EXCLUSIVE: Stephen Lawrence's mother Doreen says lives and hopes of young black Londoners have not improved since her son's murder 20 years ago

 
12 December 2013

The mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence today warns that the lives and hopes of black Britons have not improved since her son’s death 20 years ago.

In a powerful criticism, Doreen Lawrence said young black people are still more likely to be hassled by the police, let down by the education system and to end up on the dole.

Baroness Lawrence, who was made a peer this summer, also attacked the shortage of black role models in Parliament, company board rooms and senior public positions.

“I frequently get asked whether life has improved for black Londoners over the 20 years I have been campaigning

for reform of our police, criminal justice system and state institutions to better serve my community,” she wrote.

“The straight answer is no, not really. The lives of young black people in London haven’t changed a great deal; they are still more likely to be marginalised from society, to be stopped and searched, to be excluded from education, to earn less or to be unemployed than their white counterparts. We still have a long way to go in the fight for genuine equality in this great city.”

Coming in the week of Nelson Mandela’s funeral, which has triggered worldwide soul-searching about the battle for racial justice, Baroness Lawrence’s words will command even greater force.

She earned respect as a dogged and dignified campaigner after the horrific murder of Stephen, an 18-year-old aspiring architect stabbed by a gang of racists as he waited for a bus in Eltham, south east London, on April 22 1993.

Lady Lawrence, 61, spoke out in an article for a booklet of essays on London which is published tomorrow by Sadiq Khan, the shadow London minister and Labour’s Justice spokesman.

She said she gets dozens of letter each week from families who feel mistreated by the police and justice system. “Stop and search is still a huge problem for black Londoners, who are too often stopped purely because of the colour of their skin,” she said.

On parliament, she said: “More often than not I am the only non white person in the chamber.”

Calling for more black police, judges, top officials and directors she asked: “How are young black children supposed to learn to aspire to leadership roles, when there are so few inspirations for them to follow?”

The Labour peer also criticised Michael Gove’s new curriculum changes, saying his “focus on the medieval kings and queens of England has done nothing to make the curriculum more relevant to the lives of young black children in Hackney or Brixton”

Unemployment levels among black Britons were “a national disgrace” and she warned: “Race is still very much a dividing line for life chances in this city.”

Mr Khan said her article would resonate with many Londoners. “It’s a personal story about where she thinks London is. Yes, progress has been made - but if Doreen Lawrence herself is disappointed at the lack of progress then we should be listening.”

Lord Paddick, the former Scotland Yard senior officer and Lib Dem mayoral candidate, said Lady Lawrence was right in some of her criticisms. He was surprised she felt she was often the only black face in the Lords chamber because there had been significant improvements, but he added: “I would agree with her that black and ethnic minority people are still greatly under-represented in Parliament and other walks of life.”

Scotland Yard said in a statement it had achieved “significant reductions” in stop and searches by using an intelligence-led approach since January 2012.

In the past year the total number of searches had fallen 21 per cent while the arrest rate had risen to 15.4 per cent from 12.1 per cent. There were also 47 per cent fewer complaints.

Of 320,122 people who were stopped and searched in the last year, 46 per cent were white, 29 per cent black and 15 per cent Asian.

“The Metropolitan Police Service acknowledges the impact stop and search has on communities and individuals and that to maintain public confidence in its use, the power must be used in a fair and effective manner,” it said.

A Department for Education spokesperson said: “The facts are that schools in London, which has a much higher proportion of children from black and minority ethnic backgrounds, have improved far faster than any other in the country. It is in boroughs like Hackney where improvements have been most dramatic.

“We are determined to make sure that every child has an equal opportunity to succeed. Giving every child the chance to enjoy a traditional academic education is the most powerful lever for greater social mobility and racial equality we have.”

Doreen Lawrence on London

London is a truly multicultural city. Our arts, food and culture are the best in the world precisely because of the diverse backgrounds of the people who live here. But we have a long way to go in the battle to improve the life chances of young black people in London. If we are to make more progress over decades ahead we need more real engagement by the political class with young black children – their lives, motivations and interests. We need to show them that it is possible for them to change things and make a difference, if they work hard and focus. Race is still very much a dividing line for life chances in this city, one we must do away with in the decade ahead.

On policing

Every week I get dozens of letters from families who have suffered injustice or have been treated badly at the hands of the police or the criminal justice system. My biggest fear is that it will take these families 20 years to finally get justice, as it took me.

One area in which we have made progress is the work of the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which is beginning to look like it has some teeth. However, on other issues we are moving backwards. Stop and search is still a huge problem for black Londoners, who are too often stopped purely because of the colour of their skin.

On parliament

In the short period that I have sat in the House of Lords, it has been abundantly clear that black and ethnic minority communities are still not properly represented in either of the Houses of Parliament.

More often than not I am the only nonwhite person in the chamber. And while diversity is slowly improving in the Commons, progress is not quick enough and representation at the highest levels of government has gone backwards since 2010.

On senior positions

There are still too few black faces in leadership positions in the public sphere – whether government ministers, directors of top companies, police officers or judges. How are young black children supposed to learn to aspire to leadership roles, when there are so few inspirations for them to follow? How are they supposed to aim to be prime minister, mayor of London, head of HSBC or commissioner of the Metropolitan Police if they’ve never seen anyone who looks like them in any of those roles

On schools

Day after day, I see first-hand how our education system is failing black Londoners. We urgently need to reform our schooling system so that it motivates young black children to achieve, builds their confidence and teaches a curriculum designed to reflect all individuals in the classroom.

Michael Gove’s renewed focus on the medieval kings and queens of England has done nothing to make the curriculum more relevant to the lives of young black children in Hackney or Brixton. When black children get good GCSE or A-Level resuts, or make it to Oxford or Cambridge, we should be shouting about it from the rooftops.

On Unemployment

Unemployment levels in the black community should be a national disgrace. More than half of black people in the UK aged 16 to 24 are unemployed. That’s more than double the rate for young white people. The recession has hit young black people disproportionately hard, with the unemployment rate almost doubling since 2008. This is a tragic waste of both human talent and economic potential.

Perhaps most worryingly, this is a silent tragedy. Why aren’t the government talking about it? How is it not at the top of the news agenda? It’s almost as though the problem doesn’t exist.

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