AT A TIME when an increasingly racist and authoritarian Tory government is cracking down on our right to protest, news of the Bus Boycott Block Party in Birmingham on August 28 raises the spirits.

Local artists and residents, independent theatre studio China Plate and Birmingham Hippodrome are hosting the block party to celebrate the heritage of migration and activism in north Birmingham.

It’s the brainchild of British and Guyanese heritage artist Jane Thakoordin, a Birmingham resident for more than 20 years. She is currently creating artwork around the history of protest which looks at intergenerational stories among communities in the city to explore how protest has changed over time.

In 1963, Bristol became the epicentre for the developing civil rights struggle in Britain when, in response to The Bristol Omnibus Company’s refusal to employ Black and Asian conductors, four young West Indian men organised a mass boycott of their buses.

They galvanised the nation into creating the first piece of legislation which explicitly outlawed racial discrimination.

Backed by students and political figures such as Tony Benn and the high commissioner for Trinidad and Tobago, their stand brought about a sea-change in race relations in Britain.

Bus Boycott Block Party is the start of a programme of art initiatives exploring intergenerational stories in Caribbean and South Asian communities and the event represents a lift-off for a whole series of projects running through into next year.

On the 28th, a family-friendly free day of art, music and food at Soho House celebrates North Birmingham’s heritage of migrations and activism, partly inspired by the 1963 Bristol bus boycott campaigners, with a black heritage walking tour of Soho Road, free workshops, a 1960s vintage bus, a bus stop transformed into a mini-gallery, banner art, food and DJs.

And there’ll be songs from a new musical based on this landmark civil rights moment. The book for it is by acclaimed writer Roy Williams, for whom “history is littered with forgotten stories, especially black stories which always enrages me. The more important they are the angrier I become.

“The Bristol Bus Boycott is such an important event in British history. The protesters’ actions brought widespread attention to the problem of racism in Britain at the time. Their success brought a profound and positive sense of hope for the possibility of progress.”

For Thakoordin, the project is especially resonant. “My dad, an immigrant from Guyana, was a London bus conductor in 1963 and he remembers this time with bittersweet memories.

“I really hope that I can do justice to the beautiful people I have spoken to over the first stages of Bus Boycott and I look forward to discovering what we produce together.”

 For more information and to book a free ticket visit: bit.ly/BBBP21