EXTRACT
It was Steve Biko who said that “being black is not a matter of pigmentation; it is a reflection of a mental attitude”.
The group therefore not only misinterprets Steve Biko – he was no racist, either in his choice of friendships or in his understanding of black consciousness – they also read the man out of context.
To begin with, Biko did not have “a decol theory”. But in the context of apartheid Biko was indeed against the kind of integration where “whites do all the talking and the blacks the listening”. That was the 1970s. From the list of speakers on the 2018 Decolonial Winter School programme it could be said that blacks were doing all the talking.
Biko wanted a genuine integration but, he asks, “does this mean that I am against integration?” No, says the man who was killed for his ideas. “If by integration you mean there shall be free participation by all members of a society … then I am with you.”