Scope and arrangement
A rare collection of 12 typed letters signed by Steve Biko, written to the Chief Magistrate of King William's Town between May 16, 1973 and July 19, 1977, just weeks before Biko's death in police custody. The collection also includes 9 carbon copy responses/handwritten memos from the magistrate relating to Biko's requests. This collection of letters shows an increasingly exasperated Biko bravely challenging the petty demands of the apartheid regime.
The Bantu Stephen Biko letters are arranged in two series: