The Bristol Bus Boycott is held in Bristol to protest the Bristol Omnibus Company's refusal to employ Black or Asian bus crews, drawing national attention to racial discrimination in the United Kingdom.
Bristol Bus Boycott
The Bristol Bus Boycott of 1963 arose from the refusal of the Bristol Omnibus Company 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. 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 buses. 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.
Bristol
Bristol is a cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. The county is in the West of England combined authority area, which includes the Greater Bristol area and nearby places such as Bath. Bristol is the second largest city in Southern England, after the capital London.
Bristol Omnibus Company
The Bristol Omnibus Company was a dominant bus operator in Bristol, and was one of the oldest bus companies in the United Kingdom. It ran buses over a wide area of Gloucestershire, Somerset, Wiltshire and neighbouring counties.