When I first joined the legal team working with Neville and Doreen Lawrence, I was struck by a curious aspect of their case. Somehow, in the face of the most extreme racist attack on their son, they had been able to articulate more effectively than anyone before them the subtle, covert racism that so many of us faced. It is what made the case so unusual and why it has resonated so widely. While we continue the pursuit of Stephen's killers, it is equally important not to forget what we learned about the effect of that other form of racism on our everyday lives.
Initially, the horrific murder of Stephen in 1993 and his parents' struggle for justice brought to mind the crude, brutal racism of the US civil rights era such as the Ku Klux Klan Alabama church bombings or Rosa Parks's battle against segregation. The power of watching courageous individuals battling overt racial injustice can be transformative. Our history in the UK during the 1970s and 1980s had seen victims of racism take to the streets and explode with anger.
But in the 1990s, the Lawrences had a different approach. They took their fight through the system and challenged it to give them justice. In doing so – through two failed prosecutions and a highly charged inquest – they showed with tragic clarity how two different forms of racism existed side by side. First, the violent racism of Stephen's killers was always present. But second, Stephen's parents were as critical of the underlying, less direct racism that had caused a delay in the proper investigation of his death. It may even have allowed his killers to escape justice. It was that focus that gave a contemporary and more sophisticated framework to their complaint. It was brave and ground-breaking.
That subtler form of racism is well known to minorities, but had always been so difficult to express. We experience it at the hands of public officials, at school, at work. You have a sense that you are battling against stereotyped preconceptions but cannot shift them. Sometimes, such experiences are because of race; sometimes, they are not, which is what makes it so pernicious.
It is a form of racism that exists in the shadows. We can all be guilty of it and it can occur as much through ignorance and inattention as through deliberate hostility. It took the clarity of the Lawrence family's campaign and the stark realisation that this subtle racism might have protected Stephen's murders for us all to understand it clearly. The ensuing public inquiry reflected those wider implications. In the face of resistance from many public bodies, it embraced the notion of institutional racism. The template for meaningful change was found in 70 recommendations. It led not only to the creation of new criminal offences, but to changes in the law under the Race Relations Act 1976 and a new duty on public authorities to promote racial equality.
In this way, the great legacy of the case is that it forced us to see more crude forms of racism in a wider context. Perhaps this is why it transcended law and even politics, inspiring us all to feel connected with the case. It became part of our culture.
No Woman No Cry, painted by Chris Ofili in 1998 as a tribute to Doreen Lawrence, now hangs in the Tate. David Adjaye, the renowned British architect, designed the Stephen Lawrence Trust building in south-east London. Beverley Knight mourned Stephen in song; Benjamin Zephaniah in verse. In 1999, London's Tricycle theatre turned the transcripts of the inquiry into a successful play. As we approached a new millennium, the Stephen Lawrence case had lodged itself in a nation's consciousness. The positive effect that this new understanding would have on our public lives seemed inevitable, but whether any of Stephen's killers would ever be brought to justice was less clear.
Over a decade later, the reverse is the case. Technological advances eventually provided the crucial evidence that jailed two men for Stephen's murder. But the wider importance of the case – tackling systemic discriminatory practices – has had less success. There have been important developments in the treatment of crime scenes and the victims of crime. However, disproportionate stop and search of young black men, which has always been symbolic of a dysfunctional relationship between the African-Caribbean community and the police, has increased. The recruitment and retention of black and minority ethnic police officers has stalled.
Even the continuing utility of the term "institutional racism" has been questioned. In a 2010 report commissioned by the London mayor, the Metropolitan Police Authority concluded: "The term is used too glibly as a blanket indictment and as such has become a barrier to reform." Whether this is right or not, it appears to take us further from, not nearer to, the compelling analysis and conclusions of the inquiry report.
The problem is that in 2011, while many young people still live in fear of the kind of violent attack that took Stephen's life, there are many millions more who are just as concerned about that different, subtle, "institutional" discrimination. They fear that the place where they wish to study or the organisation in which they want to work will not accept them because their ethnicity, accent, class or sexuality will mean that despite their skills they will simply not "fit in". They worry that public bodies that should be providing them with services will misunderstand them or be intolerant of their specific needs.
The real meaning of the Stephen Lawrence case only becomes clear when we focus not merely on the moment of his death but also on the life that he should have had: what would his future have been as a bright, young, black man in the UK? How easily would he have entered his chosen profession of architecture? How many times would he have been stopped and searched by now? How would it have made him feel?
