ABSTRACT
The black consciousness movement began in South Africa about 1970. Contrary to what might be assumed, it did not arise because of influences from the USA. Rather its sources, political, theoretical and economic, lay entirely within Africa. The outcome of Stanley Ntwasa's year out to promote Black theology was the publication in 1972 of an edited collection of Essays in Black Theology, published by the Black Theology Project of the University Christian Movement. It was immediately banned. The second wave of Black theology in South Africa is best represented in the work of Allan Boesak. The black consciousness movement insisted on including Indians and Coloureds. Black theology in South Africa can therefore be a weapon in the liberation struggle, but only if it is developed from the perspective of the working class. Apartheid was legitimised by a very detailed use of the Bible.
