Social Reformer. As editor of the "Daily Dispatch" newspaper in South Africa from 1965 to 1977, he was critical of the South African government's apartheid policy, even befriending activist Steve Biko in the process. After Biko was beaten to death in police custody in 1977, Woods publicly denounced the South African government's cover-up of the circumstances surrounding Biko's death, which led the government to restrict his activities. After his daughter was burned by an acid-laced T-shirt, he decided to flee South Africa. Disguised as a Catholic priest, Woods fled to Lesotho, where his family members soon joined him. He and his family then settled in London, England, where he became an active spokesperson against apartheid, even becoming the first private citizen to address the United Nations Security Council in 1978. Woods' relationship with Biko and his subsequent flight was dramatized in a 1987 film "Cry Freedom," where he was portrayed by Kevin Kline and Biko by Denzel Washington. After the end of apartheid, Woods returned to South Africa in 1994 to participate in South Africa's first post-apartheid election and later worked for several years at the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism in Johannesburg. In 2000, a year before his death from cancer, he was named a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for his "services to human rights."
Social Reformer. As editor of the "Daily Dispatch" newspaper in South Africa from 1965 to 1977, he was critical of the South African government's apartheid policy, even befriending activist Steve Biko in the process. After Biko was beaten to death in police custody in 1977, Woods publicly denounced the South African government's cover-up of the circumstances surrounding Biko's death, which led the government to restrict his activities. After his daughter was burned by an acid-laced T-shirt, he decided to flee South Africa. Disguised as a Catholic priest, Woods fled to Lesotho, where his family members soon joined him. He and his family then settled in London, England, where he became an active spokesperson against apartheid, even becoming the first private citizen to address the United Nations Security Council in 1978. Woods' relationship with Biko and his subsequent flight was dramatized in a 1987 film "Cry Freedom," where he was portrayed by Kevin Kline and Biko by Denzel Washington. After the end of apartheid, Woods returned to South Africa in 1994 to participate in South Africa's first post-apartheid election and later worked for several years at the Institute for the Advancement of Journalism in Johannesburg. In 2000, a year before his death from cancer, he was named a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for his "services to human rights."
Bio by: TML
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