Stephen Lawrence an aspiring architect at heart was knifed to death, by two known racists, on 22 April 1993, whilst waiting for a bus home. Some allege that there was a gang of 6 white youth responsible for Stephens’s murder and after years of tireless campaigning by Stephen’s parents, Doreen and Neville Lawrence, only two of the murderers, Gary Dobson and David Norris were convicted of Stephen’s murder, last year.
The Tory Government of John Major at the time denied any form of justice to be done and it was only until the Labour Government under the then Home Secretary Jack Straw MP, that a public enquiry was initiated against much Police opposition (no apparent evidence despite blatant Police racism), in 1997.
Couple of years in the mid 1990’s, I still remember how in Southall, West London, the local community gathered around the Lawrence family in the Fanner Brockway Centre, to offer support and keep the Lawrence Family spirits high. One of the local solicitors went on to later represent the family in the Courts through their many years of hard fought struggle for justice.
The murder of Stephen was to have a profound impact on the collective psyche of the British nation through the publication of the Macpherson report and the labelling of the Police as ‘institutionally racist’. The Police along with other public bodies were then to see targets set to eradicate racism from their organisations through increased recruitment and retention of Ethnic Minority staff and to better reflect the communities they served. Specific duties were put in place to guide in a new era in race relations through new improved legislation under the then Commission of Racial Equality. The labelling of public organisations such as the Police and the Civil Service as ‘institutionally racist’ became a fashion statement of the time and very little tangible progress followed the public statements.
Doreen Lawrence remains sceptical of the progress made as do majority of the British minority population. Referring to the Police, she said this week, “I can’t say they definitely have changed. I don’t think anybody knows apart from those who are working inside. There are those who are trying their best to make a difference, but does it actually feed down to the officer on the beat who actually carries out the work? You don’t know. To say that the Met has changed, you can only hope”.
The Metropolitan Black Police Association says the Force is still “institutionally racist”, despite its bosses saying it has changed so much that the label does not apply.
What we are now witnessing is the invention of a new narrative that demonises the minorities with new coded language as cover. Thanks to the austerity policies the most vulnerable in our society are being forced to pay the price through lack of available opportunities and crucially, cuts to the welfare benefits and to public services.
We should ask what has been the progress in other spheres of public policy other the lack of progress in Policing? Unfortunately, it is clear that talking to the backbone of the establishment, the Civil Service has little changed really. For instance, if we take the case of the last well publicised recruitment of 1000 new fast stream entrants to the Civil Service (the future leaders), not one was recruited from the Black African background and nor for that matter from the Bangladeshi background although a handful from the Indian community did make it. This demonstrates the on-going problem of ‘institutionalised racism’ at the highest levels of the British society, where the establishment simply chooses to pay lip service to equality of opportunity. It is also worth reminding ourselves that hardly anyone from the minority communities features at the top ranks of the Civil Service, Judiciary, Armed Forces, Police, Central Government, Local Government, Think Tanks, Trade Unions, Football Association, BBC , the Arts or cast an eye around the Boardrooms of the top 100 British companies in the City or the Pension funds. They are all but silent on the issue of equity on equality. Some argue, deliberately so. The Macpherson recommendations may have had some initial positive impact but the legacy in the eyes of those observing and watching, it feels as if the once in a generation opportunity has been squandered with the watering down of the Race laws into the Equalities and Human Rights Commission, with the latest assault by the Coalition Government on the removal of Section 3.
Years ago when I was conducting a specific project through research and interviewing Turkish people, I came across many people, especially from the Turkish Cypriot Community who at the beginning of the 1970s started changing their names in order to get better jobs as they faced exclusion due to their non-English and non-Christian sounding names. Unfortunately, after many decades, we still observe exclusion practises by employers as an act of discrimination from the past. However, it is clearly still with us today as seen in countless studies that show if your name is of African or Asian heritage then the chances of success in applying for any job are limited, same goes for promotion in the workplace, and then the odds are stacked against you when you are assessed for annual performance and for any bonuses. If you are from a Minority background you will be the last to be hired and the first to be fired with very little impunity. The increasing cases show, that there is lack of real accountability and with a sense of public bodies choosing to ignore statutory regulations, without fearing the threat of any real sanctions. It is now an open season all in the guise of austerity.
To counter this, the Labour Party is seeking that the Government institute a second Macpherson enquiry to review the progress made to date on the 67 recommendations of the original report. In the words of the Prime Minister “A change obviously has taken place since that dreadful murder 20 years ago, a change in policing. But perhaps as important is the change in culture, of just not accepting racism in our country. We have made huge steps forward on that front, but there is always more that needs to be done”.
What this 20 year period of self-reflection has failed to stem is the tide of disadvantage that permeates throughout Public Policy, Education, Policing, Housing and above all in our workplaces.
The murderers of Stephen Lawrence categorised as racist attackers and on deeper analysis blamed on poorly educated, working-class white men for their venomous racism but how do the chattering classes respond to the systemic failure to deal with the countless deaths of minorities in Police custody, unsolved racist murders up and down this Country? Is this the definition of a nation at ease with itself, when the Prime Minister has publically declared multiculturalism does not work?
Are we witnessing the dawn of a new narrative that does little to progress equality of opportunity with the backdrop of the longest depression in living memory, where the Minorities are seen as the scapegoats? Black youth have seen 100% increase in level of unemployment rates since 2008 and a draught in the opportunities available. Who is going to fix this broken Britain?
In the words of Stephen’s mother Doreen, “For me there are times when you’re angry about certain things, but then you always have to look at the positive. You always have to look forward, because if you don’t look forward then life just stands still.”
Copyright Semra Eren Nijhar – All rights reserved
Semra Eren-Nijhar 