Bristol civil rights hero Roy Hackett dies

The legacy of one of Bristol’s greatest civil rights heroes, whose work changed the course of history, lives on in Britain and beyond.

Tributes have been pouring in following the death of Roy Hackett at the age of 93.

As a leader of the Bristol Bus Boycott, Roy helped forge a new chapter in the battle against racial discrimination with a campaign that made international headlines and he continued the fight against racism to the end.

Described as a civil rights hero, an inspiration to many who made Britain a more tolerant place and a community legend, Roy was also one of the founders of St Paul’s Carnival.

Speaking to the BBC at the age of 90, Roy said: “We have a saying. ‘You have to be in it to change it’ and that is my word.

“Try and try. I keep trying because everybody thinks I’m a no-good and I keep trying until I become a too-good.”

Born in Jamaica, Roy travelled to the UK as a young man in 1952 where he soon encountered the racism that blocked access to housing and jobs for Black people.

On his first day in Bristol in 1956,  Roy walked around looking for a boarding house but was refused entry at each as soon as the owner saw he was Black. He recounts spending his first night sleeping in a doorway in an interview with the Guardian.

“I walked down Ashley Road looking for housing and found one house which didn’t have a card on it that said ‘no gypsies, no dogs, no Irish and no coloureds’.

“The lady opened the door, saw me, and without saying a word, just slammed the door,” he recalled to the BBC.

Roy went on to co-found the Commonwealth Coordinated Committee – later known as the West Indian Parents’ and Friends’ Association – to unite members of the Caribbean community and help individuals to fight against racism and discrimination.

The Bristol Bus Boycott changed the course of history – photo: Barbara Evripidou

It was in 1963 that Roy came across a man in Bristol who had been refused a job interview with the privately-owned Bristol Omnibus Company because of the colour of his skin. The local branch of the Transport and General Workers Union had introduced a ban on Black and Asian people working as bus conductors and drivers in 1955 and the bus company went along with it.

That is until Roy challenged the policy. Together with Owen Henry, Audley Evans, Prince Brown and Paul Stephenson, he mobilised into action.

They put forward a well-qualified man named Guy Bailey for a vacancy as a bus conductor only for Guy to be denied an interview when the bus company realised he was a Black Jamaican.

The group organised a mass boycott of buses in the city in a campaign that lasted for four months and attracted attention from across Britain and the globe. Prime Minister Harold Wilson, Bristol Labour politician Tony Benn and famous West Indian cricketer and diplomat Sir Learie Constantine all lent their support to the campaign.

Eventually, the company was forced to end the ban in August 1963 in a historic victory that paved the way for the Race Relations Acts of 1965 and 1968.

Roy continued the fight for racial equality for the rest of his life and was awarded an OBE in 2009 and an MBE in 2020.

Paying tribute, the current chair of St Paul’s Carnival LaToyah McAllister-Jones said: “Rest in power, Mr Roy Hackett. You have inspired so many, your service and dedication to your community lives on through us all.”

Poet and educator Lawrence Hoo wrote a poem in honour of the civil rights activist:
“The Joy and Mischief
In your eyes
When you reflected
On days gone by
Was inspiring
Uplifting
Empowering
So Divine.”

Environmental activist and author Mya-Rose Craig wrote that Bristol has lost its hero.

“The Bristol Bus Boycott, which Roy Hackett led, changed everything,” she said. “It inspired ordinary people to stand up against racism.”

Bristol West MP Thangam Debbonaire MP described Roy as a “civil rights hero”

“He was an inspiration to so many and taught us all so much about standing up for justice and equality,” she said.

“I will miss his warm smile, quick wit and charm as well as his deep and lasting commitment to the people of Bristol and to ending racism.”

A mural honouring Roy was painted by Michele Curtis as part of her Seven Saints of St Paul’s project – it was sadly removed last year when part of the building crumbled – photo: boomsatsuma

Main photo: Bristol City Council/ Chris Bahn Photography

Read more: Telling the story of the Bristol Bus Boycott 

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