In The News

1. In The News

2. In this lesson we will explore, through Stephen Lawrence’s story, how ‘institutionalised racism’ can cause injustice.

3. 2011 The Long Search for Justice 1993

4. Stephen Lawrence was born on 13th September 1974 in South East London. As a young child, Stephen loved to draw and paint. He was an eager learner. His best subjects at school were art and maths.

5. When he was 16, he set up a small business with his best friend designing and selling T-shirts and caps. Stephen wanted to become an architect so he worked hard to develop his design and maths skills. After his GCSEs, he did work experience with a firm of architects.

6. Sadly, at the age of 18, on 22nd April 1993, Stephen was murdered in an unprovoked racist attack. He was attacked at a bus stop by a gang of white youths chanting racist slogans. He didn’t know his killers and his killers didn’t know him.

7. Within 24 hours of Stephen's murder police had the names of five suspects. Astonishingly, no arrests were made for two weeks, allowing the suspects to destroy evidence, make up alibis, and scare witnesses.

8. In May 1993 the Stephen’s parents complained that the police weren’t doing enough to catch the murderers. The reason why the police hadn’t caught the killers was later found to be, not just incompetence, but institutionalised racism. They had initially acted on the mistaken assumption that Stephen Lawrence was a gang member, simply because he was a young black man. Later, the strain of the investigation would lead to the Lawrence’s divorce. Doreen and Neville Lawrence

9. Witnesses, including Duwayne Brooks (who was with Stephen when he was murdered) and Stephen’s parents, were found to have been treated unfairly due to prejudice about them because of their skin colour. Duwayne Brooks

10. In September 1994 the Lawrence family began a private prosecution of three of the original suspects…. but the three suspects were cleared after identification evidence was ruled out.

11. In December 1997 a Police Complaints Authority report on the original police investigation of Stephen Lawrence's murder identified ‘significant weaknesses, omissions and lost opportunities’.

12. In July 1997 Home Office Minister, Jack Straw, announced an inquiry into Stephen's death, to be chaired by Sir William Macpherson, ‘to identify the lessons to be learned for the investigation and prosecution of racially motivated crimes.’ Sir William Macpherson

13. In February 1999, when the report was published, it said that the police had been guilty of mistakes. It made 70 recommendations to put an end to institutionalised racism. One of the recommendations was to think about whether it should be made possible to re-try suspects if new evidence pointed to their guilt.

14. In April 2005 the law that stopped suspects from being tried twice for the same crime was scrapped.

15. In June 2006 the police began a full re-examination of the evidence in the case. Because of new scientific developments they found microscopic blood stains and hair fragments that they hadn’t been able to see before.

16. On 3 January 2012, nineteen years after Stephen’s murder, Gary Dobson and David Norris were found guilty of Lawrence's murder, and were sentenced to, 15 years 2 months and 14 years 3 months for what the judge described as a "terrible and evil crime". The sentences would have been far longer but the crime had been committed many years ago, when they were still teenagers.

17. Doreen Lawrence has said: "I would like Stephen to be remembered as a young man who had a future. He was well loved, and had he been given the chance to survive maybe he would have been the one to bridge the gap between black and white because he didn't distinguish between black or white. He saw people as people."

18. The Lawrence family have set up a trust in Stephen’s name. It has helped many young people become architects by giving them money and support. In 2008, the Stephen Lawrence Centre was opened in South East London, giving thousands more young people an opportunity to use their creative talents. Doreen and Neville Lawrence have both been awarded OBEs for their campaign against racism.

20. Glossary • Justice – fairness • Unprovoked – uncalled for, motiveless • Prosecution – trial, hearing • Inquiry - investigation • Racism – The prejudice that members of one race are superior to members of other races • Institutionalised racism – The failure of an organisation to provide a proper service to people because of their colour, culture, or ethnic origin.

21. Activities to complete this lesson include: Rate this lesson here. • Investigations and discussion around: • Similarities and Differences • Prejudice • Discrimination Click on the image above to view and/or download learning activities.