South African Students' Organisation

The South African Students' Organisation (SASO) was a body of South African students who resisted apartheid through political action. The organisation was formed in 1968, spearheaded by Steve Biko, and played a major role in the Black Consciousness Movement.

Up until SASO's formation, the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS) considered multi-racialism to be the solution to racism and apartheid. The SASO differed from this viewpoint, advocating a black identity separate from any white or multi-racial identity, and succeeded in attracting large numbers of black, coloured, and Indian youths.

In 1974, nine leaders from SASO were arrested and tried for conspiring to overthrow the state by unconstitutional means. The so-called "SASO Nine" included Saths Cooper, Strini Moodley, Aubrey Mokoape, Mosiuoa Lekota, Nkwenkwe Nkomo, Zithulele Cindi, Muntu Myeza, Pandelani Nefolovhodwe and Kaborane Sedibe. After a 17-month trial, the nine were convicted and sentenced to between 5 and 10 years on Robben Island.^[1]

Achievements

The South African Students’ Organisation (SASO) was able to re-establish an opposition group that went against the dictator government that existed in South Africa. Before this organisation started there were no black people who were allowed to do things that the whites were allowed to do. SASO helped many black South African students and politicians to get better life system, and they worked actively in order to reach their goals.^[2] For the first view years, the SASO organisation started with bunch of different projects that they wanted to help the black students in South Africa, but they also helped many other African people. They started those projects by helping the black South Africans from health issues, and later on they spread activities to do something about the education system.^[3] The South African Students’ Organisation, faced many obstacles, but they finally achieved their missions and they helped many black South African students to have qualified education. This did not only benefit the students who lived at that time, but they opened knew doors for their future generations and still their achievements work today. Steve Biko was one of the black students who attended Natal University's medical school, and he was a medical student. He was one of the very view people who talk about the unhealthy situation in South Africa. Steve Biko was elected as the leader of the student’s Representative Council in Natal University.^[4]

See also

• Namibian Black Students Organization

References

• Halisi, C. R. D. Black Political Thought in the Making of South African Democracy, Bloomington : Indiana University Press, c1999. xxi, 198 p. ; 24 cm. ISBN 0-253-33589-2 (alk. paper)

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