In honor of Roy Hackett, a 93-year-old civil rights activist who passed away today, tributes have been made.
Mr. Hackett, who was born in Jamaica and immigrated to the UK when he was 24 years old, was a driving force behind the Bristol Bus Boycott in 1963, the first of its kind to combat discrimination in the workplace.
After the Bristol Omnibus Company prohibited hiring black and Asian drivers and conductors, the boycott got underway.
Mr. Hackett started his fervent campaign after witnessing a guy sobbing because his employer would not hire him because he was black.
He entered the office and insisted that the business change its policy after being inspired by Rosa Parks.
Later, the tenacious campaigner organized protesters who marched through the city’s center and blocked buses with their bodies to prevent them from moving.
“I lived in numerous locations before I came to Bristol, and I never had racism as tough as back then,” the father of three once remarked.
The Commonwealth Coordinated Committee, which established the St. Paul’s Carnival in 1968, was co-founded by Mr. Hackett, who was given the honorary degrees of OBE in 2009 and MBE in 2020.
Asher Craig, the deputy mayor of Bristol, said: “Mr. Hackett’s transition has touched many of us pretty hard.
He was a modest, upright freedom warrior whose legacy will endure via the Bristol Bus Boycott, St. Paul’s Carnival, Bristol West Indian Parents & Friends Association, and Bristol Race Equality Council.
In 1963, when it was lawful for British businesses to discriminate in the employment process based on skin color, Mr. Hackett spearheaded the boycott alongside Paul Stephenson, Owen Henry, and Guy Bailey.
He persuaded the 3000-person Caribbean community to participate in the boycott, in part as a result of Rosa Parks’ 1955 refusal to give up her seat to a white passenger in the US.
Protesters blocked buses from moving by marching through the city’s main thoroughfares.
As a result of the company’s subsequent policy change and the boycott, the Race Relations Act of 1965 was made possible.
On August 28, the day Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I Have a Dream” address in Washington, D.C., the union finally gave in to the demands of the boycotters, according to Mr. Hackett, after months of disruption.
He served as the association’s president for West Indian Parents and Friends. The organization confronted the Bristol council and compelled it to take action on housing and employment issues. But the bus boycott was its most crucial effort.
According to Urban Kapital, Mr. Hackett claimed he was “born an activist” and felt it was his responsibility to speak out against racism anytime he did.
Paula O’Rourke, the Lord Mayor of Bristol, also paid homage, stating that she was “so very sad to learn” of the passing of Bristol civil rights pioneer and creator of St. Paul’s Carnival Roy Hackett. During this trying time, my thoughts are with Roy’s family and friends.
UK lawmakers and television personalities led the tributes, while George Ferguson, the former mayor of Bristol, also posted on Twitter.
It was an honor to know Roy Hackett, said Bristol West MP Thangam Debbonaire in a statement posted to her district website.
‘He was a civil rights hero, rightly lauded for his leadership in the Bristol Bus Boycott and the St Paul’s Carnival, which both say so much about who we are as Bristol.
‘He was an inspiration to so many and taught us all so much about standing up for justice and equality.
‘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.’
Dame Floella Benjamin said, ‘It’s such a shame Roy Hackett, the civil rights hero who stood in front of a bus and forever altered Britain, has died since I’m working on a project to honor him as a Windrush 75th anniversary hero.’ May his soul rest in peace.’
Deputy Labour Leader Angela Rayner paid her respects to Mr Hackett, writing, ‘RIP Roy Hackett.’
‘Rest in power, Roy Hackett,’ said the Green Party’s co-leader. Because of what you done, the world is a better place.’
Mr Hackett previously told BBC Ideas: ‘It [Bristol] was difficult for us to find a place to live, and it was difficult for a black guy to obtain a work.’
‘I walked down Ashley Road looking for housing and found one house which didn’t have a card on it to one 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. It was a struggle, people were blatantly racist.’
Mr Hackett previously recalled how he had stood up to the bus company to the Guardian.
‘I was coming from Broadmead, Bristol, and saw this Jamaican bloke crying. I said, ‘Why are you crying?’,’ he said.
‘He showed me the advert that the bus station put out for drivers, but when he went to apply for the job, he was told the job was gone, but it wasn’t.
‘So I then went and spoke to the company and told them: ‘If he can’t be taught to drive the bus then the buses won’t be driven.’
‘I then called my friend Owen Henry who lived in St Paul’s and I said, ‘get as many black men and women and come down here’, and he did.
‘A great deal of black men had married white women. So, they brought their wife and their kids.
‘The buses didn’t move in the roads because they saw that I did mean business. We blocked the bus station. I even stood in front of the buses.’