Many marched after Stephen Lawrence was murdered — but violence isn’t the way, says his brother Stuart

MORE than 27 years after his murder by a racist gang, Stephen Lawrence’s name is this week being chanted by Black Lives Matter protesters across the country.

But while demonstrators speak out in anger over black American George Floyd’s death at the hands of white police in Minneapolis, footage of the brutal US killing at first stunned Stephen’s younger brother into silence.

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Teacher Stuart, 43, told The Sun: “I’m gutted that someone else’s family has had to experience something as horrific as this. I find it so hard to talk about, having been in that position myself.”

Stuart was 16 when 18-year-old Stephen was stabbed to death in an unprovoked attack at a bus stop in Eltham, South East London, in 1993.

He adds: “Stephen was the super, good-at-everything big brother, who everyone liked. Everyone wanted to be his friend.”

It took almost two decades for killers Gary Dobson and David Norris to meet justice — getting life terms in 2012 for Stephen’s murder — after Stephen’s parents Neville and Doreen spent years fighting police over a litany of errors.

‘World-changing’

The Macpherson Report, in 1999, sharply criticised the Metropolitan Police’s handling of the case and described the “institutional racism” within the force.

That was meant to be a watershed but the clashes between protesters and police in the UK, and rows over statues and TV comedies, show deep divisions remain.

Yet Stuart hopes we are finally on the cusp of real change and that his nine-year-old son, Theo, will not have to fight for equality when he reaches adulthood.

The pair were having dinner at home in South West London when the clip of George Floyd’s killing by police — what Stuart calls a “public, modern-day lynching” was shown on the news last month.

He says: “I had to change the channel. But after my son saw an officer with his knee on a black man’s neck, I was forced to have a conversation with him about racism.

“I asked him if he felt different. He looked at me strangely so I said, ‘The day you feel different or someone says you’re different and you feel confused, you need to tell me — because you’re not different’.”

Stuart sees Floyd’s death as a “world-changing moment”. He says: “We’ve got to be careful and smart, hold institutions to account and ask them what they are going to do. Violence isn’t the way.

“After my brother’s death, people marched and there were isolated scuffles. Those that were there said it happened out of sheer frustration that no one was listening. But I hate violence. I won’t play violent video games and I encourage my son not to, as it conditions your mind.”

Stuart says violence must not be the narrative — or else he warns: “We are wasting the ideal time to implement a change that can be so powerful for generations to come.

“I remember being young and a bit feisty but things have to be peaceful.”

Stuart has been vocal in the past about British police failings — and has been stopped by them more than 25 times.

He says: “Once I was less than 200 metres from my house, in my car, and an officer looked at me, continued driving then put his blue lights on, span around and pulled me over. If they’d checked my licence plate, they’d have known I was going home, to where the car was registered — but they made a snap judgment by looking at me. It’s racial profiling and must stop.”

He now feels a “pit in my stomach” when he sees a police car — and says: “None of my Caucasian friends feel like that.”

But he attributes recent positive changes to the young people he has encountered on social media — and the pupils in his school where he teaches product design.

‘Part of new normal’

He says: “Some institutions have been twisted and bent for a long time but at the start of the year, before Covid, I felt the tide was turning. I was having different conversations and was inspired by a generation of young people who could make a change.”

Stuart has been delighted to see people of all ages and backgrounds at the recent Black Lives Matter marches. He says: “It’s not been just predominantly black kids, as when Stephen died. Now the demographic is huge. It’s super-positive.”

He has also been in talks with Met Police chief Cressida Dick, to look at police training. He says: “These are baby steps but we need to build on it. We need to ensure lessons from things like the Mac-pherson Report, rather than being just words, are put into practice at every level of govern-ment and institutions — in the UK and then around the world.”

He says everyone has a part to play, adding: “It’s not one person’s issue. Companies and institutions can show you data that they are diverse but the real issue is the people working there and their lived experience in the trenches. It’s about honest conver-sations, and them knowing their voice is just as important as those  they work alongside.”

For real change, Stuart believes we have to “right wrongs”. He says: “If you hear someone say some-thing inappropriate, this is your time to step up and tell them. It’s about leading people out of ignorance, one at a time.”

He feels the Covid-19 crisis is a time to reset: “It has let us take a look at ourselves. So let’s move forward. Let’s understand we all have the same rights and ability to do what we want to do.

“No one should pre-judge you or have any negative thoughts towards you until you give them reason to.

“This has to be part of the ‘new normal’ we create for the world.

“I don’t want my son to be fighting this fight. He will become a beautiful individual, a powerful man and make a difference — not because of the colour of his skin.