Bristol has long been a city of activists prepared to work for change, from followers of John Wesley in the 18th century to the 21st-century citizens who toppled the statue of slave trader Edward Colston.

On Wednesday, a new campaign was launched – on the anniversary of the start of the groundbreaking 1963 Bristol bus boycott – aimed at making the city the UK’s capital of civil rights.

Across the spring and summer, echoing the span of the boycott, a “think-and-do tank” called CuriosityUnLtd will lead or be part of a series of events that focus attention on Bristol’s activist past and make the case for Bristol to claim the title.

Julz Davis, one of the lead organisers, said: “ Bristol has never waited for permission to lead. This city has shown the country what change looks like.…