Black Consciousness Then, Now and In
The Near Future:
Getting the facts right
The main reason for this paper is to
offer some much needed clarity concerning the development of the Idea of Black Consciousness, a way of
thinking and acting that can be called a philosophy yet is clearly much more
than that. I have chosen to use many quotations from people who I consider to
be among the most knowledgeable and experienced in the ‘field’. Of course there are many more men and women who
qualify to be in these pages, but I have selected just a few people who set the
record straight without depending on political jargon.
“Constantly,
in the difficult days of our struggle against apartheid, I used to say that the
Black Consciousness movement was surely of God. You see,the most awful aspect
of oppression and justice was not the untold suffering it visited on its victim
and survivors, ghastly as that turned out to be, as the testimonies we have
been hearing attest. No, it was the fact that apartheid could, through its
treatment of Gods children, actually make many of them doubt whether they were
indeed God’s children. That I have described as the ultimate blasphemy.” –
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu
1:
The true beginnings of BC
“The
surge towards Black Consciousness is a phenomenon that has manifested itself
through the so called Third World. There is no doubt that discrimination
against the black man the world over fetches its origins from the exploitative
attitude of the white man. --- It is true that the history of weaker nations is
shaped by bigger nations, but nowhere in the world today do we see whites
exploiting whites on a scale even remotely similar to what is happening in
South Africa. Hence, one is forced to conclude that it is no coincidence that
black people are exploited. It was a deliberate plan which has culminated in
even so called black independent countries not attaining real independence.
It
should therefore be accepted that an analysis of our situation in terms of
one’s colour at once takes care of the greatest single determinant for
political action – i.e. colour – while also validly describing the blacks as
the only real workers in South Africa.
In
terms of the Black Consciousness approach we recognise the existence of one
major force in South Africa. This is White Racism.”
- Steve Biko (I Write What I Like, 1971)
“Black
consciousness did not emerge in SA in the 1970’s – the meetings that gave birth
to black consciousness in SA happened initially in 1966. The South African
Students Organisation (SASO) was formed, interestingly, in 1968 at Marian hill.
It was launched the following year at the University of the North. – In other
words, there was no SASM before “black consciousness emerged”: SASM was born
out of the very melting pot of black consciousness.”
– MandlaSelleoane
The BCM’s first political statement was
contained in the SASO Policy Manifesto. That Manifesto did not, however, say
much about the society the BCM envisaged. The first elaborate attempt to spell
this out was a declaration in King William’s Town in 1975 called Towards a Free
Azania – Projection: Future State. In this declaration the BPC committed itself
to:
i.
Establish a democratic state
ii.
Introduce a just legal system
iii.
Build a strong, socialist, self
reliant economy
iv.
Ensure security and peace of
the nation
v.
Safeguard social rights
vi.
Develop culture, education and
technology
vii.
Adequately provide for the
health and welfare of all
viii.
Provide adequate housing
ix.
Follow a foreign policy hat
respects national independence and international friendship.
The BCM met the following year in Mafikeng
and adopted the 16 – Point Programme, also known as the Mafikeng Manifesto. The
tenets of the 16-Point Programme do not deviate much from those set above, save
that it watered down the socialism component of the King Williamstown
Declaration. Instead the BPC now adopted Black Communalism as its economic
policy. The economic future as spelt out in the BPC’s commission on Black
Communalism was that:
‘Principally
the economic welfare of the country is … the responsibility of the state … It
shall be incumbent on the state to be the initiator of industry and to use the
factors and means of production, provided individuals may individually or
corporately undertake such industry or production as they profitably undertake
without initiating* (neglecting?) common welfare …While it will be the duty of
the state to ensure opportunity for all its members to engage in productive
efforts on their own behalf, it shall also be the duty of the state to see to
it that everyone …shall have the necessary training ( so that) their productive
abilities are topped …
This
means that education and training shall be compulsory and free for the young
and (for) adults according to the need for production and for their own
development as people…’
The question we have to ask ourselves as
citizens is clearly; what will it take for SA as a country to achieve these
basic objectives and can they possibly be achieved within this neo-liberal
constitutional democratic dispensation? If the answer is negative, then we
should all strive for Revolution that should completely alter the status quo
and only then can we return to the drawing board – a sort of re-visitation of
the CODESA era meetings where the real New South Africa is once again mapped
out.
It would be simplistic to even suggest that
this is an easy task, nation building has never been easy, yet the most
important thing is to prepare the minds of the majority of people to such an
extent that they are ready to begin.
