Roy Hackett: Civil rights hero and anti-racism campaigner dies aged 93

The revered campaigner once said ‘I was born an activist’ and saw it as his duty to challenge racism whenever he saw it

Roy Hackett said it was his duty to challenge racism (Roy Hackett)

UK civil rights hero Roy Hackett, who was hailed as a “pioneer” for his anti-racism campaigning, has died at the age of 93.

Mr Hackett was one of the leaders of the Bristol Bus Boycott, a successful movement to overturn a ban by Bristol Omnibus Company on employing Black and Asian drivers and conductors.

In 1963, it was legal for British companies to discriminate against someone because of the colour of their skin. Mr Hackett collaborated with campaigners Paul Stephenson, Owen Henry and Guy Bailey to begin the bus boycott that year.

This activity prompted the company to adjust its policies and helped to bring about the Race Relations Acts of 1965 and 1968.

Mr Hackett once said “I was born an activist” and said he saw it as his duty to challenge racism whenever he saw it.

Born in Jamaica, Mr Hackett moved to Britain in 1952 and settled in Bristol. He was awarded an OBE in 2009 and an MBE in 2020 for his campaign work.

Bristol’s lord mayor, Paula O’Rourke, wrote online: “So very sad to hear Bristol civil rights legend Roy Hackett, organiser of the Bristol bus boycott 1963 and founder of St Pauls Carnival has passed away.

“My thoughts are with Roy’s family and friends at this difficult time.”

Labour MP and Bristolian Marsha de Cordova, the Runnymede Trust and Operation Black Vote were among those to pay tribute to Mr Hackett.

Alongside his campaign work, Mr Hackett was also the co-founder of the Commonwealth Coordinated Committee, which set up the St Pauls Carnival in 1968.

He was also a member of the Bristol Race Equality Council and founder of West Indian Parents’ and Friends’ Association (WIPFA).

A portrait of the campaigner was painted onto a mural celebrating Bristol’s civil rights trailblazers on the side of a house in Byron Street, but was removed following a partial building collapse.

Speaking to Professor Kehinde Andrews during an interview following the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020, Mr Hackett said the mass galvanisation against racism gave him hope, because he “wants the younger people to fight it. We fought for what we have now. Let’s push it further”.

He is survived by his three children.