Brixton charity Re:Sole, Brixton Village and Adidas will mark Stephen Lawrence Day tomorrow (22 April) with the launch of a new cultural programme and mentorship scheme.
The Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation commemorates this national day with the message “Never Forget Stephen Lawrence”.
Stephen was murdered in an unprovoked racist attack on 22 April 1993, when he was 18.
The failure of the police to investigate the murder led to the report by Sir William Macpherson that first highlighted institutional racism in Britain.
Macpherson’s report made 70 crucial recommendations, and changed the way both UK law and society approaches discrimination today – progress that is now threatened by the government’s Commission on Race and Ethnic Disparities.
In 2011, two of Stephen’s attackers, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were finally found guilty of murder and given life sentences.
Stephen Lawrence Day was established in 2018.
The only physical event in the UK marking this year’s day will be an installation in Brixton Village.
General manager Diana Nabagereka said: “We are pleased to have worked with The Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation and Re:Sole to amplify the foundation’s important campaign ahead of National Stephen Lawrence Day.
“We look forward to working with both charities over the coming months to build a successful mentorship scheme and help fight for equality change and promote both charities’ missions.”
The month-long installation involves 29 flags bearing portraits by Max Cyrus of figures who feature in a film by Simon Frederick.
The idea was to choose people who Stephen would have likely been inspired by.
They include his mother Baroness Doreen Lawrence of Clarendon, boxer Isaac Chamberlain, DJ Goldie, TV presenter Maya Jama, footballer Jermain Defoe, musician and artist Kojey Radical, poet Hussain Manawer and rapper K-Triggz.
Based in Brixton Village, Re:Sole works to improve the lives of the homeless and disadvantaged young people by providing fresh trainers.
Alongside Re:Sole, the Stephen Lawrence Foundation will continue to develop its programmes focussing on “Classroom, Careers and Community”.
Re:Sole will be donating Adidas Ultraboost trainers to NHS staff at King’s College Hospital, as well as maintaining its long term commitment with the Foundation and Brixton Village to mentor marginalised young people.
Moosa Nsubuga, founder of Re:sole, said: “As a nine-year-old hearing what had happened to Stephen Lawrence and subsequently going through my teens and twenties with the perpetrators still not being caught, I was left with a deep sense of unease as a young Black man.
“Being able to work directly with the foundation and Brixton Village to bring this exhibition to an area with so much significance for the Black community leaves me with a sense of pride and belief.
“With these collaborative efforts we can bring real sustainable change for our young people, using the past as an educational tool.”
