After anti-establishment behaviour led to his expulsion from school, Biko was sent to boarding school and went on to study medicine at the University of Natal. He helped establish the South African Students' Association there and became its first president. The group helped underprivileged black and Indian people.

This first position led to the formation of the Black Peoples Convention which brought together around seventy different groups in the spirit of fighting for black rights. He was expelled from medical school for this and in 1973 he was banned by the government. This meant he was limited to a small geographical area and was not allowed to speak to more than one person at a time. Despite the ban, Biko was instrumental in organizing the Soweto uprising that saw 700 school children shot down by police.

In 1977 Biko was arrested at a road block. Less than a month later he was driven to Pretoria where he died shortly after arriving. His death was due to a sever beating by the police. The government denied any wrong doing, stating his death was due to a hunger strike, and later, as self-inflicted head wounds. His death caused alarm around the world, attracting much attention to the cruelty of the Apartheid South African government.