Name the anti-apartheid activist who led the Black Consciousness Movement.

• A. Balfour Declaration
• B. PLO
• C. Steve Biko
• D. Nelson Mandela

Answer: (C)

The Black Consciousness Movement focused on empowering Black South Africans to define their own identity, leadership, and path to liberation, challenging both apartheid policies and any notion that reform could come only from white allies. Steve Biko became the clearest voice and organizer of this movement, helping to mobilize students and communities, advocate for psychological emancipation, and promote Black pride and self-reliance. His approach emphasized building Black political leadership from within and creating independent structures like the South African Students' Organization to drive change. Biko's leadership and his death in custody in 1977 became a powerful catalyst for broader anti-apartheid resistance.

The other options don’t fit this specific leadership role: the Balfour Declaration is related to the Middle East, not South Africa; the PLO is the Palestinian Liberation Organization; and Nelson Mandela was a key anti-apartheid leader through the ANC and international campaigns, but he is not the figure most closely associated with leading the Black Consciousness Movement.