- Home
- News & Blogs
- About Us
- What We Do
- Our Communities
- Info Centre
- Press
- Contact
- Archive 2019
- 2015 Elections: 11 new BME MP’s make history
- 70th Anniversary of the Partition of India
- Black Church Manifesto Questionnaire
- Brett Bailey: Exhibit B
- Briefing Paper: Ethnic Minorities in Politics and Public Life
- Civil Rights Leader Ratna Lachman dies
- ELLE Magazine: Young, Gifted, and Black
- External Jobs
- FeaturedVideo
- FeaturedVideo
- FeaturedVideo
- Gary Younge Book Sale
- George Osborne's budget increases racial disadvantage
- Goldsmiths Students' Union External Trustee
- International Commissioners condemn the appalling murder of Tyre Nichols
- Iqbal Wahhab OBE empowers Togo prisoners
- Job Vacancy: Head of Campaigns and Communications
- Media and Public Relations Officer for Jean Lambert MEP (full-time)
- Number 10 statement - race disparity unit
- Pathway to Success 2022
- Please donate £10 or more
- Rashan Charles had no Illegal Drugs
- Serena Williams: Black women should demand equal pay
- Thank you for your donation
- The Colour of Power 2021
- The Power of Poetry
- The UK election voter registration countdown begins now
- Volunteering roles at Community Alliance Lewisham (CAL)
Stephen Lawrence verdict: historic and momentous, but not a proud moment
A group of activists and campaigners joined civil rights icon Reverend Jesse Jackson to give their thoughts following the convictions of two men for the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence.
The media conference, held at Operation Black Vote's headquarters, took place just hours before Gary Dobson and David Norris were sentenced at the Old Bailey on Wednesday, with Dobson getting a minimum 15 years while Norris was sentenced to 14 years.
The panel at the press conference hoped the "monumental and historic" moment would mark a turning point in the way racial crimes are handled.
Bishop Wayne Malcolm, one of the founders of Operation Hope and Recovery, said the church had hoped there would be a "wider in-depth review of stereotyping and other issues in the police force which the Stephen Lawrence inquiry brought to the forefront".
Superintendent Leroy Logan praised Stephen's parents Doreen and Neville Lawrence's fight for justice for their son, adding: "They not only changed policing, but the wider justice system and societal changes."
Logan added that he wanted the government to provide leadership and to hold chief constables to account.
Activist Lee Jasper said though he was glad there was some justice for Stephen's murder, he didn't believe the justice system had redeemed itself following the convictions of Norris and Dobson.
Jasper added,
I'm not celebrating with those who wish to give British justice a pat on the back. The multi-dimensional reality of racism in Britain is resurgent.
Audrey Adams, mother of Rolan Adams who was killed in a racist attack in south London in 1991, said she was angry that the parents of Stephen Lawrence had to fight for nearly 19 years to get justice and in her opinion, they hadn't.
Adams added her family and other son Nathan, who was also injured in the attack, were treated badly by the police.
Reverend Jackson said Norris and Dobson should not be treated as trophies and the other individuals suspected of the murder should also be brought to justice.
Click on the link below to watch the full video.