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The Macpherson Inquiry conclusions about institutional racism most noted in the Metropolitan Police but, and often missed, other institutions as well, was a defining moment in the history of British race relations.
The recognition it gave to the facts of life for generations -
The recognition it gave to the facts of life for generations -
of Black & Brown people, of all those in racially & ethnically marginalised communities for whom the racist murder of Stephen Lawrence & the mistreatment of his family & friends was all too familiar - was critical & must be defended. It forced important changes.
If it didn't matter, the Met wouldn't still be fighting against those central conclusions even 20+ years on. https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/met-police-racism-cressida-dick-jeffrey-epstein-prince-andrew-a9669716.html
Nor would the government be reading so often from the chapter in the supremacist playbook entitled "The Phony Culture War"
But for me, beyond the personal, the true tribute to the work that bears Sir William's name is to centralise those made it possible: the tireless efforts of Stephen's family- led by Doreen & Neville. His friends & those who campaigned for justice
In Stephen's name & for Duwayne Brooks - as many had done many times in the decades before - all targeted by spycops & smear campaigns. The legal teams that fought in and around the inquiry room, sometimes despite resistance from the Judge himself.
"He had parameters. He gave the Lawrence’s barrister, Michael Mansfield QC, precious little room to develop the argument that what lay behind the botched police performance was corruption. That was perhaps, too grave a perfidy for him to accept" https://www.theguardian.com/law/2021/feb/15/william-macpherson-an-establishment-man-with-a-sense-of-outrage
To say nothing of the opposition of police lawyers & others, of course.
But even the establishment had to relent - if only for a moment.
"He was an establishment man; he believed in the institutions. But he was clearly hearing – from police officers and the long list of witnesses – attitudes and behaviours that outraged his sense of propriety."
"He was an establishment man; he believed in the institutions. But he was clearly hearing – from police officers and the long list of witnesses – attitudes and behaviours that outraged his sense of propriety."
Establishment notions of "propriety",the disturbance of seemingly implacable upper/middle class sensibilities speaks volumes about why the conclusions were ultimately the result of struggle - one so comprehensive that the conclusions now seem unavoidable
But also why the struggle continues.
