Six leaders of the Bristol bus boycott have received a formal thank you and the “highest honour” Freedom of the City. The campaigners were officially recognised by Bristol City Council for their work fighting against racism which led to a major change in the law affecting millions.
Guy Reid-Bailey OBE, Barbara Dettering, Roy Hackett MBE, Owen Henry, Prince Brown and Audley Evans led a boycott of buses in Bristol for four months in 1963, in protest against the council-owned Bristol Omnibus Company’s racist policies of not employing black drivers.
Mr Reid-Bailey and Ms Dettering received the Freedom of the City during an extraordinary full council meeting on Tuesday, December 13, while the other four were given the honour posthumously. Council leaders said the boycott was one of Bristol’s “proudest moments”.