Black Consciousness as an Expression of Radical Responsibility

Biko an African Bonhoeffer

Bibliographic Data

ID20487906
AuthorsCornel du Toit (1Research Institute for Theology and Religion, University of South Africa, P.O. Box 392, UNISA 0003, Republic of South Africa, corresponding author)
Year2008
Volume15
Issue1-2
Pages28-52
Publication date2008-01-01
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueReligion and Theology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1023-0807 • E-ISSN: 1574-3012
PublisherWalter de Gruyter GmbH (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1163/157430108x308145
OpenAlexW1968233569
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited4

The article reflects on the ongoing relevance of Biko's thought 30 years after his death. It is not so much a comparison between Biko and Bonhoeffer's thinking as it is a focus on one aspect of Bonhoeffer's thinking, namely the insistence on independence and self-responsibility in your own situation, which is a premise of Biko's thinking. As the father of Black Consciousness in South Africa, Biko laid the foundation for black self-understanding and self-responsibility. The value of his thinking lies in a hermeneutics of consciousness, which he established and which is a presupposition of his ideals of self-responsibility and self-emancipation. Biko's hermeneutics of the self is considered with reference to the forces that kept black people captive. Although Black Consciousness is seen as a historically contingent phenomenon, the challenge of black liberation remains. Biko's legacy is vital for the establishment of a hermeneutics of poverty and freedom, which is presented as a condition for African liberation in the 21st century

Black theology · Consciousness · Emancipation · Epistemology · Hermeneutics · Political science · Politics · Premise · Sociology · Theology · African cultural and philosophical studies · Contemporary Christian Leadership and Education · Gender Studies · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Sociopolitical Dynamics in Nigeria

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