Remembering the Impact: Stephen Lawrence Day
Doreen and Stuart Lawrence, mother and brother of Stephen Lawrence. Photography by Ian Rankin.
In 2018, Prime Minister Theresa May announced the National Day to commemorate Stephen Lawrence’s life every year on 22nd April. Ironically, by the same government entangled with the Windrush scandal; highlighting the ongoing complex, confusing duality of UK attitudes towards the Black community. Stephen Lawrence was only 18 when he was stabbed to death in an unprovoked racist attack by a group of young white men on 22nd April 1993, in Eltham, South London. The 90’s in the UK for the Black community was one of great tensions; many historically impactful events took place within this decade globally- its ripples felt by the Black and ethnically diverse diaspora, magnifying shared experiences of inequality, targeting and the continued fight for justice and liberation.
Remembering the Impact
Myself born in the 80’s and my older siblings born of the 70’s, we remember all too well news of the incident itself, the chills we felt living in a predominantly white neighborhood in Birmingham, my brother being the same school year as Stephen, who was himself victim of a racially targeted police assault in 1994. Recounting how many people we knew spanning across generations who experienced racial brutality and the uneasy sense of proximity to near-fatal and negatively life changing encounters; a reality of the landscape for Blacks in the UK. To see the ultimate price of life being taken on headline news and the long, painful journey of his family; parents Neville and Doreen, his brother Stuart and sister Georgina, was indescribable. It was so compelling that Nelson Mandela at his own request met with Doreen and Neville. The publicity of this meeting and its significance catapulted conversations around the incident. People waited with bated breath as to what results and repercussions would happen, and to a degree, we still wait.
After the initial police investigation, five suspects were arrested but not convicted. Public inquiry into the handling of Stephen’s case was held in 1998, which in turn led to publication of the Macpherson Report of 1999. It monumentally exposed institutional racism within the Metropolitan Police and made around 70 recommendations to the criminal justice system in Britain. It was not until 2012 that two men, David Norris and Gary Dobson were eventually given life sentences for Stephen's murder. The remaining three original prime suspects, brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt, and Luke Knight were not convicted, denying any involvement. The case has continued to motivate Baroness Lawrence’s tireless work in seeking justice, reform of the systems which make further potential convictions and investigations possible and community activism.
Following the events around George Floyd in 2020 which similarly catapulted nations worldwide into witnessing ongoing disparities in the handling of Black victims cases, Stephen’s mother Baroness Lawrence was quoted, “I want Stephen Lawrence Day to be a reflective learning experience, and a celebration and a journey toward greater equality and inclusion for all.”
Spreading Hope Through Pain
31 years on, the effects and impact of this tragic event can still be witnessed in the wider community; transmuting collective pain into empowering the Black community through education, support schemes and awareness. The journey alone into forging structural justice, establishing a commemorative day and the other incredible developments as a result of tenacious pursuit is sobering, yet inspirational. In February 2008, Baroness Doreen Lawrence opened the £10m Stephen Lawrence Centre in honour of her son.
Stephen Lawrence was a young person who had a bright future ahead of him which was cut short, his ambition towards becoming an architect a positive role model for education and aspiration. The foundation through Stephen’s legacy helps support young marginalised people who face socioeconomic adversity on their journey to their career goals. Launched in 2013, the Freshfields scheme is aimed at those wanting to pursue a qualification in the field of Law. The DMU scholarship was established in 2016, aimed at youth interested in studying Architecture, Journalism, Law LLB or Law & Criminal Justice. The Stephen Lawrence Professional Scholarship was designed to support talented students from disadvantaged backgrounds, providing them with a tuition fee reduction and an annual cash bursary to support their journey.
In addition to these brilliant opportunities, the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation partnered with the University of Greenwich, with new scholarships to be launched in 2024/25 which provides a postgraduate fee waiver for Architecture students. DMU’s Stephen Lawrence Research Centre continues to be a hub for valuable resources. For full details of event timelines, schemes and resources, visit https://stephenlawrenceday.org/
The Ongoing Story
In October 2023, following the BBC story by investigative reporter Daniel De Simone, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward, currently in charge of the case, asked Baroness Lawrence to attend a meeting at Scotland Yard. Following this meeting, he was to follow up with a written explanation relating to 6th suspect, Matthew White, as well as answers to other questions. So much time elapsed without proper handling or communication of the information promised, resulting in The Met commissioner Sir Mark Rowley having to administer an apology. Since the incident of Stephen’s murder, there have been multiple failings, mishandlings, broken promises and seemingly intentional roadblocks by UK institutions despite the public spotlight on the investigations. The journey to justice should not be so taxing, frustrating and unprofessional towards the victim’s family and other individuals working toward proper retribution.
Despite the countless negative experiences of Baroness Lawrence, the Stephen Lawrence Foundation continues to offer classroom resources, careers resource packs, community resource packs and social media toolkits. These help equip individuals and collectives to honour Stephen’s life and legacy, standing up against discrimination in our daily lives through work such as DE&I to hopefully drive change where needed most. To provide future generations with true change, powerful reminders of historically poignant events are needed.
Take Stephen Lawrence Day as a reminder that hopelessness is not an option; we can achieve so much when we are empowered through tough lessons and take action, together.