Do you know the story of Bristol’s first Black Lord Mayor?
James (Jim) Alexander Williams, affectionately known as “Dandy”, a man whose journey from rural Jamaica to the Mansion House remains one of the most significant chapters in Bristol’s civic history.
Arriving in England in 1960, Jim’s early years in Bristol were shaped by the civil rights struggles of the time. He became part of the generation that challenged injustice head-on, securing employment with the Bristol Omnibus Company after the successful campaign against its racist hiring practices.
But Jim didn’t simply live in the community, he helped build it.
At a time when Caribbeans were routinely excluded from English social spaces, he co-founded the Western Star Domino Club, creating a place of belonging, dignity and joy. His flat on City Road in St Paul’s became more than a home, it was a refuge. If someone needed a bed, advice or advocacy, Jim’s door was open.
His commitment to equality led naturally into public life. He served as Financial Secretary of the Transport and General Workers’ Union, played a key role in securing funding for the Malcolm X Centre, and was elected as a Labour councillor for Ashley ward in 1987. He later became a Justice of the Peace and Chair of the Race Equality Committee before making history in 1990 as Lord Mayor of Bristol.
Yet despite the ceremonial chain and civic title, Jim refused to move from his City Road flat. For him, progress never meant distance from his people.
In a city where many residents say they feel unheard and excluded from decision-making, Jim’s journey challenges us to build a Bristol where leadership is visible, grounded and accountable to those at the sharpest edge of inequality.
His year in office was groundbreaking, but not without hostility. Jim and his daughter Carol, who served as Lady Mayoress, endured racism in plain sight. From pub-goers making finger-gun gestures at their official car to establishment figures refusing a handshake, prejudice followed them into spaces meant to symbolise unity.
Jim met it all with sharp wit and unwavering composure. When told he had offended the political establishment, he would laugh and say:
“Oops, I said the right thing in the wrong place.”
Want to Learn More?
This is only a glimpse into the life of a man who refused to let intelligence be wasted and who believed deeply in collective progress.
Jim Williams is featured as the cover icon of the 2018 Bristol Black History Month Magazine, where readers can explore his full biography. The magazine also explores The Sun Is My Undoing, the historical novel that helped shape his political consciousness.
His legacy reminds us that leadership is not about status, it is about service.
And his timeless message still resonates:
“Don’t let negative comments about your creed or colour weigh you down.”
