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A Fundamental Freedom Fighter - Thirty-six years ago on Sept. 12, Steve Biko, the revolutionary leader of the Black consciousness movement in South Africa, died while in police custody. The story of fellow freedom fighter Nelson Mandela might be more well-known, but Biko’s contribution to the fight against apartheid positioned the young Black South African as one of the nation’s most significant political activists. — Patrice Peck(Photo: Mark Peters/Getty Images)

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Biko's Educational Background - Steve Biko was born on Dec. 18, 1946, in the Eastern Cape of South Africa. As a child, Biko had showed an early interest in anti-Apartheid politics. Despite being expelled for “anti-establishment” behavior at his first school, he eventually completed his secondary education and went on to attend the Black section of the University of Natal Medical School in 1966.(Photo: Mark Peters/Getty Images)

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An Innate Knack for Leading - A penchant for political activism led Biko to become of his university’s most prominent student leaders. By 1968, he had co-founded the historic South African Students’ Organization (SASO) an organization addressing the inferiority complex that Biko said was the source of passiveness within the Black student community. As president, Biko helped to launch a formidable political force that swiftly spread to campuses across South Africa.(Photo: Courtesy of the South African History Archive)

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Leaving an Indelible Mark - The Black People’s Convention (BPC,) the South African Students Movement (SASM) and the National Association of Youth Organizations formed shortly after. During his short, yet remarkable life — for which he was mostly banned from traveling — Biko made large strides for Black South Africans by assisting political prisoners and Black students, penning the incendiary I Write What I Like and more.(Photo: Courtesy of University of Chicago Press)

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Philosophical Brothers - The work of the Black French philosopher Frantz Fanon, particularly his writings on anticolonial and national liberation movements, “the new man” and Black consciousness, greatly influenced Biko, as did his book The Wretched of the Earth, which Fanon wrote in 1961.(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

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Biko's Brutal Last Days - On Aug. 18, 1977, he was arrested at a police road block under the Terrorism Act. After 22 hours of being interrogated and tortured, Biko suffered a massive brain hemorrhage that resulted in a coma. In September, the officers drove 700 miles with a naked and injured Biko strapped to a jeep to a prison with a hospital. He died at the age of 30 on Sept. 12 in Pretoria Central Prison on the floor of an empty cell.(Photo: Courtesy of the South African History Archive)

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The World Responds - International protests and a U.N. embargo on arms placed Biko’s death onto the global stage. Many rejected the alleged cause (a hunger strike) of his death. It was not until two decades later that a police colonel and four officers admitted the true cause of his death to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, and were ultimately denied amnesty in 1999. (Photo: STF/AFP/GettyImages)

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Woods Fights for Truth - Donald Woods, a white South African journalist and friend of Biko, was a major advocate for the freedom fighter. With photographs of Biko’s injuries and other grounds, he struggled to refute the police’s claims. Woods’ work exposed the sordid setup of the case. The 1987 film Cry Freedom portrayed their relationship and Woods’ fight for the truth.(Photo: Universal Pictures)

Photo By Photo: Universal Pictures

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Wilson's Short Biko Bio - Author Lindy Wilson wrote one of the few — albeit short — published biographies on Biko. Her 2011 book, Steve Biko, argues that the young South African was fundamental to the reawakening and transformation of South African in the second half of the 20th century.(Photo: Courtesy of Ohio University Press)

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Showcasing a Pivotal Figure - In the 2012 Biko: A Biography, South African author Xolela Mangcu explores the complexities of Biko’s leadership and aims to transform our understanding of such a pivotal figure. Included in the biography are a look at Biko’s childhood, his father’s early death, his expulsion from school and his impact on the Soweto student uprising of 1976.(Photo: Courtesy of Tafelberg Press)

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Google Exhibits Biko's Life - Google’s Cultural Institute collaborated with the Biko Foundation to present an online archive of all-things Biko, comprised of five multimedia exhibits and 107 documents and images relating to the activist’s life and work throughout the years.(Photo: Courtesy of Google)

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Biko's Legacy Lives On - To continue championing Biko’s legacy, a number of institutes, memorials, and other events and structures have honored him by carrying out his advocacy for political activism, community service and self-esteem in Black communities. Visit the Steve Biko Foundation website for more information on one of South Africa’s foremost political thinkers.(Photo: Gallo Images/Oryx Media Archive/Getty Images)