Lindsay Plott & Berhanu Mengistu
Old Dominion University – June 24, 2018
Abstract
This paper revisits the key themes of Steve Biko’s Black Consciousness movement, exploring what it means to govern consciously and in good faith in the 21st century. Even though the context for Biko’s Black Consciousness Movement was apartheid and its many deleterious impacts on the African people, post-apartheid South Africa, and indeed, the global community, is still facing ever growing inequality and social and economic injustices.
This paper examines both the possibilities and limitations of applying Biko’s wisdom to policymaking and good governance in addressing the growing global challenges. To this end, the first section of this paper explores ideas of consciousness and complicity, particularly in terms of Hegel’s master-slave dialectic, in comparison to Biko’s philosophy. The second section highlights the profound ideas associated with Biko’s Black Consciousness movement, and the third section examines the possibilities of translating his ideas into practice in this new millennium. We begin by proposing five practices that public institutions might implement to create a more just and responsive government: (1) commitment to personal, organizational, and institutional change; (2) honoring difference without striving for its erasure; (3) the institutionalization of epistemic justice; (4) power sharing; and, (5) a commitment to engage in practices grounded in good faith. We conclude by acknowledging the challenges and pressures, particularly from the global political environment, which might pose limitations to such practices, and we suggest potential methods for engaging in fruitful dialogue as to how nations might carry on Biko’s legacy in the struggle for social justice and economic equality in 2018 and beyond.
