Historical Organization
South African Students' Organisation
South African Students' Organisation
Also known as: SASO
Details
Organization Timeline
SASO adopts its constitution and elects Steve Biko president
📅 1 July 1969Black students created an independent organization that rejected white control of student politics and became a major vehicle for Black Consciousness.
SASO is inaugurated as an independent Black student organization
📅 1 July 1969The South African Students' Organisation was officially inaugurated at the University of the North, with Steve Biko as president and Barney Pityana as secretary. Black students developed an...
The state restricts Black Consciousness leaders
📅 2 March 1973Restriction orders targeted Steve Biko, Barney Pityana and other SASO and BPC activists, limiting movement, meetings and public speech.
SASO leader Onkgopotse Tiro is killed by a parcel bomb
📅 1 February 1974Tiro, a student leader living in exile, was assassinated near Gaborone. His killing showed the reach of political violence beyond South Africa's borders.
Viva Frelimo rallies celebrate Mozambique's liberation
📅 25 September 1974SASO and the BPC organized rallies supporting FRELIMO and African decolonization. Police suppression and later prosecutions turned the campaign into a major confrontation with Black Consciousness.
Black Consciousness activists defy a ban on Viva FRELIMO rallies
📅 25 September 1974SASO and Black People's Convention supporters held solidarity rallies despite a government ban. They celebrated Mozambique's movement towards independence and connected it to the struggle against...
Black Consciousness activists are detained after the Viva Frelimo rallies
📅 12 October 1974Fourteen people were arrested under the Terrorism Act. Nine leading activists were later prosecuted in a lengthy trial that gave Black Consciousness ideas a public platform.
The SASO Nine are convicted
📅 21 December 1976Nine Black Consciousness activists were convicted after a lengthy political trial; six received six-year terms and three received five-year terms on Robben Island.
Black Wednesday suppresses organizations and newspapers
📅 19 October 1977The government banned Black Consciousness bodies and other organizations, closed The World and Weekend World, and restricted prominent activists and journalists.