On this day, September 12, in 1977

South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Bantu Biko died just after being transferred to a prison in Pretoria. He had been arrested almost a month before, and while in police custody he suffered major head injuries and was chained to a window grille for a full day. Before his arrest, Biko had helped establish the South African Students Organization, which later evolved into the Black Consciousness Movement. Due to Biko’s radical beliefs and strong influence in the community, the apartheid government of South Africa put a ban on him in 1972, restricting him to certain areas, forbidding him to make public speeches, and making it illegal to quote anything that he said. Talk about censorship.