Vanessa

This week marks 23 years since the tragic murder of 18 year old Stephen Lawrence in South East London. The circumstances surrounding Stephen’s murder can only be described as senseless, which took the life of a young man and left a family in mourning.

In 1993 Stephen was stabbed to death as he waited at a bus stop in Eltham South East London, immediately after the tragedy Doreen and Neville Lawrence claimed that the investigation was not being handled in a professional manner and after years of campaigning the family was awarded a judicial enquiry by then Home Office Secretary Jack Straw. The enquiry was to investigate the circumstances of Stephen’s death and concluded that the Metropolitan Police was institutionally racist which led to their failure to solve the case. This was the beginning of decades of campaigning for justice and change for Doreen and her family.

Doreen Lawrence has always inspired me, she demonstrates a mother’s strength – one that is relentless in protecting her family and the memory of her son. Her fight for justice was not only for her son but to for all victims of racist crimes and through her work she has been able to help reform the police service. Not only has she been the public face to stop racism, she also works with organisations to drive change from the inside, she sits on the panel of the Home Office and Police Service, is a member of both the board and council of Liberty and a patron of Stop Hate UK. In addition, Doreen and her family founded the Stephen Lawrence charitable Trust to promote a positive community legacy in her son’s name – she has taken the negative from the tragedy of losing her son and has turned it into a positive image of hope for change and equality in the UK.

Her hard work has not gone unnoticed, in 2014 she was named Britain’s Most Influential Woman in the BBC’s Woman’s Hour Power List. Theresa May’s statement sums up how impactful Doreen Lawrence has been in the fight for justice and equality. She has been the voice of the afro-Caribbean community and minority groups across the UK who have been affected by the failings of the police force and to mothers who have lost a child in such a horrible way.

“Baroness Lawrence had been faced by a “terrible tragedy”, yet picked herself up and carried on fighting to ensure that justice could be done. What is most striking about this woman is the great strength that she has shown over decades – strength to carry on, to keep on going, even in the most difficult times when all seemed impossible,”

“Also striking is the persistence that she has shown, because she has never given up. And finally, what is most impressive about this game-changer is that throughout it all, over the years, despite blow after blow, she has dealt with everything with absolute dignity.” Theresa May

Joanne Green

Girls Talk London Ambassador

Follow Jo on Twitter @justask_jojo

Photo Credit (http://conservativehome.blogs.com/)