Highfields is marking Stephen Lawrence Day with a range of activities focusing on creating a fairer society for all - with former student Beverley Knight sending a personal video message of support.
Thursday, April 22 marks the third annual national memorial day in honour of the murdered black teenager, who was killed in a racist attack on the same day in 1993.
Stephen, from Plumstead in south-east London, was 18 when he was attacked and killed while waiting for a bus. He did not know his attackers, and they did not know him.
The memorial day in his honour aims to highlight the part everyone plays in creating a society in which everyone can flourish, have their voices heard and make the changes they’d like to see to create a society that treats everyone with fairness and respect.
This year is particularly poignant following the landmark murder conviction of white former police officer Derek Chauvin for the death of George Floyd - making him the first white police officer in Minnesota to be charged in the death of a black civilian.
A number of activities have been lined up to mark the occasion, organised by Highfields’ Head of Citizenship, Cheryl Hartshorne.
Citizenship students in Years 7, 8 and 9 have learned about the Lawrence family’s fight for justice and subsequent changes in the legal system.
In English, students from Years 7 & 8 are studying who George Floyd and Stephen Lawrence were and the legacy of their tragic deaths, whilst analysing the work of black poets such as Angelou and Zephaniah.
Year 9 Drama students have also been developing their skills using the stimulus of prejudice and racism.
A special assembly looking into the teenager’s murder and subsequent investigations, which also raises an awareness of different forms of racism and action that is being taken to combat discrimination, has been created for all year groups.
Students have also created a display for reception, while school digital signage and student desktops are being changed to mark the occasion.
Superstar singer Beverley Knight, a former Highfields pupil, has sent a video message to students honouring the event.
In it, she said: “I am so proud of all of you guys for choosing to observe Stephen Lawrence Day.
“This year more than ever it is so important that we are anti-racist.
“We can’t just say, ‘Im not a racist’, we have to be anti-racist.
“That means calling out racism wherever we find it, wherever we see it - whether that be in the playground, in the classroom, walking down the corridor - even at home. That is often where people learn to hate each other for no reason other than skin colour or ethnicity.
“So the best thing to do when these kind of things happen around you, instead of keeping quiet, is to say, ‘you know what, I’m not cool with this - I am not cool with this at all. You guys, if you want to carry on like this, do it, but do it far away from me, or better still don’t do it at all in the first place’.
“That makes you anti-racist, and that is a society that we all want to live in.
“So well done you guys for observing Stephen Lawrence Day and let us move forward to a better society. That’s what we are all looking for.”
Following Stephen’s murder in 1993, five suspects were arrested but not charged - leading to claims that the handling of the case by both the police and Crown Prosecution Service was affected by Stephen’s race.
A 1998 inquiry concluded that the Metropolitan Police was institutionally racist and recommended the double jeopardy rule be repealed, allowing people to be tried more than once for murder in the face of new evidence.
Two of the original suspects, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were retried for Stephen’s murder in 2011 and found guilty - almost 20 years after his death.
