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Stephen Lawrence was an 18 year old young man waiting for a bus one evening in South East London when he was brutally murdered by a gang of five youths. His murder was an unprovoked attack and his family’s fight for justice
in the investigation that followed, put the country’s racism in the spotlight. It even resulted in the Metropolitan Police being described at the time as being ‘institutionally racist’.
His case shook the UK - and hate crime today is still shaking people’s lives. The course for justice is still unclear - even in Stephen’s case only two killers have been convicted. That’s why it still matters and it’s why I’m calling on the Mayor of London
Sadiq Khan to have a statue of Stephen Lawrence in Trafalgar Square - so that we never forget the plight of Stephen and that of all those who have been subject to hate crime in the UK.
It’s been 25 years since Stephen’s death - but the hatred and violence towards people like Stephen has not subsided. To this day, far-right groups are marching in great numbers in Whitehall and agitating in the heart of our democracy - with the aim of causing
fear and violence.
Far right groups are attempting to attach their values to being British. We need to send a message that being British is about coming together against extremism and valuing others. That is who we fought and defeated in the Second World War and we need to ideologically
mobilise now against hate. This statue would prove, as a symbol, that the UK is standing strong against hatred.
Working with communities across the UK, and being Director of the hate crime monitor group Tell MAMA, I see first-hand the atrocities and divisions created when we don’t come together and take a stand. Stephen’s statue, in our capital, will remind us of that.
This week is Hate Crime Awareness Week and the perfect time to take a stand and make this happen. Please help us by signing and making a difference.
This petition is supported by the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Hate Crime.
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