MAY 2023 THE VOICE |
Montel Gordon
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LEAVING A LEGACY?: Doreen Lawrence, pictured in front of an image of her son Stephen, has campaigned for better relations between the Black community and police; a BLM protester and police officer (photos: Getty Images)
Stephen reminds us how far society still has to go
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HIRTY YEARS since the Stephen Lawrence murder: Can we honestly say we’re an egalitarian society? Britain has always prided itself on being a somewhat egalitarian society. However, in recent years and the fallout of the pandemic has revealed the pitfalls of these claims as the historical contours of class, gender, and racial divisions, to name a few, have risen to the forefront of media discourse. Stephen Lawrence Day serves as a reminder of how far we have come, yet we still need to go in our battles to combat injustices and create a more egalitarian society. The murder of Stephen Lawrence was a watershed moment in contemporary British history. On 22nd April, 1993, Stephen Lawrence was brutally murdered by a group of racist white men as he waited for his bus in London with his friend Duwayne Brooks in an unprovoked attack.
Police racism scandals show institutional racism is alive and kicking in Britain
The incompetence of the police gained particular notoriety after the failure to make arrests of the suspects despite numerous eyewitness accounts. This led to the famed Macpherson report in 1999, which proclaimed the Metropolitan Police institutionally racist – something the Black community had argued for decades. Specifically, a claim rejected by Lord Scarman in the infamous Scarman Report of 1981 following the uprisings that occurred that same year in Brixton, where Scarman argued that whilst some police officers latched onto acts of prejudice, the Metropolitan Police was not institutionally racist.
The first Stephen Lawrence Day to commemorate Stephen Lawrence’s life was held in 2019 and attempts to build a society that refutes exclusion upon race, gender, sexuality, disability, or background. However, the fallout of the pandemic and subsequent events such as the Black Lives Matter protests, the Windrush scandal, the influence of incel and misogynistic culture and the latest controversy over the Met Police reveals we’re doing the opposite. Commenting upon the events of recent years and the effects it has had upon Stephen Lawrence day, his mother and activist Doreen Lawrence commented: “The events of 2020 -
George Floyd’s death, and the subsequent resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement – along with societal inequalities exposed and exacerbated by COVID has made us reflect how we engage with our communities.” The pandemic was a wake-up call to show how stratified the domains of education, healthcare, and access to resources indeed were in this country. That’s why the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation works in careers, communities and classrooms to help marginalised individuals break through unforeseen barriers to achieve greatness. Stephen Lawrence’s murder is a tragic case of injustice and years of campaigning to recognise the powers at fault and why situations as such should never emerge again. Parents Doreen and Neville Lawrence have campaigned for years to ensure their son’s murder was not in vain – but to create a legacy.
But questions should emerge as to why continued police incompetence continues to emerge amid significant challenges towards public support and confidence in the Metropolitan Police. The Casey Report discussed how Black and mixed minority groups have continued lower trust and confidence in the police, who are likely to say its reputation is poor. Ongoing scandals and coverups by the Met only indicate how systemically problematic the Metropolitan Police are and the lack of integrity it has as an institution. Racism, discrimination, and misogyny remain everyday norms, and whilst the government attempted to clamp down upon protesting, public discontent is widely known and made aware. However, I would be incredibly naive about not having faith – specifically for the next generation to be free from exclusion. As Doreen Lawrence
mentions, education is vital in inspiring young people and ensuring tolerance and respect for others from generation to generation. But, again, policies of such have already been implemented through the fundamental British values in attempts to promote respect. Moreover, how do we restrict the barriers which act as enclosures towards Black and minority groups propelling in specific professions? We have come a long way, but a long journey remains ahead. We must refuse to allow the events of yesteryear to remerge decades later as, at times, it feels like listening to a broken record from the Macpherson Report to the Casey Report, as change and progress often feels slow. So let us not make the murder of Stephen Lawrence be in vain, and let’s do our bit to make society more egalitarian and combat racial discrimination and injustices daily.
