Doreen Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon
|
The Baroness Lawrence OBE |
|
|---|---|
Lawrence with Dominic Shellard, vice-chancellor of De Montfort University, at her investiture as the university's Chancellor
|
|
| Chancellor of De Montfort University | |
|
Assumed office 22 January 2016 |
|
| Vice-Chancellor | Dominic Shellard |
| Preceded by | The Lord Alli |
|
Member of the House of Lords Lord Temporal |
|
|
Assumed office 15 October 2013 Life Peerage |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Doreen Delceita Graham 24 October 1952 Colony of Jamaica |
| Nationality | British |
| Political party | Labour |
| Spouse(s) | Neville Lawrence (m. 1972; div 1999) |
| Children |
Stephen Lawrence (1974–1993; murdered) The Hon. Stuart Lawrence (1977-) Georgina Lawrence (1982-) |
| Alma mater | University of Greenwich |
| Occupation | Writer and parliamentarian |
Doreen Delceita Lawrence, Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, OBE (née Graham; born 24 October 1952) is a British Jamaican campaigner and the mother of Stephen Lawrence, a black British teenager who was murdered in a racist attack in South East London in 1993. She promoted reforms of the police service and founded the Stephen Lawrence Charitable Trust. She was appointed OBE for "services to community relations" in 2003, and was created a Life Peer in 2013. In January 2016, she was unveiled as the new Chancellor of De Montfort University, Leicester.
Lawrence was born in Jamaica in 1952. At the age of nine, she emigrated to England. She completed her education in south-east London, before becoming a bank worker. In 1972, she married Neville Lawrence. Their son Stephen was born in 1974, and Stuart was born in 1977. Georgina was born in 1982. The couple divorced in 1999.
Following the murder of their son Stephen in 1993, Doreen and Neville Lawrence claimed that the Metropolitan Police investigation was not being conducted in a professional manner, citing incompetence and racism as prime flaws. In 1999, after years of campaigning, and with the support of many in the community, the media and politics, a wide-ranging judicial inquiry was established by Jack Straw, the Home Secretary. Chaired by Sir William MacPherson, the inquiry was to investigate the circumstances of Stephen Lawrence's death. The public inquiry was the subject of intense media interest which became international when it concluded that the Metropolitan Police was "institutionally racist" and that this was one of the primary causes of their failure to solve the case.
In the aftermath of the inquiry, Lawrence continued to campaign for justice for her son as well as for other victims of racist crime. She has worked to secure further reforms of the police service. In 2003 she was awarded the OBE for services to community relations.
...
Wikipedia