Even if we are yet to provide the answers, the Stephen Lawrence case gave us new paradigms and a better vocabulary for understanding racism. No sensible person would suggest that racism has been eradicated from public life – far from it – but at the very least we now have better means by which we can all grapple with those complex issues together. In truth, we should be using them more effectively.
Anyone who has been touched by watching the Lawrences' struggle should visit the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust. It offers bursaries and training for young students and speaks to Stephen's legacy far beyond the two-dimensional image of him as the victim of a racist attack.
More than anything, it reminds us that the same perseverance and thoroughness that eventually brought two of his killers to justice will need to be applied to overcoming these wider issues. That task, so far, has proved even more difficult, but it is ultimately how our real respect for Stephen's memory will be measured.
Matthew Ryder is a barrister at Matrix Chambers, London, specialising in crime and civil law
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8 January 2012 12:32AM
The Lawrence case has done no more than repeat at regular intervals the truth that most of us know - Britain is institutionally racist just as it is institutionally conservative.
The Abbott case is more interesting in a sense. As an Old Labourite, I always distrusted Abbott. As a socialist and a believer in equal opportunities, I distrusted the New Left and the affirmative action crap. I never bought into the idea of quotas for women or for ethnic minorities, and I never thought that Abbott had anything of value to say about socialism, the working class or of anything much in particular.
It didn't surprise me at all that she sent her boy to a private school but I did think that it should have prevented her from getting any sort of ministerial post in a Labour govt.
I've learned nothing really over the last week or so.
It turns out that there are some violent white working class racists.
And there are some black people who have used the Labour Party to further their own personal agendas while being completely unprincipled and contemptuous of Labour's founding values.
And it turns out also that there are lots of right-wing white people who are equally opportunistic, happy to whine about the "racism industry" and the concept of political correctness, but who have painted themselves as oppressed and beleaguered victims this week.
As I say, I've learned nothing new this week. It's just confirmed that there's a helluva lot of lying cynical scumbags on all sides of the divide in the UK.
8 January 2012 12:43AM
and in the real world the majority of racist violence in britain is committed against white people.
''The British Crime Survey reveals that 87,000 people from black or minority ethnic communities said they had been a victim of a racially motivated crime. They had suffered 49,000 violent attacks, with 4,000 being wounded. At the same time 92,000 white people said they had also fallen victim of a racially motivated crime. The number of violent attacks against whites reached 77,000, while the number of white people who reported being wounded was five times the number of black and minority ethnic victims at 20,000.[25]''
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_and_crime_in_the_United_Kingdom
yes, lets discuss racism shall we?
8 January 2012 12:48AM
Just what does this mean? If the term is being used too glibly as a blanket indictment then you can't just brush the criticism away. It would be a major barrier to looking honestly at problems of integration and advancement. There are, after all, other terms available:' indirect discrimination' is one embedded in the Race Relations Act.
I would not take away from the achievements overall of the Lawrences, and the McPherson inquiry, but since then an elephant has entered the room. It may be that still many young black people fear attacks by white racist youths, but just as many fear attacks by their own peers. The current discourse, framed as it is in the experience of nearly twenty years ago, is seemingly unable to accomodate this dispiriting fact.
8 January 2012 12:53AM
Second post, here come the poor white victims of racism.
It's the talk of every golf course this week, as the fourth GnT kicks in and just before they jump into their Mercs to drive home to their 4-bed detacheds in the suburbs, the oppressed white middle classes get to share their experiences of racism and oppression.
Bless em.
8 January 2012 12:59AM
Or it may have been that they were corrupt. This issue has been overlooked constantly in favour of this 'institutional racism' charge
To an extent racism may have played a part in the attitude of the police towards Brooks and the Lawrence family - but was it responsible for the mishandling of evidence, failure to keep proper records or comply with specific police investigating measures.....?
The police should really have to answer charges in court over this case. If their only defence is incomptence then those responsible and who are currently benefitting from their convenient early retirements should have their pensions strictly reviewed...
8 January 2012 1:33AM
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8 January 2012 1:37AM
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8 January 2012 1:47AM
Some black people eh? Gosh can't imagine any white person who would even dream of doing that!!!
8 January 2012 1:55AM
Racism isn't unique to any particular skin colour. However, what made the Stephen Lawrence case stand out for a lot of people wasn't just the fact that the young man and his friend were targeted for being black. This kind of violent racism is rare.
It was the oh-so convenient way that the Police "failed" to do their job once the investigation commenced. They way that evidence was ignored, the way that suspects were left to destroy evidence and the general way that the case was treated.
It was one the worst fears of an ethnic minority come to life in technicolour - being at the mercy of people with power who possibly had prejudicial or stereotypical views about people who make up that ethnic minority and needing them to do their job properly regardless.
