PROPOSAL

Bikos Children:
A History of the Blackwash Movement of Azania

Candidate: Mr Thandolwethu Sipuye

Supervisors:
Professor Gary Minkley

Aims of the research

This research aims to present a history of the Blackwash Movement of Azania, a Black
Consciousness youth formation based in Soweto, from the perspective of an under-researched
group, exploring their constitution of Bikos notions of blackness and race in democratic South Africa.
Some of the underlying objectives of the research include:

Tracing the origins of the Blackwash Movement of Azania;

Studying the narratives and identifying the ideological framework and characteristics of the

Movement;
How Blackwash constitutes Bikos ideas on race and blackness to define Black existence in

contemporary South Africa; and

Exploring the intersection between and convergence of contemporary Black Consciousness in
South Africa, new (social) media and the Black diaspora

Background to the research

Steve Biko continues to inspired youth movements long after his killing in detention in 1977. His ideas
are embraced and articulated in unique dynamic ways by various youth groups seeking to define
contemporary South African Black existentiality. In South Africa today there is a strong sense of
connection with Steve Biko. According to Mashupye Herbert Maserumule in order to understand why
Steve Biko continues to be relevant among Black youth in South Africa today, we should ask: did
black people attain, in Bikos words, their envisioned self which is a free self in 1994 and rid
themselves of the shackles that bind them to perpetual servitude? 1 This is a question I seek to
unravel throughout this research.
Although Steve Biko died 37 years ago, he continues to transfigure into new forms of existence and
Black struggle. According to Kenneth M. Tafira Steve Biko returns and continues to illuminate the
post-apartheid social order. His contestation by various claimants for different reasons shows his
continuing and lasting legacy. However he finds a special niche among a disenfranchised and

1 Maserumule, M. H. 2015. Why Bikos Black Consciousness philosophy resonates with youth today, Sunday Times. 04
September.

frustrated township2. The Blackwash Movement of Azania conceives of itself as such an incarnation
and continuity of the basic tenants of Black Consciousness espoused by Steve Biko. And
interestingly, its founders are women.
The work of Tendai Sithole uses Franz Fanons thoughts on race and blackness, the black elite and
black public intellectuals as the theoretical framework to examine how three public intellectuals Sipho Seepe, Xolela Mangcu and Andile Mngxitama - understand and view the post-1994 political
discourse3.
Dominant narratives about Black Consciousness tend to ignore the continuity of the cultural and
political ethos of the Black Consciousness Movement of the 70s and 80s into the post 1994 epoch.
Nigel Gibson correctly points out that by the early 1980s Black Consciousness began to be
dismissed as little more than a passing stage, no more than a psychological necessity 4.
These dominant narratives conjured up false notions about the imminent demise of Black
Consciousness, or its irrelevance under a Black government. And to a large extent this has been due
to the assimilationist social and political reconstruction and configuration of South Africa as a rainbow
nation after 1994. After the end of apartheid many people thought that was also the end of racialized
politics in South Africa.
But after two decades of ANC rule, South Africa is still largely polarised along racial lines; the majority
of Black people remain poor and landless; crime and violence continues to mark the daily
experiences of people living in squatter camps and townships; youth unemployment including larger
numbers of graduates is rife, and access to good quality education remains a critical challenge.

2 Tafira, K. M. 2003. Steve Biko returns: The persistence of Black Consciousness in Azania (South Africa). Thesis
submitted for doctor of philosophy degree, social anthropology. Wits University. Abstract
3 Sithole, T. 2012. Fanon and the positionality of Seepe, Mangcu and Mngxitama as Black public intellectuals in the post1994 South Africa. Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the subject
politics. UNISA.
4 Gibson N. 2004. Black Consciousness 1977-1987. The dialectics of liberation in South Africa. Centre for Civil Society,
Durban, South Africa. Pg. 2

