Visit marks victory over racism

Visit marks victory over racism

Tony Benn helped Paul Stephenson fight discrimination

Former Bristol MP Tony Benn is visiting the city to mark 40 years since a successful campaign against the racist employment practices of a bus firm.

In 1963, the Bristol Omnibus Company operated an overt "colour bar" which stopped black people being considered for jobs on the buses.

A campaign led by a young black activist, Paul Stephenson from St Pauls, and the city's then Labour MP Tony Benn finally defeated the company's stand.

In a BBC documentary series about racism, Mr Stephenson described what life was like for him in Britain in the 1960s.

These things don't happen without campaigning

Tony Benn

"Discrimination was rife - you couldn't go into bars without being told: 'We don't serve black people'," he said.

"Then there was finding a place to live - often you saw 'no Irish, dogs, children, blacks need apply'.

"It was the time when Luther King was in Alabama marching for freedom against discrimination and racism and I felt something had to be done in Bristol.

Organised pressure

"I was told that if Labour came to power one of the first things they would introduce would be a law against racial discrimination."

On Tuesday, Tony Benn returned to Bristol to meet fellow campaigners and commemorate the victory.

He told the BBC: "These things don't happen without campaigning.

"That is how history is made: by people organising and putting pressure on the people at the top, who get the message in the end."