I must salute the young man's parents. A lot of people would have just accepted their lot, put it down to the "system" and walked away from it all. They refused to do that. They questioned, they challenged, they dug in their heels and forced the Police to do their job properly. I just hope lessons have been learnt and that it doesn't take newspaper campaigns to get the Police to carry out thorough investigations.
8 January 2012 1:57AM
No, it's just that every time the issue of institutional racism comes up, there's sure to be some single issue fanatic who turns up to post some spurious facts about black on white violence.
I'm not sure it's the same single issue fanatic who turns up every time to whine on about how he's really oppressed and victimised by black men but if so it might explain why he keeps on missing the point about racism being about class and power.
Lenin talked about useful idiots.
I'm not sure what the next sub-strata of useful idiocy is, but white racists who voted Thatcher, hated the Argies and Scargill occupy it.
8 January 2012 2:02AM
I think the Stephen Lawrence case and the cult built up around it has been one of the greatest disasters in the history of race relations in Britain. You underestimate the extent to which it has sown intense resentment in the indigenous population. British people see clearly the systematic favouring of ethnic minority interests by the media and political elite.
Many British indigenes have been murdered by descendants of recent immigrants with no comparable interest shown in their cases. Indeed, the media quite clearly often does it best to cover up the racist element in the crime.
The triumphalist crowing we have seen this week will only make the problem worse. There is an intense resentment about unequal treatment growing in the indigenous population.
8 January 2012 2:03AM
No, I really cannot conceive of any white person using the Labour Party to further their own personal agenda ever.
It's never happened to the best of my knowledge.
8 January 2012 2:10AM
Tony Blair and many of his cronies do not spring to mind then?
8 January 2012 2:11AM
What triumphalist crowing?
I'm part of the "indigenous population" but have never thought of myself as such, and I'm not aware of any people "triumphantly crowing" at me this week just because two guys finally got convicted of murder 18 years after the event.
What's to crow about? Justice finally being done?
There's a lot of really nasty paranoia seeping out this week.
8 January 2012 2:15AM
I was being ironic. Thought it was pretty obvious really.
8 January 2012 2:17AM
Phew thought you were mad or something!!!
8 January 2012 2:29AM
'' There is an intense resentment about unequal treatment growing in the indigenous population.''
What unequal treatment - that is a figment of your imagination.
These articles always attract weirdos who try & pretend that whites are an oppressed majority.
8 January 2012 2:31AM
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8 January 2012 2:53AM
as a moderate, i hate to agree with you on this issue but i think you are correct.
8 January 2012 2:56AM
Is the media institutionally racist? Why does a white woman saying</i racist things get more coverage than two Somalian girls attacking a girl because she was white?
8 January 2012 2:57AM
Based on my experiences with white people in South London I 'd say that all of them who ever spoke of resentment about the Stephen Lawrence "cult" had one thing in common - they were a bit racist.
You find a granny in Devon who thinks the British media favour black people and I think it's likely she's always been a bit casually racist at the very least.
It's exactly the same phenomenon as people who don't like gays being convinced there's too many gays on the telly and Christians thinking the atheists are mental.
8 January 2012 3:07AM
There's no real answer as the media is quite random and there's no daily meeting they all go to agree the big story of the day.
Question: Why does a white woman killing a white woman make a big news story in one paper one day but a white woman killing a white woman not make a big news story in the exact same paper 3 months later?
There's no answer you can look up in a text book to explain this reality of news reporting.
Sometimes a piece about Katie Price will trump a piece about Kylie.
You can't use this as proof the paper has it in for Australians.
To rule out confirmation bias you should spend months looking for examples that prove your own theories wrong - seek out examples of media giving more weight to white victims etc.
8 January 2012 3:14AM
Oh bloody hell I'm going to bite even though I know I shouldn't. Now lets think about your figures for race crimes on white people, how many of these are white on white crimes. Eastern europeans, Western Europeans, English, Welsh, Scottish etc. Racism is not as black and white as you seem to imagine. Now
I'm not denying that black on white racist attacks do not occur, but am questioning whether they make up all of the figures that you set so much store by..
8 January 2012 3:15AM
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8 January 2012 3:21AM
This is the third thread on the Lawrence case this week that has quickly descended into a bitchfest which has little, if any, bearing on the original article. This is a shame. The Lawrences and Stephen's memory deserve more respect than the cat calling and sniping which has taken place on CIF over the last few days.
RIP Stephen. To the other 3 who are still not convicted of this cowardly attack- your day will come, one way or another, you nasty, hateful bastards.
8 January 2012 3:24AM
I'm here to discuss things. What's on your mind?