Dictated by the circumstances of prevalent conditions, new socio-political movements like Blackwash
have emerged, using the basic tenets and ethos of Black Consciousness as the ideological base for
their articulation and critique of post 1994 South Africa. Through various interventions and
campaigns, Blackwash has attracted considerable media attention although often understated
because of their minimal prominence. A number of Afrikaner online sites characterize Blackwash as a
hate group that advocates for genocide against whites in general, but Afrikaners in particular.
Although scholars such as Sithole (2012) and Tafira (2013) have conducted research around certain
aspects related to Blackwash, their focus was broadly around philosophical and political aspects of
the Movement. Very little is known about the in-depth origins of the Movement, its sub-structures,
strategies, campaigns, transnational networks and most importantly, its narratives and discourse on
blackness, race and liberation. My focus is on documenting a history of Blackwash in order to grapple
with the question of why Steve Biko continues to find relevance amongst Black youth in the post-1994
dispensation.
Using a Fanonian theoretical approach to the study of post-liberation societies, this research seeks to
understand why young people in post-1994 South Africa find Steve Biko relevant, and how exactly
they translate his ideas to define their own contemporary struggles.

RESEARCH QUESTIONS
Central
The central question that will be addressed by this study is: Why does Steve Biko continue to be
relevant in post-1994 South Africa, and how are his ideas on blackness, race and liberation
constituted by the Blackwash Movement of Azania?
Guiding
A few guiding questions will shape the research. These are:
i)

How does Blackwash address the question of blackness and race in a democratic South
Africa;

ii)

What is the ideological standpoint of Blackwash, and what critical discourses and narratives
do they articulate to define Black existential realities today; and

iii)

To what extent has new (social) media enabled the transmigration of Black Consciousness
in post-1994 South Africa and how does this relate to domestic South African politics.

Methodology
Combining theoretical analysis with empirical study of narrative and discourse, the research uses the
Blackwash Movement of Azania as a case study to understand why Steve Bikos ideas continue to be
relevant to young people in South Africa after 1994. My research methods will consist of interpreting
primary sources and a critical reading of secondary materials in order to construct a history of Black
Consciousness under democracy.
I will conduct in-depth interviews with in-depth interviews with 10 leaders, including the founders, of
Blackwash in order to fully understand the genesis of the Movement. I have already conducted
interviews with five of these leaders already, including Andile Mngxithama. I am currently in the
process of transcribing the interviews.
The research will also make use of primary documents like minutes, pamphlets, flyers & posters and
newsletters collected from Blackwash activists. These documents will be read closely to establish the
narratives and discourse that emerges. I have also already acquired most of these documents from
various activists of Blackwash, as well as through their online platforms.
Moreover, I will also make use of secondary sources as most of the discourse of and relating to
Blackwash is located online, particularly on social media platforms like Facebook, YouTube, Blogs
and online newspapers. So, I will also explore these mediums, including academic research around
Black Consciousness in post-1994 South Africa, to read the narratives and discourse of and relating
to Blackwash.

Research Limitations
The major limitation of this research is the necessity of restricting myself solely on Blackwash. There
are evidently various other youth groups and socio-political movements inspired or influenced by
Black Consciousness in different parts of South Africa today. But I have deliberately opted to focus on
Blackwash specifically in order to study more closely its narratives and discourse about what it means

to be Black in democratic South Africa. My intention is to construct a history of Blackwash in order to

understand why Steve Biko continues to be relevant under democracy.

Tentative Schedule
Initial submission of proposal

Monday, March 07, 2016

Proposal returned for revision

Monday, March 14, 2016

Submission of proposal for final revisions

Monday, March 21, 2016

Proposal accepted by research supervisor

Monday, March 28, 2016

First thesis draft completed

Wednesday, June 08, 2016

Supervisor returns corrected first draft

Monday, June 20, 2016

Revised draft completed

Monday, July 04, 2016

Supervisor returns revised draft

Wednesday, July 13, 216

Final text submitted to supervisor

Wednesday, August 17, 2016

Supervisor returns revised final text

Wednesday, August 31, 216

Bound copy approved

Monday, September 12, 2016

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