A giant of UK civil rights you've likely never heard of

On Friday, I said goodbye to my godfather civil rights activist and Black Englishman, Dr Paul Stephenson OBE. A small private family funeral was held in Bristol’s Lord Mayor’s chapel for this very public figure who changed the course of UK race relations. But you may not even know his name.

- GILLIAN JOSEPH

The reason many might not have heard of him is because it seems to be a forgotten bit of history. Yet the Bristol Bus Boycott and its organisers are a part of our shared legacy and mark a significant turning point in race relations in the UK. Knowing and understanding that past helps inform the present.

The late Tony Benn described “Uncle Paul” (as I knew him) as moving from being seen as a “troublemaker, to something of a local treasure – his life offering proof that history is made by the people who make the effort”. The prime minister, Keir Starmer, paid tribute to an “inspiring” civil rights campaigner who paved the way for the first Race Relations Act.

Even if you don’t remember his name, you might remember what he did: in 1963, Uncle Paul and the Black community challenged the Bristol Omnibus Company over its racist “colour bar”, which banned Black and Asian people from driving buses. Along with Owen Henry and Roy Hackett – and inspired by the example set by Rosa Parks in Montgomery, Alabama – he led the Bristol Bus Boycott.

After 60 days, on 28 August 1963 – the same day that Martin Luther King Jr delivered his historic “I have a Dream” speech in Washington DC – the bus company was eventually forced to abandon its policy. It was a pivotal moment in the UK civil rights movement.

A year later, Uncle Paul was “making trouble” again. In 1964, it was legal for Black and brown people to be refused entry to pubs and clubs on the basis of their skin colour. He visited the Bay Horse Pub in Bristol and ordered a half pint. He was served by a member of staff but when the publican realised, he was told to leave. Paul refused and insisted that he finish his drink. The police were called and he spent the night in jail.