British civil rights campaigner Dr Paul Stephenson, best known for being one of the leaders of the successful Bristol Bus Boycott, has died aged 87.
Dr Stephenson helped to rally thousands of people for the 60-day boycott in 1963 after the Bristol Omnibus Company refused to hire black or Asian drivers.
The success of the boycott contributed significantly to the creation of the first Race Relations Act in parliament two years later.
Dr Stephenson’s family have said he died on Saturday evening after a battle with Parkinson’s disease and dementia.
In a statement, they described him as “a true pioneer in the civil rights movement” who had been “tirelessly working to dismantle the barriers of discrimination”.
A year after the boycott Dr Stephenson was arrested for refusing to leave a Bristol pub that wouldn’t serve him due to his race.
The arrest became a national news story before the case was dismissed and the barman who refused to serve him was dismissed by his employer.
Dr Stephenson later moved to London, where he worked for the Commission for Racial Equality.
In 1974, he was serving as a governor at a school in Brixton when he managed to convince world boxing champion Muhammad Ali to visit and meet the pupils.
Speaking to Sky News about the visit in 2014, he said: “When Muhammad walked out from behind the curtains the school erupted, the roof nearly came off. I’d never seen anything like it.”
He was made an OBE for his services to equal opportunities in 2009 and was awarded honorary doctorates at three UK universities.
The first black person to be granted the Freedom of the City of Bristol, Dr Stephenson also received a Pride of Britain award for lifetime achievement from Sir Lenny Henry in 2017.
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His children, Fumi and Paul Jr, said: “Despite the demands of his work, dad’s love and support for our family never wavered. He encouraged our independence and growth, always striving to ensure that we could forge our paths.
“Dad’s unwavering commitment to improving the lives and experiences of people in our community was truly infectious. His tireless work and activism touched the lives of so many, both locally and on a broader national and global scale.
“Ultimately, our father’s legacy extends far beyond the awards and accolades he received. It is embodied in the lives he touched, the barriers he broke down, and the generations he inspired to fight for a more just and equitable world.”
Read more:
Meet the faces behind the UK’s own 1963 civil rights movement
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Fellow campaigner Roy Hackett speaks about the bus boycott that changed UK civil rights
What happened during the Bristol bus boycott?
In the 1960s the Bristol Omnibus Company, run by the local council, refused to employ black people.
The company claimed white passengers would not want to ride on buses driven by black men.
At the time, no laws were in place preventing this and employers could not be prosecuted for discriminating on racist grounds.
In April 1963, Dr Stephenson and fellow activists Roy Hackett, Prince Brown, Owen Henry and Audley Evans organised the boycott and a series of demonstrations in the city.
Four months later, the bus company announced that it would lift the ban and allow black people to work on their buses.
A month later, Bristol had its first non-white bus conductors.
The bus boycott was a major victory and contributed to the Race Relations Act being introduced in 1965 by Labour leader Harold Wilson. It banned all discrimination in the workplace.