Doreen Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon

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Doreen Lawrence 2019

Doreen Delceita Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon , OBE (* 24. October 1952 in Clarendon , Jamaica ) is a jamaikanisch- British human rights activist , human rights activist and politician of the Labor Party . Since September 2013 she has been a Life Peer member of the House of Lords .

Life

Origin and family

Doreen Lawrence, who was born in Jamaica, came to the UK in 1962 at the age of nine. She attended school in South East London . After graduating from school, she first worked in a bank . In 1970 she met her future husband Neville Lawrence in South London; this had also come to Great Britain from Jamaica in 1960. In 1972 the marriage followed in the Lewisham Register Office in Lewisham . Their son, Stephen Lawrence , was born in September 1974 . He was the oldest of three children. The family lived in Plumstead at the time . The marriage resulted in two other children, a son, Stuart, and a daughter, Georgina. She later worked as an assistant teacher in her daughter Georgina's school and earned a diploma as a teacher for children and young people with learning disabilities ( Special Needs Teacher ). Doreen and Neville Lawrence's marriage was divorced in 1999.

Stephen Lawrence assassination

Doreen Lawrence's son Stephen studied process science ( technology ) and physics at Blackheath Bluecoat Church of England School and English language and literature at Woolwich College ; he wanted to be an architect . In April 1993 Stephen Lawrence was the victim of a multiple perpetrators jointly carried out, for racist motives, violence; he was stabbed to death at a bus stop. In July 1997, at the instigation of Jack Straw , the British Home Secretary at the time , an official investigation into the murder of Stephen Lawrence, known as The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry, was ordered . Sir William MacPherson chaired the meeting . At the attack investigation, Doreen Lawrence and her husband Neville accused the Metropolitan Police of negligence and errors in investigating the attack ; in particular, they pointed to incompetence and racism within the police force. The investigating police officers treated and patronized her and her husband like "gullible, naive fools", said Lawrence. In February 1999 the results of the investigation report were published. The report concluded that the Metropolitan Police was “ institutionally racist ”; this was one of the main reasons for the failure of the investigation.

Fight against racism

After the death of her son and the result of the investigation report, Lawrence devoted himself mainly to the fight for justice for her son and the social fight against racism. She was a member of various committees and boards of the UK Home Office and the Metropolitan Police Service. She participated in reforms of the police system.

In 1998 she and her husband Neville Lawrence founded The Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust to help improve the living conditions of young people on their son's behalf. The organization is particularly dedicated to the support and care of young people with difficult family backgrounds and from socially disadvantaged areas, as well as school dropouts and unemployed young people. Lawrence is a member of the board and council of the human rights organization Liberty . She is also a patron ( saint ) the charity Stop Hate UK ; this is particularly committed to combating racial hatred and violence based on racist motives.

Membership in the House of Lords

In July 2013, it was announced that Lawrence, in recognition of her charitable work, would be made a Life Peer and join the House of Lords for the Labor Party . She was appointed as a so-called “working peer”. On September 6, 2013, she was promoted to Life Peer with the title Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon , of Clarendon in the Commonwealth Realm of Jamaica and has been a member of the House of Lords since then. The title is one of the rare titles because it refers to a place and a country in the Commonwealth, outside of the United Kingdom. Clarendon has a twofold personal implication: it is the birthplace of Lawrence and at the same time the place where Stephen Lawrence was buried in Jamaica, the home of his parents. On October 15, 2013, with the support of Floella Benjamin, Baroness Benjamin and Paul Boateng, Baron Boateng , it was officially introduced into the House of Lords.

Awards and honors

In 2003, Lawrence was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in recognition of her commitment to the community ("for services to community relations").

On July 27, 2012, Lawrence attended the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games ; she belonged u. a. in addition to UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon , the conductor Daniel Barenboim , the Chancellor of Oxford Brookes University Shami Chakrabarti among the eight public figures who carried the Olympic flag into the stadium.

In October 2012 she received the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Pride of Britain Awards .

Web links

Commons : Doreen Lawrence  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e Doreen Lawcrence biography at Faber & Faber. Retrieved February 6, 2014
  2. ↑ a b c Jamaican Born Civil Rights Campaigner Appointed to British House of Lords Jamaica Information Service, October 25, 2013. Retrieved February 6, 2014
  3. ↑ a b c d e MR & MRS LAWRENCE AND STEPHEN ( Memento from March 4, 2001 in the Internet Archive ). Biographical information in: The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry . Chapter 4. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
  4. ↑ a b c Lawrence parents divorce . BBC News of July 9, 1999. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
  5. ↑ a b Fighting on: Neville and Doreen Lawrence . BBC News dated December 31, 2002. Retrieved February 6, 2014}
  6. ^ Brian Cathcart: The life and legacy of Stephen Lawrence , The Independent . January 8, 2012. Retrieved May 3, 2012. 
  7. ↑ Lawrence mother calls police racist BBC News, July 11, 1998. Retrieved February 6, 2014
  8. ↑ The Stephen Lawrence Inquiry Official Investigation Report. Full text. Retrieved February 6, 2014
  9. ^ Police: Stop and Search - Question . Minutes of the House of Lords meeting of May 6, 2009. TheyWorkForYou.com. Retrieved February 6, 2014
  10. ^ Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust ( April 10, 2014 memento in the Internet Archive ). Official website. Chapter: "About Us". Retrieved February 6, 2014
  11. ↑ a b c Doreen Lawrence to be made a Labor peer in: The Guardian, July 31, 2013
  12. ↑ Working peerages announced Prime Minister's Office, 10 Downing Street on August 1, 2013
  13. ^ Crown Office in: London Gazette, September 11, 2013. Edition 60624. Page 17949. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  14. ↑ House of Lords welcomes Doreen Lawrence: Stephen's mother receives rousing cheer as she takes seat as a peer in: Daily Mail of October 15, 2013 (with video of the official introduction). Retrieved February 6, 2014
  15. ↑ Introduction: Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon Minutes of the House of Lords meeting of October 15, 2013
  16. ^ Crown Office in: London Gazette of December 31, 2002. Edition 56797. Supplement. Page 11. Retrieved February 6, 2013.
  17. ↑ Doreen Lawrence Honored ITV news October 30, 2012. Retrieved February 6, 2014
personal data
SURNAME Lawrence, Doreen, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Lawrence, Doreen Delceita (married name); Lawrence, Doreen Delceita, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Jamaican-British civil rights activist, human rights activist and Labor Party politician
DATE OF BIRTH October 24, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH Clarendon , Jamaica