2: The
Crucial Conflict
In this country Azania or the more
palatable South Africa or Mzansi – we can no longer pretend that the Rainbow
Nation experiment is something realistic, of course it was merely a hopeful
aspiration and those in power have clearly not done enough by way of Economic
growth to level the field. The gap between the rich and the poor has been
widened, contrary to the leading party’s insistence that this is a country
experiencing massive changes. Even the cosmetic transformation that is sold by
the perennially embattled broadcasting authorities is showing serious cracks. Clearly
no one can pretend that the 18 years of black rule have ushered in any change
in the lives of the majority.
But this is by no means a pessimistic
viewpoint, neither is it an accident. The leading party has never had a
distinctive pro-poor or pro-black stance, their principles have always been
Liberal and thus as much as the supporters can hope to see realistic changes in
the majority’s living standards, real change is impossible under the current
regime. But the irony is that there have always been pro-Black Consciousness
cadres within the ANC but they have been systematically purged. This is the
crucial conflict that continues to plague us until this very day. Here are some
examples of what I am referring to:
“Ben
Mokoena recounts that after Steve Biko was killed in detention in 1977, the
1976 generation of activists in the ANC camp in Morogoro, Tanzania, wanted to
hold a memorial service for him. The ANC leadership would not allow that,
arguing that Biko was not an ANC member. The Youth promptly reminded the ANC
leadership that they had come from the BC movement and that for them it was
important to honour Biko. A revolt was looming as the ANC leadership would not
budge on the matter. The revolt was averted, in the end, by Oliver Tambo
sending Thabo Mbeki to Morogoro with the instruction that the commemoration
must be allowed.” – Towards A
National Dialogue: a Diagnosis byMandlaSeleoane
“But
the real problem lies in the fact that – at the end of the day we have to
accept that the programmes (The Unity/Truth Movements 10-Point Programme, the
1943 Bill of Rights and the Freedom Charter) simply envisaged different
societies. Therefore if South Africa is not approaching certain destinations,
ultimately we would have to accept, once we have consensus on those destinations
that, perhaps, those destinations were simply not on the agenda of some
liberation organisations. But what must be absolutely clear is that we cannot
blame others for not going where they never intended to go.” – M.S.
And for a more academic point of view, Franco
Barchiesi, in his latest book Precarious Liberation: Workers, the State,
and Contested Social Citizenship in Post apartheid South Africa makes a
lot of valuable observations and uses much well researched information to
highlight the plight of the black masses in this country. He also points out
the stark contradictions and outright hypocrisies at play within the
tri-partite alliance of the ANC-SACP and COSATU. On page 90 he offers this:
“By
the end of the 1990’s, COSATU’s opposition to GEAR had strained its relations
with the ANC, as the unions vowed to greet labour market flexibility with
‘blood on the streets’. The ANC’s response, contrary to its usual
consensus-seeking aplomb, was equally blunt. At the 1998 congress of the SACP,
Thabo Mbeki fulminated against
‘Those who consider themselves to be the very
heart of the left that, in pursuit of an all-consuming desire to present
themselves as the sole and authentic representative movement, seem so ready to
use the hostile message of the right and thus join forces with the defenders of
reaction to sustain an offensive against our movement. (Mbeki 1998)’
If
left critics were now labelled as extremist and traitorous, unions failing to
follow the government’s line became targets of overt threats. The ANC
leadership has considerable leverage over COSATU officials as it provides a
necessary link to resources and careers in the private sector or in
government.”
What one finds here is the usual
politicking and verbal gymnastics that the tripartite alliance uses to
publically toy with the minds of the masses. This simply distracts the people from
focussing on what they really require and what they have been robbed of from
the beginning of colonial domination. The truth of the matter is this is a
country which does not determine its own destiny, partly due to the fact that
the ANC has long been an anti-black and pro-capitalist movement, disguised as a
liberation movement in power. But are they really in power, or are they merely
a bunch of incompetent overseers/supervisors employed not by their constituents
but by the global imperialist forces in the form of the IMF, the World Bank and
the World Trade Organisation?
The
so called allies such as the SACP, COSATU and various other institutions simply
tow the party line and people such as Vavi only pay lip service to workers and
social struggles. A friend of mine with whom we have argued endlessly about the
efficacy of an ANC led liberation often states that Vavi is getting paid to
call for a march each and every year without fail. He says that he is simply
following the basic protocol of the so called New World Order; he must make it
seem as if the people are standing up against their incompetent and inefficient
leaders.
The
main question is, what are these marches really achieving, is there any one
victory over the all powerful ANC that VAVI and his COSATU ever won? The answer
is an unequivocal NO. Yes, we find the younger Mbeki’s and other so called
communism critics making a noise about the ANC and its anti-black policies, yet
come election time, these very same hypocrites become the loudest evangelists
preaching the false gospel of the ANC, and at all times using the race card.
