- Steve Biko dies. The world is shocked, and Africans are angry. The government begins a series of "savage crackdowns" on organizations that declared they would continue the struggle.
- The military creates a permanent presence in Alexandra. Gatherings of more than three people (even for a funeral) are now banned.
- Mark goes to meetings where blacks talk about how to get guns and do what is necessary to obtain liberation.
- Mark is angry but he knows he doesn't have what it takes to be violent. So he continues to read and play tennis. But he feels guilty, wondering if reading books and playing tennis means he's collaborating with apartheid rather than struggling against it.
- He convinces himself that violence is suicidal and promises himself that if he leaves South Africa, he'll fight against apartheid with "every ounce of my strength" (48.10).