Bristol bus boycott leaders receive city's highest honour

Guy Reid-Bailey was given a letter of apology from Bristol's Lord Mayor Paula O' Rourke

The leaders of the Bristol bus boycott have received Freedom of the City status- the highest civic honour.

The late Dr Roy Hackett, who helped to overturn a ban on employing black and Asian drivers and conductors, was among six people to receive the award.

A letter of apology was given to Guy Bailey for the racist treatment he received from the Bristol Omnibus Company, when he was denied a job.

Bristol City Council presented the awards at a full council meeting.

Mr Hackett, who died in August, aged 93, was honoured with an OBE for his part in the bus boycott

Freedom of the City was also presented earlier to Mr Bailey, Barbara Dettering, Owen Henry, Audley Evans and Prince Brown in recognition of their help in coordinating the bus boycott of 1963.

The award is given by a local council to a person in recognition of their exceptional service to the city.

The awards were presented at a full council meeting on Tuesday

Amirah Cole, Labour Councillor for Ashley Ward said: "The boycott was a shining example of solidarity and what people can achieve when they stick together to campaign against injustice.

"I hope that awarding the boycott leaders this status will bring attention to their acts and inspire others to stand against prejudice."

The boycott was organised in response to Mr Bailey being denied a job at the Bristol Omnibus Company in 1963, because of its policy to only hire white people to work on the buses.

The Bristol Omnibus Company was nationalised at the time, so the precursor to Bristol City Council ran its operations within the city.

A newspaper cutting shows students marching in Bristol in protest against a "colour bar" on the buses

The boycott, which saw the black communities and white allies boycott the buses, resulted in the overturning of the policy, and also led to the Race Relations Act of 1965.

The landmark piece of legislation legally prohibited racially discriminatory policies in public.

Barbara Dettering was awarded Freedom of the City status for her role in co-ordinating the Bristol bus boycott

Councillor Asher Craig, deputy mayor and cabinet member for children, education, and equalities said: "Leading the boycott took tremendous courage.

"While the boycott is now rightly seen as what it was - a peaceful protest aiming to end racist employment practices - we shouldn't forget the level of opposition they faced at the time."

The honours were awarded posthumously with the exception of Mr Bailey's and Ms Dettering's.

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