8 January 2012 3:28AM
Except of course most white people don't live that kind of lifestyle. Most white people are struggling just as much as black people are nowadays. Except we don't have the excuse that we are being oppressed because of our race. Or we aren't allowed to say it out loud, anyway.
8 January 2012 3:38AM
Author: I think you underestimate many. Although us white people cannot know what it is to be black we nevertheless rocked against racism throughout the 70s and 80s and did challenge police forces to behave well toward all of our community.
I do not wish to detract from the achievements of Mr and Mrs Lawrence, especially in the face of their loss. But they did not act alone and they will testify to the support they received from all sectors of the community. And I did hate typing "all sectors". It should, of course, be one community.
8 January 2012 3:39AM
That's not the fault of Black people though, is it?
Jeez, do you really think that you're being oppressed by black people?
8 January 2012 3:43AM
Please, remember the dignity of the Lawrences in the pain and try to emulate it. But I tell you and everyone, my son never had a racist bone in his body, he has mates of every colour. But if I thought it was him (and he was 3 at the time), I would give him up and suffer his punishment with him as I would know I had failed as a mother and a human being.
8 January 2012 4:00AM
Firstly, my thoughts to the Lawrence family who fought so long and hard for justice for their son. It is unbearable to think that maybe they could have had the time to truly grieve instead of fight if the police had done their job and convicted the killers of their beloved son. Rest in peace Stephen Lawrence and I sincerely hope the rest of the killers are caught.
Secondly, I am not surprised that the many individuals commenting on this have descended to making agenda driven posts to spout their general ideas on the idea of race instead of addressing the article and the fact that Stephen Lawrence's killers were free to roam the earth longer than Mr. Lawrence lived.
I've nearly lost the will to comment on the article itself but there are a few genuine questions which I have. How many truly believe that there is a form of "invisible" or subtle form of racism in this country? I believe it exists and this particular case was not significant for me in proving its existence. I wonder whether it was for others.
What of the pertinent questions asked in the following paragraph which the author asked?
Funnily enough, I have been stopped by the police numerous times throughout my youth. One memorable occasion was when I was 14 years old wearing a garish green suit (blame my parents and the 90s) on my way home from confirmation practice. I always wondered whether the only information the officers had was the colour of the suspects skin. I was even told on one occasion that I was a close match for someone far darker skinned and taller than I was. When I pointed this out, I didn't get the best answer to put this politely. This didn't feel good but it is in the past. Do people believe these incidents (and many more) occurred because I'm black or was it just incompetence?
Without genuine and open discussion, we'll never get anywhere. Even if someone disagrees with me I won't automatically think someone is a certain way neither will I brand them something which is unhelpful. It is important to understand different experiences and takes on an issue and I think the Guardian comments section is a great place to do that. This article deserves better than that, especially when it has been composed so well. Stephen Lawrence deserves better than that too...
8 January 2012 4:11AM
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8 January 2012 4:20AM
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8 January 2012 4:24AM
What insights? People inexplicably hate the colour of someone' s skin so they attack them. Yes. Always has happened and will. But thankfully a random, horrible act. I am not sure what else we can take out of this. Court cases can be botched. Yes. Ask women who've been raped about that one. And as for injustice well ask people from all walks of life.
Humans are not always rational, especially not in packs. I don't know what other 'insights' this gives us. Scientifically speaking what can you say for sure? Lots of anecdote, yes, but real insights...I am not sure.
8 January 2012 4:36AM
So no insight then.
Thanks for popping by.
8 January 2012 4:41AM
Thanks for actually starting a relevant debate. And like you, my utter respect and condolences go to the Lawrence family.
I am white, born in 1961in West Yorkshire and my first experience of anything "racial" was in about 1968, passing a "black power" fist painted on a wall on the M1 and asking my parents what it meant. They dismissed it. The next time was at my best friend's house, her dad was a fish, poultry and game merchant and he said the N word about "them" touching the fish on his stall. It was in our dads, racism, but we didn't get it. Thing is, we never got it, we rocked against it, marched against it, sang with the Specials when they were still the Coventry Automatics (that was why they were for a time the Specials AKA) and as our kids grew up it didn't matter what colour their friends were, just that they were good kids. It is the gang thing. Friendship groups are one thing and to be encouraged, gangs are a whole other thing.
I truly hope anyone who knows who the other gang members are that did this give them up, whether that is parents, sisters, so-called friends. You know you can't live with and get away with this, you will be given up or found out, best to do it yourself.
