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GRADE 12 ESSAY: PAPER 2
The Influence and impact of the Black Consciousness Movement.
INTRODUCTION
➢ Establish your Line of argument and answer the essay question.
➢ Provide insight into the body of the essay by mentioning what topics your
essay will cover.
REASONS FOR BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS
➢ The ANC and PAC is banned after the Sharpeville massacre.
➢ Rejected white influence.
➢ Encouraged black South Africans to be independent and promoted black selfrespect.
➢ Biko encouraged black South Africans to change the way they taught, liberate
their minds.
➢ Included all black South Africans i.e., Indians and Coloureds.
➢ Promoted African culture, history and identity.
INFLUENCES ON BLACK CONSCIOUSNESS
➢ Influence drawn from international movements like, Pan-Africanism, Black
Power and the Negritude movements.
➢ These movements highlighted the oppressive nature of the apartheid regime.
➢ Black South Africans must liberate they minds psychologically and change
mindsets first before actual freedom can be won.
THE SOUTH AFRICAN STUDENT’S ORGANISATION
➢ The shortcomings of NUSAS, did not protect black students or address black
students concerns and issues faced at campus.
➢ SASO formed, encouraged black pride, solidary and unity.
➢ Spread to ethnic university campuses across South Africa.
THE ROLE AND IMPACT OF THE BLACK PEOPLE’S CONVENTION
➢ Formed for politically active adults.
➢ Encouraged the growth and emergence of various self-help programmes in
black communities e.g., Zanempilo Health Clinic [ explain who opened it?
What did it do? Instilled black pride].
➢ List and explain the functions of other organisations that was formed under
the BPC banner [ Union of Black Journalists ( UBJ), Black Parents
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Association ( BPA), South African Students Movement ( SASM), Black Allied
Workers Union ( BAWU), Black Community Programmes ( BCP)].
THE ROLE AND INFLUENCE OF BAWU
➢ Formed by Drake Koka who was a member of the BPC.
➢ Protests started at the Coronation Brick and Tile Plant in Durban.
➢ Reignited Black trade unionism and started a wave of strikes across South
Africa.
➢ Defied Apartheid policies.
➢ The strikes impacted the South African economy
➢ Supported the disinvestment campaign.
THE ROLE AND INFLUENCE OF SASM AND BLACK EDUCATION
➢ List the reasons for black learners striking in Soweto i.e., poor quality
education, limited curriculum, high pupil teacher ratio, inexperienced teachers,
lack of science labs, no sports or libraries.
➢ Afrikaans as the medium of instruction.
➢ The role and influence of SASM, encouraged community development, got
learners involved in various clubs and activities.
➢ SASM various projects encouraged the youth and showed black unity and
self-reliance.
➢ Led to the Soweto Uprising.
THE SOWETO STUDENT’S REPRESENTATIVE COUNCIL
➢ SSRC planned mass demonstrations due the government instruction of
Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in black schools.
➢ Planned protest against this instruction, schools in Soweto united and fought
as one.
➢ The police opened fire and killed and injured a number of children, gained the
support of black parents.
➢ Affects across South Africa included destruction of government property, stayaways, and boycotts.
APARTHIED GOVERNMENT’S REACTION
➢ At first government not threated as if fell in line with its policy of separate
development.
➢ Biko and BCM became popular and became seen as a threat therefore the
government placed banning orders BCM leaders, like the SASO 8, restricted
the movement of BCM leaders and literature was banned, SASO banned on
all university campuses.
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➢ The passing of the terrorism act led to Biko’s arrest, torture and murderresulted in a wave of protest across South Africa.
CONCLUSION
Remember the following:
➢ When you start a new paragraph use a linking word for example:
As a result of
If…then
So that
Because
In order to
Thereby
Begins with
Is caused by
Therefore
Consequently
Leads/Led to
Thus
Effects of
May be due to
When…then
➢ After you use a linking word as shown above, state the POINT of the
paragraph, i.e. what will you be focusing on/discussing in the paragraph.
➢ Use the evidence shown above to support your Line of argument.
➢ When you finish discussing each paragraph, always restate your Line of
argument.
➢ End each paragraph by briefly stating what the next paragraph will be
about.