white America in particular…” (Malcolm X, 243).

Overall, Malcolm X wants to encourage the oppressed to fight, to really fight and leave those Gandhi tactics behind, “There are 22,000,000 African Americans who are ready to fight for independence right here. When I say fight for independence right here, I don’t mean any non-violent fight, or turn-the-other-cheek fight. Those days are gone. Those days are over” (Malcolm X, 243). As we have already discussed Steve Biko’s approach to oppression, he greatly inputs his ideas of Black Consciousness when he states, “…thinking along lines of Black Consciousness makes the black man see himself as a being complete in himself. It makes him less dependent and more free to express his manhood. At the end of it all he cannot tolerate attempts by anybody to dwarf the significance of his manhood…” (Biko, 249). Gandhi, Beauviore, and Malcolm X all fall under this statement by Biko- it’s all up to you, the oppressed, to attempt change, to act, and to influence. Lastly, Biko reminds us that, “Only [the white man] can tell us how good our performance is and instinctively each of us is at pains to please this powerful, all-knowing master. This is what Black Consciousness seeks to eradicate” (Biko, 250). Although both Malcolm X’s and Gandhi’s ideals differed, they both felt the same way, meaning Gandhi said Hindu is the nationality to follow, while Malcolm X proposed to fight against white oppression. Overall, Gandhi’s fight against the British and Malcolm X’s fight against whites demonstrates that the only way they could fight off oppression was to make Hindus and blacks to believe that their race or ethnicity is the

oppressor and to believe what they’re fighting for.
All these attempts combine each other’s oppression and all have the common voice of wanting to live peacefully and to not be put down by factors that they cannot control-native background, genitalia, and skin color. As has been illustrated, such movements are what have shaped our world history, from revolutions and wars, to partitions of countries, and the impact on the world after World War II. Those who’ve always been seen as superior have created a world where one must fight for their freedom if one isn’t born “superior”, hence living in oppression, as Biko has implemented. The different time periods and regions of the world in which each of these figures fought for what they believed was right, demonstrates how history always demands a need for change for the greater good. In many cases oppression is what triggers action.