Many people fall for this ruse as they are afraid of losing the country to the
DA, meaning back to White power. But what people fail to see is that white
privileges are still protected under the neo-liberal mis-rule of the ANC and
black poverty is still ensured. The elite among the white citizens of this
country are the apple of the ANC’s eye, they may send the Malema’s and other
stray dogs to attack them publically yet their very policies are clearly
anti-black.
During public or even family debates about
the state of the nation (or country since we can’t really be called a nation
yet), I have become used to hearing ANC sympathisers saying that 19 years is
too little time for people like myself to expect real changes to the black
condition, that we must give our leaders a chance - I am also no longer
surprised to hear even young people saying that there is no need for any talk
of radical change or Revolution since the ANC has provided us with adequate and
democratic platforms where we can all air our views and frustrations. What irks
me is that this is even said by people who are languishing in poverty and
tolerating all the lack of proper services. This apathy and turning of the
other cheek would totally drive me insane if I did not appreciate the fact that
we are a people who have been through many years of mental slavery, yet I think
that conditions are so bad in our country that it is high time we throw all the
caution to the winds of change and earnestly take back power as a people.
The smugness and nonchalance of the leading
party’s ministers as they sometimes admit to the embarrassing backlogs in
delivery and acknowledge some failures is what really frustrates me. During
this years State of the Nation address, the ever so disarmingly charming JG
Zuma simply admitted that the willing buyer, willing seller policy had failed,
but did not elaborate on what would replace it. The point here is that Black
people are being psychologically insulted by our so called leaders who clearly
don’t see themselves as public servants, but as somehow superior beings who are
actually doing their best. Here’s what AggreyMahanjana, Group Managing Director
as NERPO has to say:
“A
policy of transferring hectares from whites to blacks …cannot be done by
willing buyer, willing seller. We must not destabilise the industry. We don’t
want to go to zero production and then it takes 10 – 20 years for black people
to get going in farming. They identify people to receive farms who are not
farmers: someone who has no knowledge, no resources … The government will buy
tractors, they will not buy diesel … They will set you up this year, and then
not come around until next year … To intervene successfully, you need a
holistic approach.” – (Page 25, The Africa Report, Issue 39, April 2012 ) –
Its stated that a total amount of land restituted is = 5% of the 24,9m ha
target.
It is really shocking to know that the
majority of Black people still wear ANC t-shirts and vow to die for their
leaders while the statistics against them are so blatantly showing their
failure. Patience, comrade, you’ll soon get yours! Is what the cadres tell one another?
Moeletsi Mbeki, Deputy Chairman of the
SAIIA Think Tank adds his own well know criticism to the debacle:
“The
ideology of the African National Congress is that blacks were excluded from
consumption, and now it is their turn …If you are directing resources towards
consumption, it means that you cannot create jobs. We see huge salaries for
senior public sector managers and more social welfare. Government spending was
20% of GDP in 1994; now it’s 32%. Private consumption is 70% of GDP; in China its
35%. China is a job creating economy.”
As if reacting directly to President Zuma’s
state of the nation triumphant statement about infrastructure investment, Mbeki
adds “You can build infrastructure, If
there is no production, what is it carrying? There is so much borrowing. There
are no new industries to fund all the infrastructure. We are pretending for the
ratings agencies that we agree with the Washington Consensus. The real game is
BLACK CONSUMPTION.”
Need I say more? The former presidents
own brother and author of the Architects of Povertyhas put it in
economic terms, clearly.
3:
The All Important Matter of Land
“In
fact we have all but departed from the liberation programmes insofar as land
rights are concerned, and embraced instead the willing-seller-willing-buyer
approach, which many have warned might land us in a situation not dissimilar
from the land-grab approach that has come to characterise Zimbabwe in latter years.
What is remarkable in this area of our political life is the extent to which we
have resisted the lessons of history. On the 19th of May 1906 Lenin
wrote a pamphlet titled The Land Question and the Fight for Freedom, where he
argues, inter alia:
‘…[No] matter how this compensation is arranged, no
matter how “fair” a price may be fixed for the land, compensation will be an
easier matter for the well-to-do peasants and will fall as a heavy burden upon
the poor peasantry. No matter what regulations may be drawn up on paper
providing for the purchase by the village community, etc., the land will in
practice remain inevitably in the hands of those who are able to pay for it…’
One does not have to embrace Leninism in
order to appreciate the point argued here, and to see that by and large the
argument has been vindicated by history in various parts of Africa. Our own
handling of land claims has moved at a snails pace that has discredited the
entire notion. Part of our failure in this regard is evidenced by the
appearance of the landless people’s movement.” – MandlaSeleoane, Towards a
National Dialogue: a Diagnosis, 20 June 2009
In the Manifesto of the Azanian
People: ‘The National Forum, which was a
coalition of various political, religious, educational and youth organisations
– adopted the Manifesto of the Azanian
Peoplein 1983, and demanded :
-
The land and all that belongs
to it shall be wholly owned and controlled by the Azanian people.
