The basic tenet of black consciousness is that the black man must reject all value systems that seek to make him a foreigner in the country of his birth and reduce his basic human dignity.
Meaning of the quote
Black people should not accept ideas and beliefs that make them feel like outsiders in their own country or that take away their basic human rights and value. They need to stand up for themselves and their identity, and not let others try to make them feel less than human.
More quotes from Steven Biko
You are either alive and proud or you are dead, and when you are dead, you can’t care anyway.
So as a prelude whites must be made to realise that they are only human, not superior. Same with Blacks. They must be made to realise that they are also human, not inferior.
The most potent weapon of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed.
It becomes more necessary to see the truth as it is if you realize that the only vehicle for change are these people who have lost their personality.
The basic tenet of black consciousness is that the black man must reject all value systems that seek to make him a foreigner in the country of his birth and reduce his basic human dignity.
Black man, you are on your own.
Merely by describing yourself as black you have started on a road towards emancipation, you have committed yourself to fight against all forces that seek to use your blackness as a stamp that marks you out as a subservient being.
Black Consciousness is an attitude of the mind and a way of life, the most positive call to emanate from the black world for a long time.
In time, we shall be in a position to bestow on South Africa the greatest possible gift – a more human face.
Being black is not a matter of pigmentation – being black is a reflection of a mental attitude.