The Steve Biko Centre in South Africa's Eastern Cape Province will be dedicated to the legacy of anti-apartheid activist Bantu Stephen Biko. "Bantu" in the iSintu languages that are spoken in Southern Africa means "people". As a personal name, "Bantu" means: "the one for the people".

True to his African name, Biko was a force around which congregated a generation, who helped redefine the manner in which Africans in South Africa, the continent and the Diaspora viewed themselves.  Biko espoused the philosophy of black consciousness, which emphasized the link between consciousness of self and social action.  This placed Biko among a breed of African thinkers universally who include W.E.B. Dubois, Aime Cesaire, Kwame Nkrumah, Julius Nyerere, Amilcar Cabral, Cheik Anta Diop, Malcolm X and Frantz Fanon, among others.   Many of them, whose contribution to “decolonising the mind” had profound ramifications in the black world, were major influences in the evolution of Biko’s thinking. The Centre will therefore commemorate and celebrate the historic and unfolding culture of liberation among African people universally.   

The Steve Biko Centre will feature as the cornerstone of the Biko Heritage Trail; a series of Biko related sites spanning from Port Elizabeth to King William’s Town.  A number of these sites, among them  Biko’s home in Ginsberg Township, the Biko Bridge in East London as well as Zanempilo Clinic, which Biko co-founded in the mid-1970’s, have been declared national heritage sites. These sites garner both local and international attention, with the Centre initiative receiving the active endorsement of community members, local authorities and the national government. The Centre has been designated by the Cabinet as a National Legacy Project.   More recently, elements of the Biko Heritage Trail were included in UNESCO’s interim listing of Liberation Heritage Sites. 

It is envisaged that the Steve Biko Centre will be a destination for tourists and a vehicle for greater cultural awareness and economic development for the local community.  The Centre will be comprised of:

• A Museum
• An Archive and Library Resource Centre
• A Commemorative Garden honoring human rights activists
• Training Facilities
• Cultural Performance and Production Spaces
• A Community Media Centre
• Retail Spaces