News / Bristol Bus Boycott
Community celebrates 60th anniversary of civil rights struggle
A series of events have been spearheaded by Curiosity UnLtd, a local social justice organisation, to celebrate three 60th civil rights anniversaries linked to the city.
The first of Curisity UnLtd three ‘Bristol Bus Boycott 360’ events took place in 2023 to mark the 60th anniversary of the Bristol Buys Boycott.
In 1963 campaigners, led by Paul Stephenson, Roy Hackett, Guy Bailey and others, boycotted the Bristol Omnibus Company (now First Bus) after they refused to hire Black and Asian people.
is needed now More than ever
Ultimately, on August 28 1963 – the same day as Martin Luther King Jr’s famous ‘I Have A Dream Speech’ – the bus company’s colour bar came to an end.
The Boycott helped inspire the then Labour government create the 1965 Race Relations Act, the first piece of anti-race discrimination legislation in the UK.
In 2023, Curiosity UnLtd and partners unveiled a double decker with bespoke artwork to mark the 60th anniversary of the Boycott – photo: Mia Vines Booth
In August 2023, Curiosity UnLtd, in collaboration with Creative Connex, Bristol Ideas and First West of England, unveiled a specially wrapped bus which featured illustrations of Bristol Bus Boycott pioneers.
Curiosity UnLtd also travelled to Westminster to get a commitment from then opposition leader Kier Starmer that Labour would pass a Race Equality Act should they win the general election.
On October 25 of this year, CuriosityUnLtd hosted their second ‘Bristol Bus Boycott 360’ event, which marked the 60th anniversary of Paul Stephenson’s 1964 sit-in at the Bay Horse pub.
On April 10 1964, Stephenson, who by then had received national notoriety due to his involvement with the Boycott, was refused a drink at the Bay Horse and asked to leave because he was Black.
He refused. Police were called and Stephenson was charged with failing to leave a licensed premises.
The charge was ultimately thrown out.
During the event on October 25 2024, placards with racial justice messages could be found all around the Bay Horse – photo: Seun Matiluko
Curiosity UnLtd marked the 60th anniversary of the sit-in with a series of events.
First, they unveiled an outdoor art gallery featuring new artwork on bus stops across the city centre.
photo: Seun Matiluko
photo: Seun Matiluko
photo: Seun Matiluko
The designs will be displayed across 45 Clear Channel bus stops across Bristol for at least one year.
The artwork was designed by the winners of Curiosity UnLtd and Clear Channel UK’s ‘Designs4Change’ competition held earlier this year – Marcia Brown (from Leeds), Gwen Balmer (from Wales), Amara Lawrence (from Birmingham) and 11-year-old Bristolian Martha.
Some of the ‘Designs4Change’ judges included Green councillor Ed Plowden and Sandra Agard, author of a children’s book about the Boycott called The Bristol Bus Boycott: A fight for racial justice.
Amara Lawrence, a community engagement coordinator at the Herbert Art Gallery & Museum in Coventry, said she entered the competition because 1960s civil rights activism in Bristol was “an important part of history that we need to celebrate”.
The winners were presented with certificates and free travel on First buses and were also invited to brunch with civil rights pioneers at the Bay Horse later that day.
Amara Lawrence was one of the ‘Designs4Change’ competition winners – photo: Seun Matiluko
Civil rights activists present at the brunch included Guy Bailey and Joyce Morris -Wisdom.
Jamaican-born Morris-Wisdom was only14 years old during the 1963 Boycott.
She said: “I was still at school and I believed in social justice.
“And I started thinking, when I get older – would I find myself in the same situation (as the Black and Asian men seeking employment with the Bristol Omnibus Company)?
“I really wanted to make a difference so I got permission from my mum to get the day off from school.”
Joyce Morris-Wisdom attended the brunch alongside her husband, Tim Wisdom – photo: Seun Matiluko
Morris-Wisdom, who has recently co-authored a pamphlet for the Bristol Radical History Group about the Boycott, added that she thinks more should be done to teach younger generations about what life was like in 1960s Bristol.
Life was tough.
She said: “It was awful in the shops.
“If you buy anything you had to put your money down on the counter and they’d give it back to you on the counter because they didn’t want to touch your hands.
“On the buses they didn’t want to sit beside you.
“They didn’t trust us. They didn’t find time to get know us.”
Joyce Morris-Wisdom has recently coauthored a Bristol Radical History Group pamphlet on the Boycott – photo: Seun Matiluko
Morris-Wisdom added: “People know about Martin Luther King Jr but my belief is that our Paul Stephenson is America’s Martin Luther King Jr. And our Guy Bailey is Rosa Parks.”
She thinks the Boycott should be celebrated every year as a public holiday to make it harder for future generations to forget.
After all, it’s not “just Black History Month history, it’s British history”.
Cards from Crossing Coasts were handed out at the event, which highlighted prominent Black Britons of African-Caribbean descent – photo: Seun Matiluko
After brunch, there was a drinks reception at the Bay Inn kicked off by a powerful performance of the Wheels on the Bus by Nia Bimkubwa, with reworked lyrics to celebrate the Boycott.
Then, some of the pioneers in attendance were applauded before Henry Campbell, the song of Boycott pioneer Princess Campbell, was given a thank you card on his mother’s behalf.
The nieces of Boycott pioneer Carmen Beckford, who also played a critical role in the establishment of St Paul’s Carnival, were also given a card.
When giving thank you cards Julian Davis, the director of Curiosity Unltd, emphasised the importance of celebrating people or, giving them “their flowers”, while they’re still alive.
Henry Campbell received a thank you card on behalf of his mum, Princess Campbell – photo: Seun Matiluko
Towards the end of the night, the Bay Horse apologised for Paul Stephenson’s poor treatment at their pub in 1964.
They also unveiled a plaque in Stephenson’s honour and declared that a section of the pub was permanently designated as ‘Paul’s Corner’.
Curiosity UnLtd’s third and final ‘Bristol Bus Boycott 360’ celebration event is due to take place in 2025, in recognition of the 60th anniversary of the 1965 Race Relations Act.
Julian Davis told Bristol24/7 that ‘Bristol Bus Boycott 360’ was: “Trying to weave a story that’s bigger than the Boycott, that’s bigger than the city, that’s bigger than the Race Relations Act.
“What is the legacy of the Bristol Bus Boycott today? What is the future?
“How do we work together, smarter, harder, faster to go further?”
Main image: Seun Matiluko
Read next:
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
