53wasagood man,says Hackett,
shakinghisheadwithawrysmile:
“Son ofagun!”
In 1952, Hackett travelled
from Jamaica to the UK–by
ship, because it was half the
price of the plane journey.
Bad weather forcedastopon
Canada’s eastern seaboard,
where Hackett remembers
watchingapolar bear trying to
steal some fish;undeterred, he
tried to disembark, assuming
they had arrived in England.
Looking back, he laughs: “If they
drop me off there, it wouldn’t
make no difference–Ijust
wouldn’t have got my luggage.”
Instead, at the age of 24, he
landed in Liverpool–where he lived foratime, before moving
to London, Wolverhampton and finally Bristol.
“Housingwasthebiggestproblem,”Hackettrecalls,“because
theywasstrictly against us.” Hedescribes hisearlyyears inthe
UKasa“dog’slife”,thankstothedifficultyoffindingwork and
reasonableaccommodation.Onhisfirst dayin Bristol,in 1956,
he says hewalkedaround thecitylookingfor aboardinghouse.
Ateachone hetried, hewasrefused aroomassoonas theowner
sawhewas black.
Hespenthisfirstnight sleepingin adoorway–whereawhite
passerbytookpityonhim and“just comeandthrowanovercoat
on me”.Hacketttookacrumbof comfort fromthis,telling
himself,“it’snotallof themas
badaswethink”–butevenso,
he couldn’t helpbutwonder“if
theythinkIhadtwoother legs
somewhereelse.Becausethey
didn’ttalkto measthough I
wasahuman.”
When hefinallyfound lodgingsinthecity, itwasjust one room
- shared with hiscousin andtwo othermen. Inthedownstairs
frontroom, therewasafamilywith threechildren,andevery
otherroominthehousewassimilarlyovercrowded.Theyall
sharedabath thatwaskept outsideandfilledonceaweekwith
water.Each morning,Hackett, whowas workingforaconstruc-
tionfirminWales,roseat 4am.And when hedidgetthechance
forleisure, violentracism meantit wasnotsafeforaloneblack
man,or acouple,togointothecitycentreafter dark.In1 95 9,
he married hischildhoodsweetheart, Ena,who arrived inBristol
in 1958,and they hadadaughter.(Hackettalso hadadaughter
fromaprevious relationship inJamaica:theybothlook out for
himtoday.)InBristol, he helpedfound theCommonwealth
Coordinated Committee, which campaigned onhousingand
employment.But itsmostimportantaction wasthe busboycott.
Hackettneverworkedonthebuses; nor didheever have any
intention of doingso(althoughhiswifehad been turned downfor
ajob asabus conductor).Instead, he says hegotinvolvedin the
struggle “for hiscountrymen”because thebus service that they
hadtouse everyday served asadailyreminderof theracism
in society.The situation in Bristolwas particularlygalling–
especiallywhen comparedwith the capital,where London
Transport was not onlyhiring blackpeople to workonbuses,
but alsoactively recruiting in theCaribbean.
Alongside four other men–Owen Henry, Audley Evans, Prince
Brown and Paul Stephenson–Hackett marshalled Bristol’s
3,000-strong Caribbean community intoaboycott. The idea was
partly inspired by the famous 1955 Montgomery bus boycott,
which followed the arrest of Rosa Parks, an African-American
woman, who refused to give
up her seat toawhite person
onaracially segregated bus in
Alabama. Henry made the
connection with African
Americans having to sit at the
“back of the bus”–which in the
UK waswhere conductors stood.
Stephenson set upatestcase –
arranging an interview at the
Bristol Omnibus Company for
aman called Guy Bailey, to
confirm there were vacancies.
When he phoned them back,
to tell the company that Bailey
was black, the interview was
promptly cancelled.Theboycott wasannouncedat
apressconference on29April
1963.Itgainednationalattentionasthe firstactofits kind in
Britain.Hackettorganisedblockades ofthecity’s Fishponds
Road,whichensured nobuses couldmake itintothe city centre.
Hackett’seyesflickerasheremembersthedeterminationthe
campaignersfelt: “Nobus camein and nobuscameout.”Although it began with the Caribbean community, the boycott
soon attracted wider support–including from local MP Tony
Benn, University of Bristol students, anti-racist groups and
sympathetic members of the public. Hackett remembersBenn
as afriend to the campaigners; he drank tea with the organisers
and stood in the road alongside them. Even the Labour leader,
Harold Wilson, backed them, wishing them “all the success”.
The group faced hostility and threats of violence, too–but
Hackett remembers how
undeterred they felt: “What
we started now we won’t stop
until we get what we want.”Ittook months ofdisruption,
butfinally,on 28August –the
dayMartinLutherKingJrgavehis “IHaveaDream”speech
on thestepsofWashingtonDC’sLincolnMemorial–theunion
andthecompanycavedin toprotesters’demands:the colour
baratthebus companywaslifted.Thesuccessofthe boycott
–andthe levelofpublicsupportforit –addedto pressureto
change thelaw.Hackett isconvincedthat Benn’sinfluence
waskey infinallypersuadingtheWilsongovernment topass
anti-racismlegislation.Afterwards,Hackettstayedactiveinthecommunity,thatyear
foundingthe StPaul’s festival,whichlaterbecametheSt Paul’s
Carnival. Eventually,eventhe unionhonouredhim,withaRoy
Hackett Training Room in theiroffices:“Ifyoucan’tbeat them,
join them,” he says now. His picture isaregularfeature inlocal
schools (as his grandson found out not long ago when he saw his
grandad on thewall);anduntil recently, he gave talks inschools
about the boycott andhis e xperiences inBristol.The children,he
says,are alwayskeentoknow what life was like “backthen”.Today,hehas retiredfromfront-lineactivism,but hislegacy in
Bri sto lhas not been forgotten–anonline petition calling for the
toppledstatue of the disgraced Edward Colston to bereplaced
by atribute to Hackett currently has morethan2,500signatures.
“Sothey canpull me down in 20 years?”hejokes.Hestil loffers
help to young activists–iftheyask –andhe can“sitinthe
shade”. Seeing theBlack Lives Matterprotests gavehim hope,
he says, because he“wants theyounger people to fight.We
foughtfor what we havenow. Let’spushitfurther.”At92,
his body may bestarting to betray him, but the fireremains.Alonger versionofthis article appearedin The Guardian.
©2020 Guardian News&MediaLimited.Thelast word12 September 2020 THE WEEKRoyHackett:“bornanactivist”“Atthetime,everyonethoughtEnochPowell
wasagood man, says Hackett, shaking his
head withawrysmile: ‘Son ofagun!’”