A Hackney Rabbi has featured alongside 70 figures from the worlds of music, film, television, sport, fashion and politics in a national campaign launched on Stephen Lawrence Day (April 22)
The Never Forget Stephen Lawrence campaign features contributors like Hackney-born actor Idris Elba OBE, British racing driver Sir Lewis Hamilton, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer, singer Ed Sheeran MBE and Hackney Rabbi Herschel Gluck OBE.
The Rabbi and many others lent their time and voices for a short film to support the work of the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation and help shine a spotlight on the life and legacy of Stephen Lawrence, who was murdered on April 22 in 1993, at the age of 18, in an unprovoked racist attack.
The three minute short film will be launching in full later this month but a 60 second version was revealed today (April 22) with those featured in it reciting a poem by Max Cyrus.
Baroness Doreen Lawrence, founder of the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation and mother of Stephen Lawrence also features in the film. She said: “The events of 2020: - George Floyd’s death, and the subsequent resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement, along with societal inequalities exposed and exacerbated by Covid has made us reflect on how we engage with our communities.
"This brought a sharp focus on what I want to be achieved in Stephen’s name. I want Stephen Lawrence Day to be a reflective learning experience, and a celebration and a journey toward greater equality and inclusion for all.”
The murder of Stephen Lawrence saw five suspects arrested but none convicted at the time which led to a public inquiry into the handling of Stephen's case in 1998.
This resulted in the publication of the Macpherson Report, which led to profound cultural changes in attitudes to racism, to the law and police practice, paving the way for a greater understanding of discrimination of all forms and new equalities legislation.
Two men, Gary Dobson and David Norris were later convicted of his murder in 2012.
The film is part of a programme of events organised by the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation.
For more information visit stephenlawrenceday.org
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