Steve Biko as existentialist communicator

Abstract

Despite ongoing interest and reflection on the work and ideas of Stephen Bantu Biko (1946–1977) in South Africa, no scholarly contribution from a communicological perspective has been published yet. While Biko regarded himself first and foremost as a freedom fighter who aimed to topple the apartheid regime, many regard him more as a philosopher – perhaps an ‘organising philosopher ’ or a sort of ‘social and political philosopher ’ as Sono (1993, 90ff.) puts it. More (2008, 64) goes further and argues that Biko, in his writings, displays a definite philosophical outlook, ‘an Africana existentialist preoccupation with “being-black-in-an-antiblack-world” and [a preoccupation with] questions of “black authenticity ” and “black liberation”’. The main aim of the article is to consider whether Biko as communicator makes human communication as a mode of existence come alive. Biko never addressed the problematic nature of human communication directly. The article concludes that Biko may be regarded as a foremost existentialist communicator during apartheid South Africa, and that his thoughts on meaningful and authentic existence remain relevant for confronting the vexing challenges facing contemporary South African communities.