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Doreen Lawrence

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The Right Honourable
The Baroness Lawrenceof Clarendon
OBE
Official portrait, 2023
Member of theHouse of Lords
Lord Temporal
as alife peer
15 October 2013
ChancellorofDe Montfort University
In office
22 January 2016 – 31 January 2020
Vice-ChancellorDominic Shellard
Andy Collop (interim)
Preceded byWaheed Alli
Succeeded byAkram Khan
Personal details
Born
Doreen Delceita Graham

(1952-10-24)24 October 1952(age 71)
Clarendon,Colony of Jamaica
NationalityBritish
Political partyLabour
Spouse
Neville Lawrence
​
​
(m.1972;div.1999)​
Children3, includingStephen Lawrence
Alma materUniversity of Greenwich
OccupationCampaigner
Lawrence's voice
from the BBC programmeDesert Island Discs,10 June 2012.[1]

Doreen Delceita Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence of ClarendonOBE(néeGraham;born 1952), is aBritish Jamaicancampaigner and the mother ofStephen Lawrence,ablack Britishteenager who was murdered in a racist attack in South East London in 1993. She promoted reforms of the police service and founded the Stephen LawrenceCharitableTrust. She was appointed to theOrder of the British Empirefor services to community relations in 2003, and was created alife peerin 2013.[2]

On the first national Stephen Lawrence Day on 22 April 2019, she described how she had worked for 26 years hoping for "an inclusive society for everyone to live their best life, regardless of gender, race, sexuality, religion, disability or background".[3]

Early and personal life

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Lawrence was born inClarendon,Jamaica,in 1952.[4][5]At the age of nine, she emigrated to the United Kingdom. She completed her education in south-east London, before becoming a bank worker. In 1972, she married Neville Lawrence. Together they had three children: Stephen (13 September 1974 – 22 April 1993); Stuart, born in 1977; and Georgina, born in 1982.[6]The couple divorced in 1999.[7]

Murder of Stephen Lawrence

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Main article:Murder of Stephen Lawrence

Following the murder of their son Stephen in 1993, Doreen and Neville Lawrence claimed that theMetropolitan Policeinvestigation was not being conducted in a professional manner, citing incompetence and racism as prime flaws.[8]In 1994 the Lawrences initiated a private prosecution of five of the suspects, but the evidence was insufficient, resulting in their acquittal, and no prospect of subsequent conviction due to thedouble jeopardylaw. In 1999, after years of campaigning, and with the support of many in the community, the media[9]and politics, a wide-ranging judicial inquiry was established byJack Straw,theHome Secretary.Chaired bySir William MacPherson,the inquiry was to investigate the circumstances of Stephen Lawrence's death. The public inquiry was the subject of intense media interest which became international when it concluded that the Metropolitan Police was "institutionally racist."[10]The report also recommended changes in the double jeopardy law, which were passed in 2003 and came into effect in 2005. In 2010, after a review of the forensic and other evidence started in 2006, two of the murderers were re-arrested and tried and found guilty in 2011-12.

Public life

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In the aftermath of the inquiry, Lawrence continued to campaign for justice for her son as well as for other victims ofracistcrime. She has worked to secure further reforms of the police service. In 2003, she was appointedOBE[11][12]for services to community relations.

She founded the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust[13]to promote a positive community legacy in her son's name. Lawrence has been selected to sit on panels within theHome Office[14]and the police, and she is a member of both the board and the council ofLiberty,[15]the human rights organisation, as well as being a patron of hate crime charityStop Hate UK.[16]

In 1998, she worked with theRoyal Institute of British Architectsand theMarco Goldschmied Foundationto establish the Stephen Lawrence Prize, an annual prize and bursary for younger architects.[17]

In August 2014, Lawrence was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter toThe GuardianopposingScottish independencein the run-up to September'sreferendum on that issue.[18]

In April 2020, she was appointed as race relations advisor to theLabour Party.[19]

Controversy

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In October 2019, Lawrence attracted criticism for her on-camera remarks concerning theGrenfell Tower firetragedy made during an interview withChannel 4 News.[20][21][22][23]She was quoted as saying: "Had that been a block full of white people in there, they would have done everything to get them out as fast as possible and make sure that they do what they needed to do."[24]A public petition was raised demanding an apology.[24][25]She later apologised for her remarks.[24][26]

Recognition

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On 27 July 2012, Lawrence took part in the2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony,holding the Olympic flag with seven others.

In October 2012, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the14th Pride of Britain Awards.[27]

In April 2014, she was named as Britain's most influential woman in theBBC Radio 4'sWoman's HourPower List 2014.[5]

In May 2014, Lawrence was awarded theGrassroot DiplomatInitiative Award under the Social Driver category for her extensive work with the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust.[28]

Lawrence was elevated to the peerage as alife peeron 6 September 2013, asBaroness Lawrence of Clarendon,ofClarendonin theCommonwealth RealmofJamaica;[29]the honour is rare for beingdesignatedafter a location in a Commonwealth realm outside the United Kingdom.[30]She sits on theLabourbenches in the House of Lords as a working peer.[31]

She has been awarded honorary doctorates from theUniversity of Cambridge,[32]theOpen Universityand theUniversity of West London.She served as Chancellor ofDe Montfort University,Leicester,from 2016 to 2020.[33]She is an Honorary Fellow ofMurray Edwards College, Cambridge.

