Bristol Bus Boycott

Bristol Bus Boycott

Audley Evans, Paul Stephenson and Owen Henry, pictured in front of a 1960s Bristol bus
Date	30 April 1963 (1963-04-30)
Location	Bristol, England
Participants	Paul Stephenson, Roy Hackett, Owen Henry, Audley Evans and Prince Brown
Outcome	Employment of first non-white conductor, 17 September 1963

The Bristol Bus Boycott of 1963 arose from the refusal of the Bristol Omnibus Company (in conjunction with the Transport and General Workers’ Union) to employ Black or Asian bus crews in the city of Bristol, England. In line with many other British cities at the time, there was widespread racial discrimination in housing and employment against so-called "Coloureds". An organization later named the West Indian Development Council was founded by Roy Hackett, Owen Henry, Audley Evans, Prince Brown, and led by youth worker Paul Stephenson as group spokesperson.^[1] Guy Reid-Bailey would later become a member. West Indian Development Council was created to end the discriminatory colour bar policy at the Bristol Omnibus Company, which prevented Black and Asian workers from operating the busses. The West Indian Development Council started a boycott of the company's buses by Bristolians, which lasted for four months until the company and union backed down and overturned their policy.

The boycott drew national attention to racial discrimination in Britain and the campaign was supported by national politicians, with interventions being made by church groups and the High Commissioner for Trinidad and Tobago. The Bristol Bus Boycott was considered by some to have been influential in the passing of the Race Relations Act 1965 which made "racial discrimination unlawful in public places" and the Race Relations Act 1968, which extended the provisions to employment and housing.