Looking Back (Being and Memory): Bristol Bus Boycott Origins

When Rosa Parks’ sat down in April 1963, Bristol stood up and marched for jobs and equality. And on the day, they defeated the Colour Bar, Martin Luther King Had a Dream. This positive peaceful protest laid the pathway for the Race Relations Act 1965, the UK’s first ever anti-racist law.

Standing on the shoulders of giants, Bristol Bus Boycott Origins honours those who led and were involved with the Boycott of 1963. Origins celebrates the resistance and resilience of the original pioneers who arrived from the Caribbean in the 1940s to 1960s and overcame overt racism to help make the mother country great again.

Powered by Curiosity UnLtd, Origins is part of an ambitious three-year initiative called Bristol Bus Boycott 360. It honours the 60^th anniversaries of three of the UK’s most significant civil rights movements. These include:

1. 1963 victory of the Bristol Bus Boycott
2. 1964 one-man-sit-In of the Bay Horse Pub by Paul Stephenson
3. The 60^th anniversary of the Race Relations Act 1965

Curiosity UnLtd aims to deliver this via 360 positive actions, and thanks to the support of our 93 civic, corporate and community changemaking partners so far, we have co-created 283 positive actions.

We hope you enjoy our short films. And if you’re inspired by our work and want to get involved, or have an epic idea lets connect@CuriosityUnLtd.com.

This film presentation is part of the series Looking Back (Being and Memory), in response to Barbara Walker: Being Here, the major exhibition at Arnolfini for spring 2025.

Barbara Walker

Barbara Walker is a British artist described by art historian Eddie Chambers as “one of the most talented, productive and committed artists of her generation.” Her first major survey exhibition is shown at Arnolfini, Bristol in Spring 2025.

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