A personal reflection on the murder of Stephen Lawrence

A sigh of relief – The day before yesterday I happened to drive past the spot where Stephen Lawrence died. I have done this many times over the past 18 years since my Dad lives not too far from the Well Hall roundabout. The area was busy with traffic; there were a few people and a number of TV camera crews. When I heard the news earlier in the day, I confess I breathed a sigh of relief. Not sure how we would have all coped had they been acquitted. I didn’t know Stephen Lawrence, Gary Dobson or David Norris. As a black man who grew up in South East London I am also well acquainted with some of the social dynamics and issues this tragic case has thrown up. The experience of Neville and Doreen Lawrence was unique among the black communities of South East London only in their response to their son’s murder. The tenacity and courage they had to take on the system and not give up is not normal behaviour for people of any culture. I admire them greatly for that, someone needed to do it and they reluctantly rose to the challenge. In every other way their experience would be typical of many black families of that time (mine included). Hardworking, aspirational for their kids, religious, aware of racism but until this point unaware of its institutional nature and probably thinking things are better now (1993) than when they first came into the country.

Let down by the system – I remember the night Stephen died; his was the most high profile of a number of race related attacks in South East London at that time. I remember attending a prayer meeting at Kings Church in Catford that night and praying for his parents. One of the young black women at the church at that time was a teacher at his school. In the days after the murder tensions were high in the black community and I remember being afraid. In South East London you didn’t have ghettos as such. Black and white people lived side by side, kids all went to the same school and went to the same shops and cinemas, it was all very mixed up. On the night Stephen died, the lives of seven young men and their families was changed forever. All and yes I mean all were let down by the system. The same system that let the Lawrence’s down as they have sought justice for their son. Doreen Lawrence is right when she says ‘I should have spent the last 18 years grieving for my son, not fighting to bring his killers to court.’ That should never have been her job. A system that let Duwayne Brooks down:- he should never have been seen as a defendant but rather the victim/witness he was. He should have received appropriate support and help. A system that let down Gary Dobson and David Norris, by allowing them to cultivate unchecked the racist attitudes that led to this racist action and think they could get away with murder.

A complex issue – It would be unfair to say that things haven’t in many ways improved. Yesterday I hope brought some closure and relief for Neville and Doreen Lawrence, Duwayne Brooks and others who have tirelessly campaigned for this moment. Including the police in their own attempts to right some of the wrongs of the past and prove change has indeed occurred. There are many other ways in which change has occurred for the better. But we would be foolish and naive to think that racism has gone away and no longer darkens the doors of our institutions and communities. Racism is now more complex, both because it is less overt and more subtle but also because as our society has become more diverse, it has also become more complex. It’s no longer just about black and white, British and foreign. However, some of us still like to think of racism as a thing of the past, there are probably many reasons for this, I would like to highlight two:-
1. One of the primary values that govern our relationships with people around us today is tolerance. Learning to accept people as they are is at least the proclaimed wisdom of this age. This was not the case in April 1993.
2. The world in which we live is more diverse than ever before. London is clearly one of the most diverse cities in the world; we celebrate and are rightly proud of our diversity. But diversity brings with it a level of complexity to how our society operates unknown until now.

Racism is unacceptable – The question it leaves us with is: does tolerance and greater diversity eradicate racism? Of course not – With a greater sense of tolerance has come an increasing intolerance to anything that affects our status quo. Take the recent two examples of racism in football. Whilst racism in football is clearly unacceptable – hence the uproar over and charges brought against what Luis Suarez and John Terry said to their fellow professionals, equally it would appear reporting incidents of racism are unacceptable. This resulted in the criticism and abuse levelled at Anton Ferdinand and Patrice Evra for making such accusations. Football like society doesn’t want either to be seen to be racist or have its status quo affected. Whilst the media headlines and column inches have reported on the unacceptable racist attitudes and actions of the men that murdered Stephen Lawrence, we would be naive to think that there is not another side of the coin, whereby people are (maybe secretly) critical of the Lawrence’s for pursuing the case this far and costing the tax payer money.

Racism in the modern day is more complicated than we would like to think. My hope is that as these issues get raised again and discussed over the next few weeks, we would as a society seek lasting change, not superficial change. We have been given another opportunity to deal with these issues, here’s hoping we take it.