“The most powerful tool of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed” said Steve Biko.

Steve
was an activist that fought against apartheid in South Africa. He founded the idea and the
movement of Black Consciousness. He believed that any black person should not be metally
oppressed. Steve Biko’s Black Consciousness is about how blacks should be aware that the
whites are taking advantage of them.

In the Movie Cry Freedom, Steve Biko mentions that black kids will always stay in the slums no
matter how talented they are. Whites in South Africa were educating black children to work for
low wages and therefore were never given the opportunity to increase their status. The Afrikaner
state was oppressing these individuals and making them believe that they are inferior to the
whites. Like Biko said, the oppressors are using black skill and talent as a tool to further develop
their own lives.

Cry Freedom also shows a scene where black high school students were protesting against their
curriculum that mainly focused on white accomplishments. In the same movie, Biko also talks
about the effects of this curriculum that glorifies whites. He says that this education can lead to
kids believing that they and their race is inferior to the ones depicted in their books. The
Afrikaner state does this to make them mentally degrade themselves. The state is taking control
over the mind of the oppressed by feeding false ideas about race.

Black Consciousness says that black people should be aware that the whites are taking advantage
of them. Steve Biko believed that whites were metally oppressing black individuals for their own
benefits. The lack of opportunities for black kids restricts them from doing whatever they are
good at. Biko mentions that teaching kids about achievements that were made by white people
and not mentioning any black achievements, leads kids to think they are inferior to the white
race.