Dr Guy Bailey OBE - Honorary Graduate Acceptance Speech 2024

Подробнее о видео

Dr Guy Bailey OBE received his Honorary Degree from UWE Bristol at Bristol Beacon Hall on the 23rd of July 2024. The civil rights activist was instrumental in the Bristol Bus Boycott in the 1960s.

In April 1963, aged 17, Guy applied for a job as a bus driver at the Bristol Omnibus Company; he was denied an interview due to the colour of his skin. This resulted in the historic Bristol Bus Boycott which soon attracted national and international attention.

Influenced by the Bristol Bus Boycott campaign, Bristol East MP Tony Benn joined Harold Wilson’s cabinet who introduced the 1965 Race Relations Act, which then evolved into the 2010 UK Equalities Act as it’s known today.

Guy’s work in race equality and social justice didn't end there. Inspired by his studies at Bristol Polytechnic – now UWE Bristol – in Social Sciences, he founded United Housing Association to support Caribbean Elders, the first Black housing association in the south-west.

In July 2024, UWE Bristol awarded Guy an Honorary Doctor of Letters in recognition of his outstanding contributions to race equality, creating communities, and supporting underserved communities.