This video news item, about Normal Samuels – the first black bus driver in Bristol, UK – was presented by Bloomberg Quicktake News on their Youtube channel. Below is an excerpt from their video description.
Jamaican migrant Norman Samuels arrived in Bristol, U.K. in 1960, hoping to earn a living in the port city. Soon, he faced the Bristol bus boycott, after the Bristol Omnibus Company refused to employ people of color as bus crew. The boycott led by civil rights activist Paul Stephenson and others piled political pressure on the company, which ultimately lifted the color ban in August 28, 1963.
“And so, my father said, ‘What can I do?'” Norman Samuels’ son Vernon recounted his memory. Samuels believed his way of resistance was to apply for a job on the buses, and prove that Black workers are just as capable and professional to work on the buses. He passed the bus driving test in 1964, and became the first Black bus driver in Bristol.
Here’s the story of Samuels, as told by his son.
Bloomberg QuickTake News YouTube Channel
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