8 January 2012 4:42AM
Thanks for the figures. Recent census data shows that the white British population is 87% of the total, so, black or ethic minority people are (87/13)/(92/87) = 6.3 times more likely to report being the victim of a racially motivated crime, and (4/13)/(20/87) = 1.3 rimes more likely to report being wounded. Thanks for clearing that up. That is the point you were trying to make, isn't it?
8 January 2012 4:43AM
Its such a pity, the fact is that most of you are actually arguing over trivia. Stephen Lawrence died as a result of a racially motivated attack. The enquiry into his murder was flawed and at best inept.
Statistically you can all prove your points, but regardless of who is assaulted or by whom they are assaulted, racism is not acceptable. At the same time be quite clear that I am saying no crime is justifiable on the grounds of racism or other contrived reason.
Statistically you can prove any point or refute it using the same evidence. Facts do not lie but they can be conveniently ignored or misused to suit a purpose.
The long held assumption that only one group of society can be racist as Ms Abbott illustrated is in itself simplistic and niave. Human relations are complex and seldom if ever simple. All of us can find facts, figures and examples to support our view or refute any contentious point.
I, personnally, am sick to death of racist language being spouted out over the airwaves, rap music to me is racist and violent in context. Stop using the 'N' word! Make it an offence that regardless of race, creed or colour, offensive words and behavior will not be tolerated. Ms Abbott like Mr Terry should be facing a court.
Educate and inform!
8 January 2012 4:46AM
Only to people who don't understand statistics.
8 January 2012 4:47AM
@SweetBirdoftruth quite honestly you sound glib. Your whole thing is to wait for people to comment and then try and make mileage out of it.
I class an insight as something very material and I can't see beyond the plethora of anecdotes of personal experience here. We have just seen an outcome of a court case that took far too long to get to court. We do not know for sure why it all went wrong and to throw around 'institutional racism' is convenient but is is fact. Insights tend to require some actual learnings.
Ok, sweetie.
8 January 2012 4:48AM
To accept that
Or
is to say that humans cannot be expected to behave with humanity and as such is simply wrong. If an attack was going on would you not jump in? I can say for sure I would as I have!
8 January 2012 4:48AM
Even if we are yet to provide the answers, the Stephen Lawrence case gave us new paradigms and a better vocabulary for understanding racism. No sensible person would suggest that racism has been eradicated from public life – far from it – but at the very least we now have better means by which we can all grapple with those complex issues together. In truth, we should be using them more effectively.
Eh? This is just meaningless waffle. In fact, the whole article us. The Lawrence case tells us nothing we didnt already know.
8 January 2012 4:49AM
at 74 years of age although i do not condone violence to other people I can remember when there was no racism to speak off. the people of this country were not asked if they wanted millions of aliens living among them causing the social problems we see today in respect of alien cultures.the politicians of the 50,s and early 60,s were warned that in the future there would be racial problems but the advice was ignored by naive people who thougt they knew what was best for the british people.all over europe its the same and there is only one conclusion and that racial tensions will only increase untill there is real violence on the streets. all animals protect their own territories humans are no different,thats why we have ethnic areas where white people do not want to go and are not welcome to go. the british fought for their way of life and paid dearly only to see it being taken away from them
8 January 2012 4:52AM
Ms Robinson, I class your previous post as not just glib but offensive in extreme, I quoted from it in my above post. If SweetBird is out-flirting you, say so. But the fact is, the finding of the inquiry into what went wrong in the Stephen Lawrence case was that the Met was institutionally racist. That is a fact.
Ok, sweetie?
8 January 2012 4:59AM
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8 January 2012 5:07AM
Oh I really give up, you pair of bats wings beat yourselves together, as bad as each other, not actually looking at the bigger picture!
8 January 2012 5:23AM
We need to look into police corruption in this case, because it is plain as day that that is what occurred. The police have tried to get off by admitting incompetence, but this was always a case of corruption.
8 January 2012 5:29AM
That, my friend, is going to be a very long screw to unwind. This case, the Murdoch stuff, who knows what else and for how long? Corrupt, incompetent, institutionally racist, the Met has an awful lot to answer for.
8 January 2012 6:02AM
13% of the population perpetrate similar levels of racist attacks as the other 87%. What does that tell you?
8 January 2012 6:22AM
The findings of the public enquiry in the late '90s into the death of Stephen Lawrence found that the Met had problems of ingrained racism. The original recommendations of the report called for greater public scrutiny of the Met and a wider definition of racial crime. If anything the Met is less accountable now than it was then. Labour dropped the ball and instead gave them greater powers and took Britain towards being a police state.
The public want the police to be held responsible for their incompetence - especially if it borders on crime or is tinged with racism. Until that happens the public will continue to distrust the police.