-
The usage of the land and all
that accrues to it shall be aimed at ending all forms and means of
exploitation.
-
Reintegration of the
‘bantustan’ human dumping grounds into a unitary Azania.
Whilst making these demands ( and more),
the Manifesto of the Azanian People points out poignantly that “Our struggle
for national liberation is directed against the historically evolved system of
racism and capitalism which holds the people of Azania in bondage for the
benefit of the small minority of the population, i.e. the capitalists and their
allies, the white workers and the reactionary sections of the middle classes.
The struggle against apartheid, therefore, is no more than the point of
departure for our liberatory efforts.” –Towards a National Dialogue.
3: Yesterdays Voices Today
I am a part of an online discussion group,
wherein we write to each other about various topics which mostly revolve around
the African/Black indentity, International news, the state of the nation and
various other political oriented issues. One of the conversations involved our
analysis of a speech delivered by Dr MamphelaRamphele at UNISA* ( Ican’t recall
which campus ), Mothepa posted these fragments and so we went on to discuss
them:
“We have a fundamental psychological problem
as South Africans in that we haven’t yet taken ownership of our citizenship. My
conclusion is that South Africans – black and white – still behave as subjects.
Instead of looking at government leaders as servants, which they are public
servants – we treat them like kings, queens and viceroys. We forget that we
employ them, not the other way around. Our collectivemindset hasn’t changed
since apartheid. There’s a functional problem behind our tolerance of
incompetence at many levels and I believe the psychology of oppression is at
the very heart of the underperformance of our society…”
She goes on to say “Don’t look around for
great leadership. You’re the leader you’ve been waiting for. The Lord created
you with enormous potential for greatness…There are three things I want you to
do: firstly promise me that from today you won’t allow anybody to treat you as
a subject. Secondly, when you see somebody being treated as a subject, stand up
and say ‘no’. Thirdly, each time our public servants step out of line, hold
them accountable. If each one of us does this every day, this country will be
able to reach its destiny. And that destiny is greatness.”
As lovely as the above words were and as
inspiring as they may sound, I found myself pondering what it really meant to
be a subject, to be a people who find themselves subjected to neo-colonialism
despite them-selves. It is simplistic to find oneself reacting emotionally to
such speeches, while they may go some way into inducing a sense of
responsibility to young students, they simply sound like a mothers good advice
to her child in the ears of an adult citizen of a country which languishes
under covert racial injustice.
This is what one of the groups most
insightful and intuitive members had to say (I quote Fuzi ):
“On
the Dr Rampele speech: I think one of the greatest dangers in this life is to
speak with knowledge on something that one feels one is knowledgeable about
when that knowledge is not based on TRUTH. I have a fundamental issue with what
the good doctor says below. Hayikabi – I feel like she feels like she knows
what she’s talking about, and I believe that her intentions are good, but I
think it’s misleading to dissuade people from understanding that they are
subjects when they call themselves South Africans. The fact that there is even such a thing as a
South Africa is BECAUSE the people of that nation were and are still subjected
to those manmade “boundaries” that assist in the creation of a South Africa.
And preserving South Africa is preserving the basis on which South Africa was
“founded”.
Which
is a subjective way of life. South Africa is not a choice of the people living
there – it is a consequence thereof…
So
yes – for a s long as we are to accept a South Africa, then we are to accept
the subjectivity of the occupation, and the people of that South Africa are its
subjects. Unless we want to do like the so-called African-Americans who like to
say that they have taken the power out of the word nigger by saying nigga..”
Here is what one of our most recent
participants had to say on this topic ( I quote Kingdom Williams):
“There
is one thing I do understand though; that the answers and truth we seek are all
before us. Africans and I mean all Africans should be self critical and ask
themselves thought-provoking questions that will bring about effectiveness and
efficiency in the social practice of life. It all starts with realising that
greatness is in ordinary people. The socially elite do not represent the truth
and they way for any populace as everything do must fit into a socially
acceptable construct from a higher order not visible for ordinary eyes. All the
media in the world is owned by two companies…he first thing for Africa to
realise is that when someone gives you freedom they can also take it away. So I
guess we will pay the price for using other peoples intellectual property ranging
from roads to cars, borders etc. Glitz and glamour are hypnotic tools…All
Africans are told what nation they are and have never stopped to ask the
relevance and implication for generational progress.”
Nuff Said For Now!
No comments:
Post a Comment