Lawrence was the guest "castaway" onBBC Radio 4'sDesert Island Discson 10 June 2012.[1]

Chris Ofili's 1998 paintingNo Woman No Cryis a portrait of Doreen Lawrence crying; in each tear is an image of her son Stephen. It was part of Ofili'sTurner Prizeexhibition, and now hangs in theTateGallery.[34]

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In 1999, she was portrayed by actressMarianne Jean-Baptistein theITVdocudramaThe Murder of Stephen Lawrence.[35]In 2000, Lawrence was featured in a double portrait exhibited at the Stephen Lawrence Gallery inGreenwich,London.[36]

Sons of Kemetdedicated the albumYour Queen Is a Reptileto Lawrence among others.[37]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ab"Doreen Lawrence".Desert Island Discs.10 June 2012. BBC Radio 4.Retrieved18 January2014.
  2. ^"Doreen Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, OBE".Murray Edwards College – University of Cambridge.31 January 2020.Retrieved3 August2023.
  3. ^Lawrence, Doreen (22 April 2019)."Doreen Lawrence".The Guardian.Retrieved2 April2021.
  4. ^Lawrence, Doreen (2007).And still I rise.Margaret Busby.London: Faber.ISBN978-0-571-23459-2.OCLC72868322.
  5. ^ab"Woman's Hour Power List 2014: 1: Doreen Lawrence".BBC Radio 4.Archivedfrom the original on 26 June 2014.Retrieved20 April2021.
  6. ^Malik, Shiv; Laville, Sandra (9 January 2013)."Stephen Lawrence's brother lodges racism complaint against Met police".The Guardian.Retrieved26 August2014.
  7. ^"Lawrence parents divorce",BBC News,9 July 1999. Retrieved 28 May 2024.
  8. ^"Lawrence mother calls police 'racist'".BBC News.11 June 1998.Retrieved8 August2011.
  9. ^Hoge, Warren (18 February 1997),"Racial Killing Bursts a British Press Taboo",The New York Times.Retrieved 29 May 2024.
  10. ^"The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry".Archive.official-documents.co.uk. 24 February 1999.Retrieved8 August2011.
  11. ^"Fighting on: Neville and Doreen Lawrence".BBC News.31 December 2002.Retrieved8 August2011.
  12. ^"No. 56797".The London Gazette(Supplement). 31 December 2002. p. 11.
  13. ^"Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust – Registered Charity Number: 1102267".Charitiesdirect. Archived fromthe originalon 13 February 2012.Retrieved6 January2012.
  14. ^"Police: Stop and Search — Question".Theyworkforyou. 6 May 2009.Retrieved8 August2011.
  15. ^Wintour, Patrick (31 July 2013)."Doreen Lawrence to be made a Labour peer".The Guardian.Retrieved29 May2024.
  16. ^Stop Hate UKofficial website.
  17. ^"How the Stephen Lawrence Prize was founded".The Stephen Lawrence Prize.Retrieved5 March2021.
  18. ^"Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories | Politics".The Guardian.7 August 2014.Retrieved26 August2014.
  19. ^"Keir Starmer appoints Doreen Lawrence as race relations adviser".The Labour Party.24 April 2020.Retrieved24 April2020.
  20. ^Doreen Lawrence says Grenfell tragedy was linked to racism,Channel 4 News,17 October 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  21. ^"Stephen Lawrence's mother claims firefighters tackling Grenfell Tower blaze were 'racist'".The Telegraph.20 October 2019.Retrieved11 November2019.
  22. ^FBU responds to Baroness Lawrence’s racism allegations on Channel 4 Newsfbu.org.uk, 18 October 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  23. ^Mahmood, Basit (24 October 2019)."Peer resists calls to apologise for saying firefighters at Grenfell were 'racist'".Metro.Retrieved11 November2019.
  24. ^abcBaroness Lawrence Apologises After Claiming Race Played A Part In Grenfell Tower InfernoEuroWeekly News,1 November 2019. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
  25. ^Booth, Robert (26 October 2019)."Grenfell survivors fear inquiry judge will side with establishment".The Guardian.Retrieved11 November2019.
  26. ^Blow, John (29 October 2019)."Doreen Lawrence apology for 'any upset caused' over Grenfell Tower response after meeting with firefighters".The Yorkshire Post.Retrieved11 November2019.
  27. ^"Doreen Lawrence honoured".ITV News.30 October 2012.Retrieved31 October2012.
  28. ^"Grassroot Diplomat Who's Who".Grassroot Diplomat.15 March 2015. Archived fromthe originalon 20 May 2015.Retrieved27 April2015.
  29. ^"No. 60624".The London Gazette.11 September 2013. p. 17949.
  30. ^Siva, Vivienne (25 October 2013)."Jamaican Born Civil Rights Campaigner Appointed to British House of Lords".Jamaican Information Service.
  31. ^"Working peerages announced",Press release, Gov.uk, 1 August 2013.
  32. ^"Cambridge confers 2019 honorary degrees".University of Cambridge.19 June 2019.Retrieved19 June2019.
  33. ^"Baroness Doreen Lawrence's four-year tenure as Chancellor comes to an end".De Montfort University Leicester.27 January 2020.Retrieved23 March2020.
  34. ^Higgins, Charlotte (25 January 2010)."Chris Ofili: A journey from elephant art to mother nature's son".The Guardian.Retrieved8 August2011.
  35. ^"The Murder of Stephen Lawrence (1999)",IMDb.
  36. ^"Remembering Stephen Lawrence: Doreen Lawrence Unveils New Double Portrait at University of Greenwich"Archived23 July 2011 at theWayback MachineUniversity of Greenwich press release, 15 May 2000.
  37. ^"Sons of Kemet | SHABAKA HUTCHINGS".
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