Celebrating Black Lives: Paul Stephenson OBE

As part of Rosslyn Hill Chapel's 'Celebrating Black Lives' series, this month we celebrate a British civil rights campaigner, Paul Stephenson OBE.

Paul Stephenson is a British civil rights pioneer known for leading the 1963 Bristol Bus Boycott, which challenged a local bus company's refusal to hire Black or Asian drivers. Inspired by the U.S. civil rights movement, his peaceful protest helped pave the way for the UK’s first Race Relations Act in 1965. Stephenson also made headlines by refusing to leave a pub that denied him service due to his race, sparking national debate. His lifelong advocacy for racial justice and equality earned him an OBE and cemented his legacy as a key figure in Britain's civil rights history.

“There were streets I couldn’t go down [in Bristol] because I was black. … We couldn’t work on buses. Couldn’t be a policeman. Couldn’t be a fireman. Couldn’t go into pubs, hotels, swimming pools.”

“I had been watching the amazing things that Martin Luther King had been achieving in America, and now I thought something had to be done here too.”

“Every generation has a duty to fight against racism, otherwise it will find its way into our country and into our homes. Addressing this challenge is our duty if we wish to seek a happy and prosperous existence.”

Each month we mark the significant life of a person of colour as a positive statement and a contribution to redressing historical imbalances in our society. More profiles.