.jpg) First edition | |
| Author | Donald Woods |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Biography |
| Publisher | Paddington Press |
Publication date | 1978 |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 436 |
| ISBN | 0-8050-1899-9 |
| OCLC | 24107193 |
| 968.06/092 B 20 | |
| LC Class | DT779.8.B48 W67 1991 |
Biko is a 1978 biography aboutBlack Consciousness Movement leader andanti-apartheid activistSteve Biko. It was written by theliberalwhite South African journalistDonald Woods, a personal friend of Biko.[1] It was the inspiration for the 1987 filmCry Freedom.
Biko covers the life of South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko from the view of his friend Donald Woods. The book is also critical of the white government of South Africa and theApartheid system. It attacks the mistreatment of blacks and the brutality commonly used by the police.[2]
Biko died on September 12, 1977, while in police custody. The official police report stated that he had died as the result of ahunger strike. But South African journalist Woods, after first seeing the body, was convinced that Biko was beaten to death. Woods had photographs of Biko's body taken and published in his newspaper theDaily Dispatch. Woods was forced to flee for his life after he became targeted by the government for attempting to investigate Biko's death. He fled to theUnited Kingdom, where he campaigned against apartheid and publicized articles about Biko.
Richard Attenborough's filmCry Freedom was based onBiko and other articles written by Woods. It starsDenzel Washington as Biko andKevin Kline as Woods.[1]
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