Movement 102

lt
R. David Muir of the Black Churches Civic Forum argues that the Stephen
Lawrence enquiry was a defining moment in British history. We know that we live in
an ,,institutionat[y racist" society; the virtues of mutti-cutturatism are under threat.
What shoutd be the response of Christians and, in particula6 Btack-Majority Churches?
Mlxed up
unrilc flE Frlnurnv mlr'
term school holidaY I took mY five
year old daughter, Shani, to
Castle Aquatics on Well Hall Road
to buy a light for her fish tank. The shop is
very near Stephen Lawrence's Memorial
Plaque. I finally decided, goaded by her
persistent questions after Neville Lawrence
came to visit us and then seeing him on
television constantly, that I needed to show
her the Plaque and explain to her what had
happened to StePhen.
The experience was Painful, but
necessary. How do you explain to a five year
old that a young man was killed simply
because he was Black? How do you begin to
explain what racism is and how it debilitates
and disadvantages Black and ethnic
minority people in Britain? . lt was not easy'
but I had to struggle to articulate the truth I
knew in ways my five year old daughter
could understand. She responded with
sadness and the poignant innocence of her
age: "Dad, if you know anything about it you
How do you exPtain to a
five year otd that a Young
man was kitted simPtY
because he was Btack?
should tell the police. Those boys who killed
Stephen should be in prison"' Out of the
mouth of babesl
ln the wake of the publication of the
Macpherson Report into the murder of
Stephen Lawrence the question is: Where
do wil go from here?
Three things immediately spring to mind.
Firstly, we must not despair. We must
not lose hope in the vision and virtue of a
multi-racial society in spite of the experience
of the Black community in its encounter
with the Criminal Justice system. When you
see Black people continue to be five times
more likely than whites to be stopped and
searched by the police; more likely to be
charged; more likely to be denied bail; more
likely to suffer injury and deaths in police
custody; more likely to be jailed if convicted
and less likely to be granted parole' it is
easy to lose hope under the sheer weight of
rampant discrimi natory practices.
GOD o
But we must not succumb to this
particular temptation known as despair.
Even against the odds we have to prophetically
raise our voice, register our protest
and reassert our Christian commitment to
the vision and virtue of such a society.
Christians have an important role to play
in the construction and maintenance of this
vision; and the history and institutional
cohesion of the Black-Majority churches in
the community place them in a unique
position to challenge racial and social
injustice.
It was the recognition of the important
role of the Black-Majority churches,
especially their moral, institutional and
potential political resource in
salting and lighting the
architecture and
maintenance of a virtuous
multi-racial society, that the
Black Christian Civic Forum
UK was founded. The Forum
was launched in the House
of Commons on MondaY
18th January, Martin Luther
King Day. lts main aims are to 'promote
citizenship and pursue justice' by engaging
the Black-Majority churches, and the wider
Black Christian constituency, more effectively
in the social and political process.
By providing a platform for social action,
civic participation and political education
the Forum hopes to engender a new culture
of Black Christian social and political
participation and radical commitment to a
just and socially inclusive vision of modern
Britain.
Secondly, the churches must creatively
and prophetically get more involved in the
social and political structures of our society'
This is the old Gospel injunction to be 'Salt
and Light' and the 'leaven' of transformation.
As the dominant and most cohesive
institution in the Black community, the
Black-Majority churches must take stock of
its position and priorities. lt must use its
resources and institutional strength to affect
change in the wider community. This' of
movement 6
It all goes back to a spring evening in
1993. Late on 22 April an 18-year-old A-
level student called Stephen Lawrence and
his fiiend Duwayne Brooks were making
their way home after spending the day
together. The boys were ]ushing to catch a
bus in south-east London - Stephen was
already late - when they were confronted
a gang of white youths. the gang set upon
Stephen, A stunned and helpless Duwayne
brieflywatched in paralysed silence, before
he was chased off by one of the white
youths. Stephen managed to scramble
as Duwayne urged him to "just run ". But
he had been beaten badlY and was
bleeding profusely. He collapsed after 200
yards in a pool of blood and died.
Despite receiving numerous tip-offs
within hours of the murder as to those who
might have been responsible for the attack'
officers adopted a lacklustre approach to
the investigauon. Nobody has since been
convicted of the murder.
ln July 1997 the new Home Secretary
JackStraw had announced therewere
would be a public inquiry and appointed Sir
William Macpherson to chair the hearing.
Evidence from the inquiry kePtthe
Lawrcnce case in the headlines for much of
1998. Ihis February the Macpherson repoft
into the racist m urder of Stephen Lawrence
has published: it labelled London's police
force'institutionally racis( and condemned
offi cers for'fu nd a me ntal e rrorg.
Tony Blair said: ' lt will ceftainly lead to
new laws but more than that itwiil bring a
new eta of race relations," Jack Straw
welcomed the lon(-awaited findin$s and
promised sweeping iudicial retorms, most
crucially extendingthe Race Relations Act
to cover the police. Most controversially,
however Metropolitan Police chief Sir Paul
Condon has denied the claims and refused
to res,gn.
Stephen's mother Doreen Lawrence said
the reportonly 'scratched the sutace.
Black people are still dying on the streets
and in the back of police vans. "
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